WASHINGTON, DC. This Special Issue of the e-news reports on two important events of the last week in Washington, where the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness met and the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs convened a hearing on lessons learned since the 1987 passage of the McKinney- Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Pictured here is Council Chair and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson gaveling the meeting to order, with HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development Pamela Patenaude at his left, HUD Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Mark Johnston at far right, and Council Executive Director Philip Mangano at left.

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness convened a Full Council meeting in Washington, DC yesterday, where Council members met under the leadership of Council Chair and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. Secretary Jackson welcomed members to the meeting, noting that their focus for the day would be on results in achieving the Administration's goal of ending chronic homelessness and responding to the needs of those from hurricane affected areas. Pictured here are Council members at the April 4 meeting.

Stating that “there is good news on homelessness,” and affirming the meeting’s focus on results, Council Executive Director Philip Mangano stated, “The work of federal agencies has been relentless in bringing remedy since Katrina, and the work of this Council and its member agencies has been to our nation’s most vulnerable, exemplified in our commitment to those experiencing chronic homelessness. Our commitment to these groups is results: tangible outcomes in their lives.“

HUD reported on its overall hurricane assistance and recovery efforts, including targeted response to homeless programs in the region. Also among those reporting on Katrina responses were Department of Labor Assistant Secretary Charles Ciccolella, who told Council members that DOL’s National Emergency Grants awarded to create temporary jobs to dislocated workers have thus far sent $210.3 million to areas impacted by the hurricanes, as well as areas that received a significant number of evacuees. The NEGs have supported the creation of nearly 63,000 temporary jobs in the region, and provided training, job search assistance and information on accessing unemployment benefits to people impacted by the hurricanes. Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Assistant Secretary Jerry Regier told Council members that HHS estimates 500,000 people may be in need of counseling services in the affected areas, and the agency has committed to a targeted public service campaign on mental health and substance abuse issues and a long-term study of the hurricanes’ effects. Department of Education Deputy Assistant Secretary Charles Hokanson reported on the $1.1 billion targeted to schools in the region, and Department of Veterans Affairs Homeless Programs Director Peter Dougherty whose agency successfully evacuated several affected facilities and maintained critical services, reported on new transitional program capacity for homeless veterans being created in Baton Rouge.

Federal partners reported results in federal initiatives targeted to persons experiencing chronic homelessness. At a briefing held for federal agencies last week, Dr. Robert Rosenheck, chief evaluator for the $55 million HUD-HHS-VA Collaborative Initiative reviewed data for the initiative, which has housed more than 600 persons formerly experiencing chronic homelessness through the unprecedented investment first announced at the Council’s inaugural meeting after its 2002 revitalization. The formerly homeless individuals moved to housing represent more than 5,200 years of homelessness. 80% of the funded sites used a Housing First model, and 88% of those tracked by Dr. Rosenheck remain stably housed, with improvements in quality of life and mental health and substance abuse issues. Stated Dr. Rosenheck in the federal briefing, “We reached exactly the population we targeted, and we moved them to housing.” HUD reported on its annual competition now underway and focusing resources on housing creation for the population of those experiencing chronic homelessness.

DOL Assistant Secretary Ciccolella reported on the DOL-HUD Demonstration Project, Ending Chronic Homelessness Through Employment and Housing. The five demonstration sites in Indianapolis, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon are in their third year of providing 300 units of permanent supportive housing, and their second year of providing employment services. The units are approximately 90% occupied, and preliminary results indicate that, on average, 80% of those who entered the projects remain housed and 47% have entered employment.

Social Security Administration Deputy Commissioner James Lockhart reported that SSA’s HOPE initiative to reach persons experiencing chronic homelessness will soon enter its third year funding commitment to its 41 cooperative agreement partners. According to Mr. Lockhart, partners enrolled 6,665 homeless individuals in SSI benefits, and 1,644 have been approved for monthly benefits, and in most cases, Medicaid eligibility to ensure individuals receive necessary treatment to stabilize their lives.

HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Regier reported that every State and Territory has now participated in at least one federal Policy Academy targeted to persons experiencing chronic homelessness, homeless families, or both. Many state government leaders are receiving followup technical assistance as they develop or implement Action Plans as part of the Academy process. Partners also heard about the recently created and National Institute of Mental Health-funded Columbia University Center for Homelessness Prevention Studies.

Council members heard from two partners at the state and city level who have both been leaders in jurisdictional 10-Year plans and local initiatives in response to Katrina. Representing the State of Arizona was Charlene Flaherty, who described to Council members the one-stop response mounted at the Arizona Coliseum to achieve rapid re- housing of evacuees within one month. Construction industry executive Scott Cutler, who co-chaired the Raleigh-Wake County, North Carolina 10-Year Plan, stressed to federal representatives the importance of the Interagency Council’s support in communities undertaking 10-Year Plans.

WASHINGTON, DC. The Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs was convened by Chairman Wayne Allard (CO) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (RI) last week to hear testimony on proposed consolidation of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Testifying on behalf of the Administration were HUD Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi and United States Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano. Both witnesses affirmed the current proposals to consolidate three major HUD homeless programs into one, the emphasis on using the HUD housing programs to achieve the goal of ending chronic homelessness, and ensuring a focus on prevention and performance.

In a statement addressing HUD’s proposed consolidation (HR 5041), HUD Secretary Jackson stated, “President Bush's goal to end chronic homelessness in America will be furthered by making it easier for homeless assistance providers to spend more of their energies helping people who might otherwise be living on our streets.”

Speaking in support of the proposed consolidation of the HUD Supportive Housing, Shelter Plus Care, and SRO programs into one program, Council Director Mangano stated: “Consolidation of these programs would give localities more decision making power over their funds and provide a greater focus on prevention of homelessness, “ adding, “There is now a national intent to end the disgrace of homelessness beginning with chronic homelessness, visible on our streets and in our shelters. We have much work to do, but we are better prepared and equipped than ever before.”

Providing testimony from local government, the non- profit, advocacy, and academic sectors were Hennepin County, Minnesota Commissioner Gail Dorfman, National Alliance to End Homelessness Vice President Steve Berg, Houston-Harris County Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Anthony Love, Volunteers of America National President Charles Gould, and University of Pennsylvania Professor Dr. Dennis Culhane. Commissioner Dorfman, whose County had just the previous day made a joint commitment with the City of Minneapolis to a 100-day 10-year planning initiative, emphasized the importance of local jurisdictional planning to make a difference in communities.

According to Berg, homelessness should be viewed as a problem with a solution which requires aggressive steps by local communities, and federal leadership in providing resources and incentives. Pictured here at the hearing (left to right) are HUD Deputy Secretary Bernardi, Director Mangano, and Commissioner Dorfman.

Chairman Wayne Allard (CO) of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is a co-sponsor of The Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act (S. 1801), introduced by Ranking Member Jack Reed (RI). Following are excerpts from Senator Allard’s opening remarks at last week’s hearing.

. . . Until enactment of this law, the problems confronted by the homeless were mainly addressed at the state and local level. The McKinney Act represented a consensus that had developed that a major federal commitment was required in order to end homelessness.

. . . Yet despite the enormous federal resources directed towards homelessness, the problem persists. We need to bring more accountability to homeless assistance, increasing funding for successful programs and initiatives and replacing those that are ineffective.

. . . I am especially supportive of approaches, such as this one, that focus on results rather than processes.

Pictured here at the hearing are Chairman Allard (right) and Ranking Member Senator Jack Reed (left).

Following are excerpts from Senator Jack Reed's remarks regarding last week’s hearing.

. . . A relatively small number of long-term chronically-homeless persons continue to utilize a disproportionate number of the beds in our nation's shelters. I believe that limited federal dollars need to be focused on preventing and ending homelessness, not maintaining it.

. . . We should devote significant energy and resources to ending homelessness in the United States.

Following are excerpts from the testimony of Dr. Dennis Culhane of the University of Pennsylvania at last week’s Senate hearing.

. . . Research has shown that investments in supportive housing targeted to this population in many cases can be fully offset by the reduced use of shelters, hospitals, emergency rooms, and jails. Such evidence makes it difficult to justify a policy that spends so many resources essentially maintaining people in a state of homelessness, when those same resources can be leveraged for a solution.

. . . I encourage the bill’s support of the 10-year plans to end homelessness that have become commonplace around the country. Many of these plans are the result of new and potentially powerful collaborations among local and state governments, as well as service providers and less traditional stakeholders in these communities.

. . . These partnerships are a reflection of the collaboration that has also been embodied in the Interagency Council, which has brought together many federal partners and brought new resources from other federal programs.