"Too often over the last twenty years, programs have been created just to manage homelessness, not to eliminate it. We've wandered in the wilderness away from our original intent of ending homelessness. The good news is that we're being summoned back to our original calling. The initiative to end chronic homelessness in ten years seeks visible, measurable, and quantifiable change on the streets of our cities and in the lives of homeless people."
                USICH Executive Director Philip Mangano,                 2003

     "We have taken on the heroic work of overcoming a prevailing mindset, a prevailing sensibility, a prevailing sense of demoralization. And we are resolute in our action. Intelligent action. Planful initiatives. Innovation informed strategies. Remoralized intent. Calling into play every strategic element to accomplish the end of social wrong. Whether moral or spiritual, cultural or human. Research or cost benefit studies. Rapid dissemination of all that is working all across the front lines to insure that we all have equal access to the best ideas at the same time. Breathing together and acting together."
               USICH Executive Director Philip Mangano
               The National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders, 2006

The more than 150 Mayors, County Executives, State officials, community leaders, thinkers, practitioners, and Federal agency representatives, who gathered in the Mile High City this week for The National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders sponsored by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness represent the vanguard of a growing National Partnership to end chronic homelessness. Already engaged in the 10-Year Plan process, they came from all regions of the country responding to the opportunity offered by The National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders: Moving From Good to Better to Great in Sustaining 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness to:

• Engage in peer to peer dialogue to identify and share information regarding the challenges of 10-Year Plan implementation and effective responses for replication
• Recognize those whose strategic thinking and innovative resource delivery have led to results in ending chronic homelessness
• Explore with Good to Great author Jim Collins, Fast Company founder Alan Webber, Council staff, and each other ways to continue the momentum forward to achieving the result of ending chronic homelessness

The summit was hosted by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who welcomed fellow jurisdictional leaders and other attendees to the Mile High City. "We are at a point in history that in 10 or 20 years all of us in this room are going to point back to this Summit as the place where suddenly it became real; the fact that we could actually step forward as communities, as a country, and end a blight that most people had come to accept." Mayor Hickenlooper was one of the first jurisdictional leaders in the country to commit to developing a 10-Year Plan. Along with Roxane White, Manager of the Denver Department of Human Resources who chaired the Denver Commission to End Homelessness and is now helping to lead the Plan's implementation, Mayor Hickenlooper has actively engaged with other jurisdictional leaders to share information on innovations, best practices, and results.

Jurisdictional leaders need to play a greater role as the architects of the conditions that will make change in their cities and states, business thinker Jim Collins (pictured here, left) told the more than 150 leaders assembled for the National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders in Denver last week. Addressing his audience of State government leaders, Mayors, County Executives and 10-Year Plan champions that "good is the enemy of great" in their efforts, Collins cautioned his listeners to avoid the chronic inconsistency that is the signature of mediocrity and instead to use data relentlessly and cross boundaries to secure the incremental elements that make up greatness as documented in his research on businesses that move from good to great.

In an interactive conversation with Fast Company founder Alan Webber (pictured here, right) and Summit partners, Collins, the well-known author of Good to Great and Built to Last, described the importance of the "autopsies" he has conducted on examples of failures to reach greatness and urged 10-year planners to confront the "brutal facts" of the situations they face and use the "infectiousness of results" to stimulate the change they are seeking, so that positive results become their own champion in the larger effort. If it works, and you understand it, he told leaders, then you can replicate it. The worst decision is to make a new choice of direction when confronting difficulties, rather than keeping a steadfast intent to prevail. Polish a lead bullet into silver, he advised, rather than wait for perfection to arrive.

Collins also addressed a targeted audience of elected officials, including Mayors, County Executives, and City Councillors to field their questions and apply his thinking to their situations. Collins, who operates a management laboratory in Boulder to study success and failure in business, is the third business thinker to address an audience of jurisdictional leaders focused on ending chronic homelessness under the sponsorship of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Common Ground. Prior convenings have heard from Webber, Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker writer and author of The Tipping Point, and Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovators Dilemma and Harvard Business School professor.

Much of the work of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness since its revitalization in 2002 has been constellating the National Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness. This National Partnership has been built on the recognition that no one level of government can get the job done alone and, not even every level of government partnered together can get the job done without the resources and mindset of the private sector including business, non-profits, academia, the United Way, and the faith community. Working in partnership, using new research findings and data collection tools, developing and rapidly disseminating for replication innovations in service delivery, and focusing on outcomes, the National Partnership is getting results. At an awards luncheon on Thursday, the Council recognized outstanding partnership, innovation, and results by presenting "A Home for Every American" awards in seven categories: Governors, City/County Partners, City Champions, National Partners, National Innovators, National Program Partners, and Life Achievement.

Governor Awards

Three years ago, the Council asked Governors to join the National Partnership and to make tangible their commitment through the creation of State Interagency Councils on Homelessness. Fifty-three Governors of states and territories have made that commitment, supported by the multiagency federal Policy Academies and Council- supported State Colloquies. Two Governors and one Lieutenant Governor were selected to receive "A Home for Every American Award" in recognition of their exceptional commitment to partnership and accountability on the issue of homelessness.

     "These Governors teach us that political will can lead to housing and interagency collaboration. That homelessness offends cultural understandings. And that reinvesting resources with accountability can lead to improved lives for individuals and families."
               USICH Executive Director Philip Mangano

The Honorable Ernie Fletcher, Governor of Kentucky

Governor Fletcher (pictured here, left) has demonstrated leadership in Kentucky's response to homelessness through the creation of a statewide 10-Year Plan, investing resources in a Recovery Kentucky initiative, and convening a Kentucky Summit on 10-Year Plans to solidify the State's partnership with the Federal and City governments.

Kentucky's 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness was announced by the Governor in January of this year. The Plan was developed at the behest of the Governor by the Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Kentucky Housing Corporation, under the leadership of CEO Ben Cook, with input from 12 community forums across the state and aligns with 10-Year Plans being developed by cities in Kentucky. The Recovery Kentucky initiative is using an innovative combination of Federal and State budget resources to support the construction and operation of ten residential substance abuse treatment centers to help persons who are homeless or at risk of homelessness because of substance abuse. The Federal funds are all resources that are allocated to the State by formula each year and over which the State has discretion within broad parameters-- Low Income Housing Tax Credits, HOME funds, and Community Development Block Grant monies. Kentucky is choosing to use a portion of each of these resources to support this effort as well as State resources redirected from their corrections budget due to cost savings derived from this less costly alternative to incarceration.

The Honorable Linda Lingle, Governor of Hawaii

Governor Lingle (pictured here, middle) released Hawaii's statewide 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in January of last year. The Plan refocuses housing strategies to increase supply and emphasizes solutions for ex-prisoners to reduce recidivism and increase integration. Governor Lingle has reached out to tourism authorities, neighborhood boards, and business associations as partners who encounter homelessness and can collaborate to solve it. Earlier this year, Governor Lingle submitted a 2007 budget proposal that included $20 million for homelessness initiatives, three times more than what was allocated in 2005.

The Honorable Kerry Healey, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

Lieutenant Governor Healey (pictured here, right) chairs the Massachusetts Interagency Council on Homelessness and Housing, created by Governor Mitt Romney. In 2005 she co- convened a Mayoral Summit with the Council and The Boston Foundation to promote intergovernmental partnership and planning in the Commonwealth. She has initiated a refocus of the state's homeless policies in new directions that improve opportunities for housing persons experiencing chronic homelessness, ended the use of welfare hotels for homeless families. and increased and expedited enrollment for homeless persons in mainstream benefits and services, including Food Stamps and Medicaid.

Governor Fletcher, Governor Lingle, and Lieutenant Governor Healey joined the awards luncheon by video conference. Also present on behalf of Governor Fletcher and Lieutenant Governor Healey were Kentucky Housing Corporation CEO Ben Cook, Massachusetts Homeless Point Person Linda Fosburg, and Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance Commissioner John Wagner.

Homelessness is a national problem with local solutions. Through a partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Council began challenging and encouraging localities to develop 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness. Mayors and County officials have an appetite for solutions. They want to know what's working elsewhere and what will give results. The Mayors and County Executives in 216 communities are our partners in planning for measurable outcomes through 10-Year Plans. Two Mayors and one County/City partnership were selected to receive "A Home for Every American Award" for their commitment to partnership, accountability and results.

     "These Jurisdictional CEO's and leaders teach us that political will is the beginning of any planning process expecting results. That every size community can create realistic 10-Year Plans. That the call for outcomes is balanced with the need for compassion and welcome. That we should be tolerant of homeless people, but intolerant of homelessness. And that every person in the community has a single name - Neighbor - and deserves to be treated as one."
               USICH Executive Director Philip Mangano

The Honorable John Hickenlooper, Mayor of Denver, CO

Describing the intention behind Denver's Road Home, the 10-Year Plan released in July last year coodinated by Roxane White, Human Services Department Manager for the city, Mayor Hickenlooper (pictured here, upper right) declared " We'll be able to say, 'Here's your investment; here's what we delivered.' This will end much of the frustration of just throwing money at the problem without having any results." Just six months later Mayor Hickenlooper was able to report that 349 housing units and rental subsidies had already been created, 156 families had received eviction assistance and financial counseling, a mentoring program had been established to match homeless families and seniors with the faith based community, 140 beds for respite care had been created and 100 beds for cold weather emergencies, and increased access provided to employment, child, care, health care, food assistance, and mental health and substance abuse services. Mayor Hickenlooper has brought political will, support for permanent supportive housing solutions for persons experiencing chronic homelessness, a dedication to innovative partnerships with the faith based sector, and a focus on results to the effort to end homelessness in his city.

The Honorable David Munson, Mayor of Sioux Falls, SD

The Sioux Falls " Blueprint to Eliminate Homelessness" was announced in January 2005 after a 10-month effort by a Blue Ribbon Task Force appointed by Mayor Munson (pictured here, upper left). The plan details a broad collaborative effort involving more than 55 local, state and federal entities, the Sioux Empire United Way, and various non profits, faith based organizations, advocacy groups and civic organizations. Among the plan's initiatives are the creation of 150 housing units over 10 years, an innovative Common Access Protocol among service providers, and a mobile team modeled after the United Way Loaned Executive Program.

Wake County, NC Commissioners and the City of Raleigh (represented by Commissioner Phil Jeffreys)

The Raleigh/Wake County 10-Year Action Plan to End and Prevent Homelessness was adopted in February 2005 as the 100th Plan in the country, after a planning effort that involved city and county government, the Triangle United Way, the Wake County Continuum of Care and more than 400 persons from the community who participated in a series of community forums and focus groups. Adoption of the plan, which was prepared by a Steering Committee on which Commissioner Jeffreys participated, has been followed by a $20 million housing bond measure in the City of Raleigh, support for two County staff and a staff person at the Triangle United Way to focus on plan implementation, and annual public Progress Report forums to report results. A website keeps the public informed of progress in meeting plan goals, including notices of meetings held each month for the plan's key objectives: Housing; Employment & Education; Services & Supports; Engagement; and Prevention. Also acknowledged by this award is the exceptional work done by Wake County and the City of Raleigh in reunifying, rehousing, and providing employment-related assistance to Katrina evacuees.

CITY CHAMPIONS

From the experience of over 200 jurisdictions that are engaged in the 10-Year Plan process, we have learned the important role of the Community Champion, a respected community member who gives visible expression to how important the issue of homelessness is in the community, provides visible leadership to the convening of the planning process, and works to sustain the momentum in the plan's implementation. The three persons presented "A Home for Every American Award" in this category aced their roles as Community Champions in the development of a 10-Year Plan in their communities, are continuing to show leadership in the implementation stage, and are providing inspiration to other communities.

Angela Alioto, Chair of San Francisco's 10-Year Plan and Co-chair of California KEYS

     "She gives to our poorest citizens gifts of deliverance. She embodies the action recommended by St. Francis: "Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

Angela Alioto's recognition that the status quo of homelessness in San Francisco needed to be disrupted fit well with the political will of a mayor with the same intent. Her appointment by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to lead that city's 10-Year Planning effort was a partnership that led to the creation of a diverse and inclusive 35-member steering committee that only her deep rooted and well known personal and professional commitment to homeless and other disadvantaged persons could hold together. The resulting 10-Year Plan, Changing Direction, has become the template for San Francisco's vision to end chronic homelessness. Released in 2004, the Plan adopted a Housing First model and called for the creation of 3000 units of permanent supportive housing for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. Just this past February, the City's leasing of the Boyd and Armada Hotels added 194 new permanent supportive housing units to the over 1900 permanent supportive housing opportunities created in the last two years.

Ms. Alioto also co-chairs California Keys, an innovative collaboration of cities and counties in the state engaged in or planning to develop 10 -Year plans who meet bimonthly for peer support, to discuss legislative initiatives, and compile results, outcomes and accomplishments. At a meeting in March in Santa Barbara, representatives from 20 California cities and counties were in attendance and were joined by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Homeless Initiative Coordinator, Dick Schermerhorn, who discussed development of the State Interagency Council and a statewide 10-Year Plan to end homelessness.

Horace Sibley, Chair of Atlanta's 10-Year Plan

     "He is a Champion in his own city, but through invited visits, phone calls, conference presentations, conversations with Mayors and civic leaders, he has become a National Champion."

Atlanta's " Blueprint to End Homelessness in 10 years" was announced in March of 2003. The effort was led by the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta at the request of Mayor Shirley Franklin and chaired by Horace Sibley (pictured here, bottom left), a retired partner of the King and Spalding law firm whose community involvement included the United Way, the YMCA, Goodwill Industries, the Olympic Games, and many others. Mr. Sibley has devoted himself not only to the implementation of Atlanta's 10-Year plan but also to sharing his knowledge and experience in visits and conference presentations with elected and civic leaders of other communities engaging in the 10-year planning process. Atlanta's plan implementation is notable for its success in raising more than $20 million from the business and philanthropic sectors to support the plan's initiatives including a $4 million 24/7 Gateway Service Center. Mr. Sibley's commitment was evident in a Stakeholder Spotlight interview for the City of Atlanta, " It is a societal obligation to end homelessness. Homeless people have so many talents and good gifts to give society and themselves. It's not acceptable for a person to be without a place to live for a year or more. Services have to be in place to ensure that everyone is able to contribute."

Dene Oliver, Chair of the Leadership Council for San Diego's 10-Year Plan and Co-chair of California Keys

     "For holding together a city's response, resisting inertia, defying the forces of entropy, and inexorably moving forward a 10-Year Plan for San Diego.

The "Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in the San Diego Region", developed by a Leadership Council with fiscal, administrative, and consulting support from the United Way of San Diego, was submitted to the San Diego City Council and the County Board of Supervisors in November 2005 after a nearly two year effort during a particularly turbulent time in the political history of the city. Businessman and Leadership Council Chair Dene Oliver (pictured here, bottom right), has been at the center of this effort, determinedly sustaining the initiative using his personal and professional relationships for the benefit of the citizens of the nation's seventh largest city. In leading this effort, Mr. Oliver said, "Together, the San Diego region will focus on the small segment of the population that is routinely homeless and use the best minds, skills and talents to address the human suffering as well as the drain on its resources. With this ambitious goal, the City and County of San Diego, and their many partners, will work together to provide appropriate assistance for those who need it the most."

There are leaders in every field of endeavor, and the six persons presented with "A Home for Every American Award" in the National Partners and National Innovators categories are in the forefront of the effort to end chronic homelessness. Their work has led to a reimagining of the road to end chronic homelessness. They have made us believe it can be done.

National Partners

Each of the three persons receiving the National Partners Award - Nan Roman, Dr. Dennis Culhane, and Rob Hess - have made presentations at formal meetings of the full United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, broadening our understanding of the causes of homelessness, of the interrelationship of housing and services, and of the ways that new ideas are just as important as new resources in the effort to end chronic homelessness.

Nan Roman, President and CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), is a leading national voice on the issue of homelessness. NAEH is a public education, advocacy, and capacity building organization with over 5000 non profit and public sector member agencies and corporate partners. Under her leadership, NAEH developed a pragmatic plan to end homelessness in ten years, creating an ambitious campaign to engage all sectors of society in a revitalized effort to overcome homelessness by focusing on solutions. NAEH supports the work of local communities and practitioners through dozens of training institutes and conferences on homelessness and its solutions each year.

Dr. Dennis Culhane, is a Professor of Social Welfare Policy in the School of Social Work for the University of Pennsylvania. His research, which described a typology of homelessness including chronic and episodic, has been central to the reexamination of public policy and approaches. Dr. Culhane's (pictured here, top left) work has included studying the impact of homelessness on the utilization of public health, corrections, and social services in New York City and Philadelphia and is seen as the impetus for the cost/benefit studies now being conducted in communities around the country engaged in developing 10-Year Plans. Dr. Culhane is currently leading an effort to produce an annual report to Congress on the prevalence and dynamics of homelessness based on analyses of automated shelter records in a nationally representative sample of U.S. cities.

Although Rob Hess was recently appointed Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services in New York City, it is his work as the Deputy Managing Director for Special Needs Housing in Philadelphia which earned him "A Home for Every American Award". Using data collection and evaluation, new engagement strategies, and partnerships, Mr. Hess (pictured here, top right) fashioned a targeted approach to street homelessness that has resulted in a reduction of 60% in Philadelphia's chronic homeless population over 4 years. During his tenure, Philadelphia, the nation's fifth largest city, developed a 10-Year Plan and won one of the 11 federal awards under the HUD-HHS-VA Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness. Mr. Hess has generously shared his knowledge and experience at numerous Council-sponsored state colloquies and technical assistance opportunities for communities engaged in 10-Year Plan efforts.

National Innovators

Dr. Sam Tsemberis is the founder and executive director of Pathways to Housing in New York City. Through Pathways, Dr. Tsemberis (pictured here, middle left) developed the Housing First approach that provides immediate access to permanent housing for individuals who are homeless and who have psychiatric disabilities and substance use disorders. Unique in its providing Housing First, Pathways to Housing has demonstrated a remarkable 85% housing retention rate. After settling into housing, clients are offered a wide range of support and clinical services that include psychiatric and substance abuse treatment, health care, vocational services, and family reconnection. Currently, over 400 individuals receive permanent housing and are served by six interdisciplinary Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Teams located in Queens, Brooklyn, East Harlem, West Harlem and in Mt. Vernon serving Westchester County.

Dr. Tsemberis is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry of New York University Medical Center and has provided invaluable technical assistance to many of the grantees of the federal HUD/HHS/VA Collaborative Initiative. Dr.Tsemberis presented his work at a formal meeting of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, leading to a better understanding of the Housing First concept among policy makers in the the federal executive branch.

Rosanne Haggerty (pictured here, middle right) is President and Founder of Common Ground Community, an innovative developer of supportive housing. She has been a vital force in the ongoing partnership of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Rockefeller Foundation in convening State and City jurisdictional leaders and 10-Year Plan leaders to replicate innovations and results. Common Ground Community has committed to creating 1000 new units of supportive housing for persons experiencing chronic homelessness in New York City by 2007, 3000 more supportive housing units by 2014, and to developing new models of housing for those not served by existing options.

Richard Harris (pictured here, bottom left) is the Executive Director of Central City Concern, a private non profit agency providing pathways to self sufficiency through active intervention in poverty and homelessness in Portland, Oregon since 1979. Central City Concern operates 1,313 units of low-income housing, including owned and managed housing for homeless singles and for families, and housing for special needs populations. CCC has a twenty-six year history in low income housing development, particularly in rehabilitation of older SRO housing and has over 175 units currently in the development process. CCC operates a range of health services, mental health and chemical dependency treatment, and employment services so that no matter what door someone walks through, CCC staff have the ability to put together a comprehensive program to meet that person's individual needs leading to self sufficiency. Central City Concern is the largest employer of formerly homeless individuals in Portland. An estimated 70% of CCC's 500 employees are in recovery form substance addictions and many have been homeless in the past. Central City Concern was also one of the HUD/HHS/ VA Collaborative Initiative grantees.

Twenty federal agencies are partnered in the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. It is through the programs they administer that the resources of the Federal government are awarded to local and state programs that are the front lines of service delivery. The persons and programs selected to receive "A Home for Every American Award" in the National Program Partners category were nominated by Council member agencies for their success in achieving results that are leading to housing and greater self sufficiency and independence for persons experiencing chronic homelessness.

Dr. Virginia Luchetti is a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director of Homeless Services for Phoenix programs, Inc. in Contra Costa, CA. Dr. Luchetti is dedicated to documenting cognitive and other hidden impairments in the chronically homeless population and assisting this population obtain SSI disability benefits. Dr. Luchetti is developing a revised treatment model for homeless men and women that incorporates cognitive impairment as an important exacerbating factor in chronic homelessness. Her cognitive screenings also help guide service delivery by making providers aware of cognitive limitations that may make it difficult for a client to follow through with treatment plans or applying for employment, housing and benefits. She has conducted more than 200 psychosocial assessments in homeless encampments throughout Contra Costa County and supervised interviews and needs assessments of almost 5000 homeless men and women. Her work is listed as one of the promising practices on the SOAR: SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery website.

Pat Morgan is the Executive Director of Partners for the Homeless in Memphis, TN, a public-private partnership established in November 1995 as an initiative of the Memphis Grantmakers Forum to unify public and private efforts to address the issue of homelessness in Memphis and Shelby County. Ms. Morgan's work in the field of homelessness began in 1983 as a volunteer in a fledling church-based social service ministry on the streets of Memphis and has included working in Washington DC in the early 1990s in the dual role of special assistant in HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development and program analyst with the then Interagency Council on the Homeless housed at HUD headquarters.

The Pima County, Arizona Jackson Employment Center (JEC) is a One-Stop Career Center providing a full array of employment services to Pima County's homeless population seeking to enter the workforce. JEC enrolls homeless men, women, families, and youth in an integrated Individual Service Strategy (ISS) program that results in a case plan and an Employability Development Plan for each client.

The Jackson Employment Center has a prominent role in the City of Tucson/Pima County's continuum of care planning process. As such, JEC has both formal and informal collaborative and reciprocal relationships with the member agencies of the Tucson Planning Council for the Homeless. These relationships have developed a process of shared planning and shared resources with both faith-based and community-based nonprofit organizations that provide HUD-sponsored transitional housing for program participants. In the last reporting year, a total of 356 participants were enrolled in the employment program at JEC and in the HUD Supportive Housing Program in a collaborative relationship with faith-based and community-based organizations. Seventy-five percent secured full-time employment at an average wage at time of placement of $8.38/hour. Seventy-four percent retained both employment and housing at the six-month followup period.

Dr. Jim O'Connell is President of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP), where he has overseen the growth and development of a citywide service delivery network that has emerged as a national model in the care of this vulnerable population. Multidisciplinary teams conduct daily clinics at three academic medical centers and offer continuity and consistency of care at over 70 sites in metropolitan Boston. He has been associated with BHCHP since 1985 and continues to serve as Street Team Physician in addition to being President.

In 1993, Dr. O'Connell founded the Barbara McInnis House, a 90-bed freestanding medical respite program that provides care for homeless men and women who would otherwise require costly acute care hospitalizations. In collaboration with the MGH Laboratory of Computer Science, Dr. O'Connell and BHCHP implemented the nation's first electronic medical record for a homeless program in 1996.

From 1989 until 1996, Dr. O'Connell served as the National Program Director of the nine-city Homeless Families Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and HUD, utilizing Section 8 housing certificates to place over 600 families directly from shelters and the streets into permanent housing. Substance abuse has been a major focus of Dr. O'Connell, and he has served as the Medical Director of the state's first dual diagnosis detoxification unit since 1986. He is the editor of The Health Care of Homeless Persons: A Manual of Communicable Diseases and Common Problems in Shelters and on the Streets.

Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training (MCVET) was created in 1993 to provide homeless veterans and other veterans in need with comprehensive services that will enable them to rejoin their communities as productive citizens. MCVET seeks to provide housing options that systemically prepare the program residents for independent living situations; to provide a continuum of services that identify and effectively address the socioeconomic and health related needs of the program residents and other veterans; to provide education and employment services that identify, develop and enhance the professional and personal skills of the program residents, thereby equipping them for quality job opportunities; and to cultivate partnerships with veteran-specific agencies, donors and funders, service providers and community based organizations that will help fulfill the overall mission of MCVET.

MCVET provides a military structure with a "Veterans Helping Veterans" approach. In a unique partnership with Susquehanna Bank, bank representatives conduct on-site financial workshops on topics such as debt reconciliation, homeownership, investing, and money management. All program participants are required to open a savings account and save 25 percent of their income.

Clark County, Nevada Department of Social Services (DSS) is a grantee under the Social Security Administration's HOPE (Homeless Outreach Program and Evaluation) initiative targeted to persons experiencing chronic homelessness. Clark County received 3-year funding from the Social Security Administration to provide outreach and application assistance to the homeless population.

Under the direction of Patricia K. Pate, Clark County DSS combined outreach, referral, counseling, and housing and medical services to their clients. In addition, medical evidence of record were obtained to support and facilitate the disability application process. In 17 months of operations under the HOPE grant and with the committed effort of staff including HOPE Case Manager Shean Abrams, Clark County DSS enrolled almost twice as many homeless individuals into the HOPE project as projected over the three year period. In addition to successfully assisting homeless individuals file for Social Security benefits, Clark County DSS staff make appropriate referrals for substance abuse, mental health services and housing.

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to work collaboratively toward the prevention of homelessness and the creation of lasting solutions for homeless individuals and families throughout Colorado. CCH operates a model homeless health care program - the Stout Street Clinic - which provides integrated health, mental health and substance treatment to more than 8,000 patients annually. Since 1985, the clinic has improved the health status of more than 75,000 homeless patients through primary health care, integrated mental health, pharmaceuticals, dental care, medical respite care, and linkage to housing. CCH operates four Assertive Community Treatment Teams with the capacity to serve 400 homeless individuals with serious and persistent mental illness, persons with substance abuse disorders, and persons with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.

CCH has developed more than 1000 supportive housing units in the past seven years, with 300 additional units currently under development. Its Renaissance Housing model integrates supportive housing for homeless families and individuals into affordable housing for low and moderate income households. CCH has blended a variety of financing and funding mechanisms to leverage more than $100 million of private and public funding to create quality housing in a variety of settings. In addition, CCH manages more than 800 housing vouchers for families and individuals.

In 2003, CCH established the Denver Housing First Collaborative, that combines a Housing First approach with an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency providers to assist chronically homeless individuals with disabilities to obtain permanent housing, support services and eligible benefits to help them gain the stability needed to end their homelessness. Denver, with CCH as lead agency, is one of 11 sites awarded resources under the federal HUD-HHS-VA Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness. CCH has also won competitive targeted federal homeless resources in the HUD Serial Inebriate Housing demonstration program and the Social Security Administration's HOPE awards.

Life Achievement Award

Ira Greiff retired in 2003 as Executive Director of St. Francis House in Boston, the first permanent multi-service center for homeless people. Mr. Greiff (pictured in above story, bottom right) had been with St. Francis House since 1984, previously serving as Co-Executive Director and Director of Programs and bringing to the work of St. Francis House his pioneering vision of rehabilitative services for persons experiencing homelessness.

Working with Dr. William Anthony, Director of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University, Ira Greiff promoted the idea of integrated treatment and health services, as well as employment services, for homeless persons with disabilities. Under Mr. Greiff's leadership, St. Francis House established the Moving Ahead Program that supports formerly homeless people in creating drug and alcohol-free lives, and the Next Step Transitional Housing Program. Both programs are considered national models that have been replicated around the country. St. Francis House established on-site services with state agencies and the federal Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mr. Greiff was also the principal founder and first President of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, begun in 1988. Mr. Greiff's vision was for all homeless shelters and programs to collaborate, and to participate in joint public policy and budget advocacy.

Pictured here from left to right are John Parvensky, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless; Dr. Jim O'Connell, Boston Health Care for the Homeless; Joe Nunez, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Don Ketcham, Social Security Administration; Mary Ellen Hombs, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness; and William Leone, U.S. Attorney for Colorado.

An underlying theme of The National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders was a focus on results. In opening remarks to Summit participants, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Mangano (pictured here) noted that " there is a great appetite for results-when we have them, we need to make them visible to attract the supporters and investments needed to get the job done." He described some of the results being reported "by geographically and demographically different cities" across the country engaged in the 10-Year Planning process who are already seeing modest reductions in homelessness overall and substantial reductions for the chronically homeless population:

• On Monday, the results of the latest point in time survey showed an 11.5% decline in homelessness in the Denver metro region including a reduction in street homelessness from 1000 to 600 persons since January 2005.
• Just a few weeks ago New York City reported a modest, yet "remarkable" 13% reduction in street population.
• A month ago, Dallas - the sixth largest city in our country - reported an overall decrease of a modest 3.3%, and a reduction in the chronic homeless population of 26%.
• In Miami last month, Mayor Diaz reported in his State of the City address a 30% reduction in the street population.
• In Portland, Oregon street numbers are down 20%, with 600 people experiencing chronic homelessness having been placed into permanent housing.
• In Philadelphia over the last several years the numbers on the streets have fallen more than 50%.
• In San Francisco a reported 28% decrease in homelessness.
• Quincy, Massachusetts has seen a 38% decrease in the unsheltered homeless population and a 19% decrease in chronic homelessness.
• In Nashua, New Hampshire the street number is down 40% and across the state the report is that there is a 7% decrease in homelessness.
• In Westchester County, New York a dramatic decrease of 67% in the last number of years.
• Duluth, Minnesota reports a 15% decrease since 2003.
• In Madison, Wisconsin a 40% decrease in chronic homelessness.
• In Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina the number is down 15%.

On Friday, the Council released a report, Cities Across Country Report Decline in Chronic Homelessness, which provided a detailed look at results reported by cities in 18 states who have documented decreases in chronic homelessness.

In January of this year, the Council reported findings from a survey of 30 of the nation's largest cities implementing 10-Year Plans which indicated that 24,652 housing units had been developed or committed for people experiencing chronic homelessness with another 48,000 units for low income families completed or under development.

"We are at a point in history that in 10 years or 20 years all of us in this room are going to point back to this Summit as the place where suddenly it became real: the fact that we could actually step forward as communities, as a country, and end a blight that most people had come to accept." Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper

Denver's Road Home, the City's 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, was developed by the Denver Commission to End Homelessness with the participation of 350 diverse stakeholders on various committees. The Plan was accepted by Mayor Hickenlooper in July 2005 and by the Denver City Council in September. Roxane White, Manager of the Department of Human Services who chaired the Commission, is heading up the Plan's implementation along with the Mile High United Way. On Friday, Summit participants were offered the opportunity to gain a first hand look at innovative approaches to homelessness in Denver.

Site visits to different programs were offered:

Denver Rescue Mission: The Crossing is a residential living facility offering the New Life rehabilitation program for men; transitional housing for program graduates and homeless families; and housing for interns and visitors. A representative from the Denver Rescue Mission discussed ways in which the faith communities are reaching out and getting involved with Denver's Road Home.

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless: Housing First. Participants were invited to join a formerly homeless resident and staff representative from the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless for a tour of the Renaissance at Civic Center Apartments to see how providers are partnering with the public and private sectors to develop affordable housing to transition homeless adults off of the streets and integrate them into the community.

Urban Peak, is Denver's only licensed homeless and runaway youth shelter. This agency serves young people between the ages of 15 and 24 to assist them in permanently exiting the streets. Participants were able to meet with a panel of youth and youth providers to learn about a hospitality project to employ homeless youth and a substance abuse project, Starting Transition and Recovery, that combines treatment with housing for substance dependent homeless youth.

The City also offered a workshop option, Interactive Media and Denver's Road Home: Creating Community Awareness to learn about efforts coordinated by the Denver Department of Human Services, SE2, and Focii to educate and inform the community about the 10-Year Plan implementation.

Pictured here are Mayor Hickenlooper (left) and Roxane White (speaking).