WASHINGTON, DC. With the release last week of the list of proposed military base closures and realignments, the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission has begun its work in earnest. Commission Chairman Anthony J. Principi, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs and United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Chair (pictured here), will lead the commission in evaluating the Defense Department's recommendations for changes. After evaluating DoD's list, the independent BRAC Commission will submit its own list to the President for review and approval, then to Congress, which must accept or reject the list in its entirety.

Under the proposed list, 33 major base closures, 29 major base realignments, and 775 minor base closures and realignments will be reviewed, including numerous National Guard and Reserve sites. Major Closures are installations recommended for closure with plant replacement value exceeding $100 million, and Major Realignments are installations losing over 400 net total military and civilian personnel.

According to the Department of Defense, redevelopment of former installations requires the coordination of numerous Federal agencies, ranging from technical assistance to discounted conveyances of property for public purposes. Coordination among agencies ensures that assistance provided meets the needs of individual communities. OEA has provided $280 million of financial assistance over the previous four rounds of BRAC activity. Often, OEA funding is used to prepare a local economic recovery strategy that serves as a blueprint for other Federal funding. The leading Federal agency partners, including the Federal Aviation Administration ($760 Million), the Economic Development Administration ($611 Million), and Department of Labor ($223 Million) provided $1.6 Billion in coordinated grant assistance during the last four rounds of the Department's base realignment and closure (BRAC) activities.

Interagency coordination has also facilitated the civilian reuse of former military installations to benefit the public through transfers from the Department of Defense to other Federal agencies, known as Fed-to- Fed transfers; and Federal agency-sponsored public benefit conveyances; community adjustment to the reduction of school impact aid; review of reuse plans for protection of the interests of homeless- assistance providers; environmental regulatory approvals; Federal agency leaseback procedures; surplus property screening; property transfers to other Federal entities; historic property and natural resource agreements; joint-use agreements; and alternative property disposal guidance.

According to DOD's Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), generally, an affected community will work through the following three phases of a downsizing action where property is being made available for civilian use:

1. Organization: Communities in the vicinity of the installation organize to form a "Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA)" responsible for preparation of a reuse plan and potentially the implementation of the plan. LRAs are established locally, sometimes with State assistance, and recognized by the Department of Defense, through OEA. The LRA provides leadership and builds consensus for base reuse.

2. Planning: A redevelopment plan is to be prepared as a blueprint for all disposal and reuse actions. This plan: a) reflects a community consensus for base reuse; b) balances local homeless needs with other economic redevelopment needs; c) provides the basis for title transfer under an Economic Development Conveyance, where applicable; d) is to be considered in the Military Department's property disposal environmental assessment; and e) is the basis for community requests for personal property disposal. This plan also serves as a baseline for the local zoning activity for property that has never been zoned.

3. Implementation: the extent to which the affected community is engaged in implementing reuse of an installation is determined by several local factors. For instance, some communities in "ready markets" may elect to assume their existing land development roles with an emphasis on zoning and impact fees for public infrastructure. Other communities in more challenging redevelopment circumstances may choose to operate as public redevelopment authorities to ensure that reuse is initiated, accelerated, and sustained.

Upcoming key dates in the base closure process will occur throughout 2005. By July 1, the Comptroller General must send to the Congressional defense committees, a report containing a detailed analysis of the Secretary's recommendations and selection process. By September 8, the Commission must transmit to the President "a report containing its findings and conclusions based on a review and analysis of the Secretary's recommendations." By September 23, the President shall transmit to the Commission and to the Congress, "a report containing the President's approval or disapproval of the Commission's recommendations." If the President approves the recommendations, the recommendations are binding 45 "legislative" days after Presidential transmission or adjournment, unless Congress enacts joint resolution of disapproval. By October 20, if the President disapproves the Commission's initial recommendations, the Commission must submit revised recommendations to the President not later than this date. By November 7, the President must approve the revised recommendations and transmit approval to Congress by this date or the process ends. The recommendations become binding 45 "legislative" days after Presidential transmission or adjournment, unless Congress enacts joint resolution of disapproval. The Commission terminates on April 15, 2006.

DOD maintains a web site of resources that can assist a variety of community partners in understanding and participating in the upcoming process, including accommodations to the needs of homeless people in the community. DOD's Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) is the primary source for assisting communities that are adversely impacted by such changes, including base closures or realignments, base expansions, and contract or program cancellations. To assist affected communities, OEA manages and directs the Defense Economic Adjustment Program, and coordinates the involvement of other Federal agencies. Under the 1994 Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act, DOD, in a joint process with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), also plays a role in the community's base reuse planning process and future homeless assistance.

WASHINGTON, DC. New on-line resources are available from the federal agency responsible for moving the nation to a recovery-oriented, consumer- driven treatment system. The United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released two key resources for communities. SAMHSA Administrator Charles Currie is pictured here.

Mental Health Transformation Trends: A Periodic Briefing is an online publication designed to keep mental health partners up to date on emerging issues, practices and trends. Information provided includes updates on the progress in transforming the nation's mental health system at the federal, state and local levels, information on SAMHSA's Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grants as well as a "resource corner" of additional mental health system transformation printed materials and websites. Transformation Trends can be accessed and downloaded electronically at www.samhsa.gov/matrix/matrix_mh.aspx and will be published bi-monthly.

The new National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs 2005 provides information on thousands of alcohol and drug treatment programs located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and four U.S. territories. The directory includes public and private facilities that are licensed, certified, or otherwise approved by substance abuse agencies in each of the states. The directory is a nationwide inventory of substance abuse and alcoholism treatment programs and facilities that is organized and presented in a state-by-state format for quick-reference by health care providers, social workers, managed care organizations, and the general public. This latest SAMHSA directory provides a listing of more than 11,000 community substance abuse treatment programs.

The directory is designed to quickly provide the reader with important information on levels of care and types of facilities, including those with programs for adolescents, persons with co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders, individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and pregnant women. The 2005 directory identifies both long and short-term residential treatment facilities and facilities that provide residential beds for clients' children.

The updated directory complements SAMHSA's internet-based Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator. The internet-based service, which is updated continuously, provides road maps to the nearest treatment facilities, as well as addresses, phone numbers and information on services available. Through this service, both public and private substance abuse treatment facilities in any state, city or community anywhere in the nation are easily located by following simple instructions at the Treatment Locator website http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov. To obtain a free copy of the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs 2005, contact SAMHSA's Clearinghouse or call (800) 729-6686.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA. Declaring that "this is a budget that builds," California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger last week proposed $53 million in new initiatives to end chronic homelessness in the Golden State. The so-called "May Revision" to the State's budget includes proposed funding for permanent supportive housing, technical assistance, and state interagency coordination. Governor Schwartzenegger is pictured here with United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson at the January 2005 California announcement of the HUD homeless funding awards.

According to the proposal, the State's Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), provides an opportunity for collaboration between the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency to reduce chronic homelessness among persons with mental illness. The May Budget Revision proposes the Governor's Chronic Homelessness Initiative, which will redirect $40 million from existing housing bonds and $10 million from the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), along with seed money from the MHSA, to create 400-500 units of permanent housing with services for chronic mentally ill populations, including veterans and youth. These funds will leverage existing tax credits and local funding. It is expected that local government will also contribute from their Proposition 63 funding to provide needed services.

In addition, Proposition 63 will provide $2.4 million of new funding to be available for expenditure for two years and to be used for rent subsidies ($2 million) and to establish collaboratives ($400,000) at the local level to assist counties in developing projects to promote stable housing for homeless persons. The May Revision also includes $250,000 from the General Fund to support state interagency coordination of homeless initiatives.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman last week announced that he will use the City's EVOLVE employment program for ex-offenders to create new employment resources for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. "Assisting these hardest-to-serve populations in securing and retaining employment is challenging, " stated Mayor Goodman. Las Vegas is one of seven cities to participate in a national program to help individuals with barriers to employment secure permanent jobs and progress toward self-sufficiency. EVOLVE, operated through the Las Vegas Neighborhood Services Department, will receive 18 months of technical assistance, access to national experts and opportunities to work with other cities and local community partners to explore options for providing temporary jobs and training opportunities to improve long-term employment opportunities for ex-offenders and others in the community.

EVOLVE, created in 2003, addresses public safety and cost benefit issues resulting from the number of prisoners released in Southern Nevada. EVOLVE assists unemployed and underemployed ex- offenders to achieve self-sufficiency through intensive case management, education, training, and treatment. A majority of inmates leaving prison return to Las Vegas with no savings, no access to stable housing, no health or unemployment benefits, and extremely limited employment options.

In its two-year history, more than 1,929 ex- offenders have accessed the program's resources. EVOLVE has provided intensive services to 265 clients and has successfully placed 70 percent of participants in employment at an average hourly wage in excess of $11 The documented recidivism rate for ex-offenders participating in the EVOLVE program is 10 percent; nationwide, that figure is between 66 and 80 percent. The seven participating cities were selected in a competitive application process to work with the National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education, and Families; the National Transitional Jobs Network; the Transitional Work Corporation; and the Center for Employment Opportunities. The Transitional Jobs Project is funded through grants to the National Transitional Jobs Network from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Rockefeller Foundation. Mayor Goodman is pictured here addressing representatives of Western State government at the United States Interagency Council's Western States Regional Colloquy in April.

WITH THIS ISSUE of the e-news, we continue our focus on innovative initiatives that are ending chronic homelessness. This week's profile features the City of San Francisco initiative called Project Homeless Connect. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is pictured here with 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness leader Angela Alioto and United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano at the June 2004 rollout of the City's Plan.

"Project Homeless Connect is breaking the myth that people do not seek assistance and services and would simply prefer to be on the street," stated Mayor Newsom in an appeal to the citizens of San Francisco to join in a new expression of civic will to end chronic homelessness. "The data prove that when people are approached in a respectful and kind manner, and with available resources, they are eager to accept help towards self-sufficiency. National outreach professionals agree that it takes multiple contacts to build trust towards accepting assistance. The goal of this effort is to do just that."

Project Homeless Connect is a new and successful bimonthly event that encourages both the experienced volunteer and the concerned citizen to work directly with people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco and to help link them to needed services. Volunteers, trained and paired with more experienced workers, encourage homeless people to come to a "linkage station" where they can receive medical treatment, substance abuse and mental health counseling, legal services, sign up for food stamps, GA and SSI benefits, learn more about housing options and get food and other giveaways. Street Outreach workers go out in groups of 2 or 3 to engage clients and help bring them inside to connect with the City's web of social services.

The new initiative is directly linked to the City's 10- Year Plan, in which every action step has an outreach component that includes a Central Intake Point that must be easy to navigate and access all available resources in the City. Implementation leader Angela Alioto stated, " Project Connect is the central intake point. It connects City services and non-profit services to homeless citizens brought in by volunteers. It is a perfect model for connecting homeless people to permanent supportive housing services and at the same time involving the citizens of the City as outreach volunteers. Citizen involvement is essential to our ability to end homelessness. And that is exactly what Project Connect does."

While the City prepares for a fifth citywide event in June, the successes and lessons of Project Homeless Connect 4 are offering planners opportunities to increase both the number of volunteers and the number of clients served. It is the lessons learned and best practices documented that lend the initiative its replicability, as indicated by Director Mangano: "Project Homeless Connect offers a model for communties across the nation to express their political, public, and civic will in ending chronic homelessness."

April's Project Homeless Connect event, where volunteers connected with 1,037 homeless clients, showed that the new initiative - previously staffed by government workers - has taken hold in the City. In October the City recruited 278 volunteers to engage in a survey of the downtown homeless population, which consists of a 60-square block area in the Tenderloin District where 85% of the City's social services currently exist. To date, over 2,000 homeless people have been helped since the first event.

Mayor Newsom's Deputy Chief of Staff Alex Tourk, who spearheads the outreach events, commented, "December's Mass Mobilization event helped evolved the model further. Anticipating the demand, the City put 50 transitional housing units on line, each available for 60 to 90 days. In one afternoon, 54 people (46 singles and four couples) were placed into temporary housing. Just as importantly, all 54 were connected to an intensive case manager, who will assess each of their needs and ensure appointments for substance abuse counseling, medical care, and permanent housing are kept."

Project Homeless Connect uses Graham Auditorium as a one-day, mega service site to help homeless adults, especially those staying on the streets, connect to resources and services. Client Support Services, a specific group of volunteers, assists clients to get from one service area to another, acting as guides, giving directions or escorting clients to the areas where they can get food, services, appointments, whatever they need. Integral to connecting clients with services is providing a suitable atmosphere while they wait for assistance. The activities center provides a means for the clients to occupy themselves while transitioning between services and a forum in which they can connect with volunteers through different activities.

WASHINGTON, DC. A new report examines difficulties and potential benefits that federally-funded Health Care for the Homeless projects can expect as they engage in systematic program evaluation and use that information to improve quality of care and demonstrate the value of their work. Funded by the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Developing Outcome Measures to Evaluate Health Care for the Homeless Services summarizes recommendations by members of the HCH Outcomes Work Group, convened in 2004-2005 by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council to assess the feasibility of measuring HCH service outcomes in a more comprehensive fashion.

"We believe this document will help HCH projects measure the impact of their services to improve quality of care, and that it will similarly influence the development of a shared national approach to demonstrating the effectiveness of HCH services, " stated National Health Care for the Homeless Council Executive Director John Lozier. Lozier's comments echoed the report's introduction, which indicates that Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) grantees need to track measurable outcomes to determine whether their services are having a positive impact on clients and to provide an empirical basis for improving quality of care and ensuring accountability to funders.

The report also points out several factors that pose unique challenges in the field, including that standard clinical outcome measures are sometimes unrealistic for persons who are homeless. The outcomes work group took as its objectives identifying elements of HCH service models that should be assessed, specifying particular outcomes to be measured, determining levels of expertise required to develop effectiveness criteria and indicators, exploring data sources that might be used in tracking outcomes, suggesting data management processes and participants, and projecting the likely cost of meaningful outcomes measurement.

Health Care for the Homeless projects receive federal funding under Section 330(h) of the Health Centers Consolidation Act of 1996. Health Care for the Homeless Programs are proposed for a 17.9% increase in the President's FY 06 budget. $2.0 billion is sought for Health Centers in medically underserved areas, a $304 million increase, fulfilling the President's commitment to create or expand 1200 center sites by 2006 and begin the commitment to establish a center in every high poverty area that can support one through the creation of 40 new sites in high poverty counties at a cost of $26 million. Almost 2.4 million additional individuals will receive health care in 2006 through over 570 new or expanded sites in rural or underserved areas.

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. Seeking to mobilize Georgia's homeless provider and service organizations to enhance the level of effectiveness of its statewide Policy Academy Action Plan, a two- day planning event convened last week to bring together government leaders and homeless providers from throughout Georgia for "Building Bridges to Mainstream Services for Georgians Experiencing Homelessness." Attendees sought to create a collaborative planning process and build on existing efforts through a cross-regional infrastructure that promotes a higher level of interagency and local cooperation and participation. Among their priorities are improving the coordination of services to homeless families and individuals by the development of regional action planning steps and developing and strengthening relationships among elected officials, program administrators, and stakeholders.

Georgia Coalition to End Homelessness Executive Director and Georgia Policy Academy Team Member Katheryn Preston welcomed attendees and presenters. Savannah Mayor Otis S. Johnson, Ph.D., opened the session by informing the packed assembly that he was no stranger to the issue of homelessness and stated his firm commitment to bring people and resources together to enable lives and end homelessness in his city.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region IV Coordinator Michael German greeted conferees, who also heard from representatives of federal, state, and private sectors partners, including the VA Medical Center in Dublin, Georgia Departments of Family and Children Services, Mental Health, Community Affairs, and Pardons and Parole, United Way of Atlanta, and Savannah Homeless Authority.