In this issue... HENDERSON, NC, BELLINGHAM, WA, AND MOBILE, AL, ARE LATEST COMMUNITIES TO COMMIT TO 10-YEAR PLANS 23 HOMELESS VETERANS AMONG 164 REMEMBERED AT ANNUAL MASSACHUSETTS MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE GREATER NY VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA PAY TRIBUTE TO LATE CEO WHO BUILT PATHS OUT OF HOMELESSNESS INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE: GENNESARET FREE CLINIC RESPITE PROGRAM ENDS HOMELESSNESS WITH HOUSING AND HEALTH CARE FEDERAL PARTNER PROFILE: JUNE 3 HUD WEBCAST TO DETAIL NOFA FOCUS ON CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS, PERMANENT HOUSING, AND PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES IN CURRENT $1 BILLION HOMELESS ASSISTANCE FUNDING DID YOU KNOW. . . REGIONAL COORDINATOR PROFILE: SALLY SHIPMAN, REGION VI FEDERAL PROPERTY: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WEED & SEED PROGRAM AT WORK IN LAWRENCE, MA, HELPS RESTORE NEIGHBORHOODS AND INCREASE ACCESS TO TREATMENT

HENDERSON, NC, BELLINGHAM, WA, AND MOBILE, AL, ARE LATEST COMMUNITIES TO COMMIT TO 10-YEAR PLANS

Henderson NC, City Council members voted to create a 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Henderson and surrounding Vance County on May 24. Martha Are, Homeless Policy Specialist for the NC Department of Health and Human Services and leader of the state's Federal Policy Academy Team, addressed the Council before the vote, stating, "New federal and state initiatives can help local communities end homelessness. The proposed 10-Year Plan will take a business plan approach and use limited resources strategically." U.S. Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano, who visited Henderson Mayor Donald Seifert, Jr., in April to encourage the 10-Year Planning process, welcomed the Council's vote, observing, "At 16,000 population, Henderson is probably the smallest community in the nation to step forward to endorse this process. Mayor Seifert sees the wisdom of helping Henderson's homeless neighbors through a partnered planning process. They will be an example for other communities throughout the country."

Bellingham, WA, Mayor Mark Asmundson and Whatcom County Executive Pete Kremen last week endorsed a city/county process for a jurisdictional 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. "We have been moved into action," stated Whatcom County Deputy Administrator, Dewey Desler. The City and County, which have a combined population of 166,800, will be assigning staff and resources to focus on the development and implementation of the plan and are considering staging a Homeless Summit in 2005 to bring together homeless organizations, the business community, the faith community, and other stakeholders. "We look forward to working in partnership with the Interagency Council," said Desler.

Calling chronic homelessness an "economic development issue as well as a social service issue," Mobile, AL, Mayor Mike Dow endorsed a Mobile/Baldwin County process to develop a 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness on May 25, naming former State Senator and Chair of the Mobile Tricentennial Ann Bedsole (pictured above in center of Task Force), to head the planning process. The Chronic Homeless Task Force will report out a plan in 2005 to end homelessness in the area, where data show that 75% of the 350 people found in a census by the Homeless Coalition of the Gulf Coast are from the local area.

Read examples of 10-Year Plans

	23 HOMELESS VETERANS AMONG 164 REMEMBERED AT ANNUAL MASSACHUSETTS MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE
Twenty-three homeless veterans of military service who died during the last year in Massachusetts were among those remembered during the Commonwealth's 15th Annual Interfaith Memorial Service held on Boston Common on May 26. Pictured here are the headstones made for each person and marked by a flag where military service is known. Of the 164 homeless men and women who were identified from across the state by homeless programs, friends, and other homeless people as having died during the previous year, 23, including one woman, were known to have served in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or National Guard. The service is held in conjunction with Memorial Day each year. All 164 homeless individuals were recognized during the service. Where known, their name, along with the veteran's branch of service, was read aloud by readers who included state and local officials, homeless people, homeless program staff, and representatives of faith- based organizations. Pictured here reading names aloud is State Representative Byron Rushing of Boston. Social Action Ministries, a faith based initiative of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA) annually organizes the service in collaboration with Faith into Action Together, a program of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. At the conclusion of the service, MHSA Executive Director Joe Finn observed, "We know this may be the only memorial some of these individuals receive. The tragedy of these deaths signifies the urgent need to end homelessness by moving people from streets and shelters to housing. We must also ensure that no service member now on duty in Iraq or Afghanistan faces a future of homelessness."

	GREATER NY VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA PAY TRIBUTE TO LATE CEO WHO BUILT PATHS OUT OF HOMELESSNESS
The entire 400-plus person staff of the Volunteers of America- Greater New York (VOA) paid tribute to their late CEO Richard Salyer at their annual employee gathering last week in Rye Brook, New York. The regional VOA, which is the largest private provider of services for homeless people in the area, annually convenes the entire staff for the event. Richard Salyer, who became Greater New York President in 1982, died March 16, 2004. The Greater New York VOA is the largest private provider of services to homeless people in the region. When Richard Slayer became President in 1992, the organization's budget was $3 million and included three programs for homeless people. At the time of his death, the regional VOA budget was $90 million and most of its 53 programs were focused on the needs of homeless men, women, and children. According to regional VOA data, last year the agency served over 30,0000 people and placed 1,000 men and 400 families into permanent housing. U.S. Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano (pictured above with VOA-GNY Acting President and CEO Linda McNeil and National VOA President Charles Gould), told the VOA staff, "Today you are marking the expansive and spiritual witness of Richard Salyer to our poorest neighbors. During his life some said of him that he was way out on a limb, alone, with his commitment to the poorest. They said he was wasting his time and resources, that there were no answers, no solutions. But Richard was hardly out on a limb and never alone. Quite to the contrary, he was at the root, the root of homelessness. And he was not alone because he served with all of you. Together in partnership you were fashioning the tools and strategies to uproot this evil known as homelessness from our land. That's Richard's legacy. That all of you are continuing his uprooting work. It's an honor to be with you to memorialize him." U.S. Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano also met with Yonkers, NY, Mayor Philip Amicone (pictured here) about Yonkers' 10-Year Planning process. Yonkers, with a population of 200,000, is the fourth largest city in New York and the largest city in Westchester County. Mayor Amicone has begun the process to create the Plan working with Interagency Council Regional Coordinator Carleton Lewis to ensure broad stakeholder involvement.

	INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE: GENNESARET FREE CLINIC RESPITE PROGRAM ENDS HOMELESSNESS WITH HOUSING AND HEALTH CARE
WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-newsletter continues its focus on innovative initiatives to end chronic homelessness. Indianapolis' Gennesaret Free Clinic is a well-established health care program with over 350 volunteer health care professionals providing over 12,000 medical and dental care visits at 13 sites in the area for homeless and poor people. Gennesaret has combined its health care commitment with a focus on housing since it embarked upon a new health service in 2000 to provide eight homeless men with respite transitional care through its Health Recovery Program, the first and only respite in Indiana and one committed to housing its residents post-recovery. Individuals are admitted to the program post-discharge from local hospitals when facing recovery from illness, injury, or surgery and when their homelessness would leave them to recover on the streets or in shelters. The Program is firmly committed "to correct the instability and anguish that homelessness brings by working to provide a housing opportunity for each man upon discharge." This commitment to housing shows in the outcomes for the 126 men who have been served in the respite to date. The Health Recovery program has placed 86% of residents in permanent or transitional housing on discharge from the respite. The Program staff work with clients for at least one year after discharge to ensure housing stability and self- sufficiency. According to Program Manager Mark Douglas, "this program shows that you cannot assure health care without housing. Reliable, stable housing is the rest of the prescription, especially for homeless people with chronic illnesses." The respite uses a residential model with private rooms for all residents. Caregivers live on-site to provide 24/7 support, including comprehensive health care, case management, medication management, and transportation to other services. Major diagnoses are orthopedic injury, HIV related illness, foot and leg problems, coronary diseases, and cancer. An average of 37 individuals are admitted annually to the respite, with an average length of stay of 70 days. The Health Recovery Program reports that use of the program eliminated emergency room visits and an average of two hospital stays per person. Of those individuals served in the first three years of the program, 20% were reported as veterans. 36% were assisted with employment and 21% secured full-time or part-time employment. 38% were assisted with disability claims. The commitment to a housing outcome marks the result that sets this respite program apart. Read more about the Health Recovery Program »

	FEDERAL PARTNER PROFILE: JUNE 3 HUD WEBCAST TO DETAIL NOFA FOCUS ON CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS, PERMANENT HOUSING, AND PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES IN CURRENT $1 BILLION HOMELESS ASSISTANCE FUNDING
WITH THIS ISSUE, we continue our focus on the federal partners in the Interagency Council with a profile of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's current funding competition. HUD WILL HOST A FREE INFORMATIONAL SATELLITE WEBCAST BRIEFING ON THIS NOFA ON THURSDAY, JUNE 3, FROM 11 AM - 1:30 PM EASTERN. View the webcast at http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/index.cfm. Approximately $1 billion in McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funds became available with the May 14 publication of the annual Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Applications for new or renewal project funding are due July 27, 2004. The larger HUD SUPERNOFA, covering 50 programs and $2.3 billion, noted that HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson (pictured here at the April 1 Interagency Council meeting) has "pledged that HUD's grant programs will be used to support the President's goal and more adequately meet the need of chronically homeless persons." For more information on other changes and requirements, see the 2004 NOFA. Key themes of the NOFA include: ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS. To help reach the Administration's goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2012, HUD will award 10% of the 2004 appropriation to housing initiatives predominantly serving persons experiencing chronic homelessness, including new or renewal transitional or permanent housing. At least 70% of clients of these projects must qualify as persons experiencing chronic homelessness prior to program entrance. HUD requires that continuum applicants forward a "realistic strategy" for ending chronic homelessness that is performance-based, goal oriented, and include specific action steps. HUD requires applicants to describe the coordination taking place between the continuum's 10-year plan and the jurisdictionally-based 10-year plans to end chronic homelessness of individual jurisdictions. HUD also requires documentation of "working partnerships" in communities to develop and implement prevention strategies and appropriate discharge planning policies and protocols to help end chronic homelessness. Finally, continuums will need to describe the changes in the number of chronically homeless persons reported in last year's application versus the number reported in the 2004 application. EXPANDING PERMANENT HOUSING. In addition to the Congressional requirement that 30% of funds awarded must support permanent housing, HUD has instituted a new approach to housing bonus funds, moving from $750,000 per continuum last year to a sliding scale bonus amount based on the continuum's pro rata need figure. Two new bonus levels will be added based on the pro rata need figure. For a continuum with a pro rata figure of $10 million or more, the 2004 bonus is $2 million. For a continuum with a pro rata of $5 million or more and less than $10 million, the 2004 bonus is $1.5 million. All other continuums receive a $750,000 potential bonus or their pro rata, whichever is less. To find your area's pro rata need, see http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/apply/2004nofa/coc/index.cfm RATING PROGRAM PERFORMANCE. A new 5-point scoring factor for renewal programs requires reporting of outcomes achieved by funded programs. A continuum must aggregate APR data reported in Exhibit 1 on the percentage outcomes in ending chronic homelessness and helping homeless people reach permanent housing. Outcomes must be reported for permanent housing (housing retained for 6 months), transitional programs (permanent housing placements achieved), and supportive services (mainstream programs accessed and employment obtained). Read more about new developments in the NOFA »

	DID YOU KNOW. . .
. . .that the Volunteers of America is one of the nation's largest faith-based organizations providing services and housing to persons experiencing homelessness. Founded in 1896, VOA established the first network of halfway houses for individuals leaving prison. VOA currently provides housing to more than 20,0000 low-income people, including families, the elderly and people with disabilities, in 138 housing developments in 28 states. . . .you can now go on-line to subscribe to the Council's weekly e-newsletter. Visit the Council's web site at http://www.ich.gov and click on "Subscribe to the U.S. Interagency Council e-newsletter" in the "In the News" box on the right.

	REGIONAL COORDINATOR PROFILE: SALLY SHIPMAN, REGION VI
WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-newsletter continues its profiles of the Council's Regional Coordinators, with a focus this week on Sally Shipman (pictured here), Region IV Coordinator serving New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The Region VI Federal Interagency Council meets quarterly to promote the development of city and state 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness. All five states in the Region have active State Interagency Councils on Homelessness. Albuquerque, NM, Baton Rouge, LA, and Shreveport, LA, have completed CEO-endorsed 10- Year Plans (see: http://www.ich.gov/2004.html). Shreveport's Mayor Hightower, in announcing his city's plan, proclaimed January 6, 2004, "HOPE for the Homeless- Ending Homelessness: What It Will Take" Day in Shreveport. Eight other cities have CEO- endorsed 10-Year Plans in the development process. Houston/Harris County became the most recent addition to the Region VI list in April 2004 when both the City and County passed resolutions to create a 10- Year Plan. Sally Shipman, speaking about her work with the Council, stated, "City Councils have developed plans for economic development, public works, parks, capital improvements, and zoning for decades. Why not plan to end homelessness? When elected officials and diverse leaders join together to improve the quality of life of all residents, the community wins." Ms. Shipman joined the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness from a position at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where she provided technical assistance to 54 Continuum of Care grantees in the Houston metropolitan area. As a City Council member in Austin, Texas, Ms. Shipman initiated the City's Task Force on Homelessness. She has served as the Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County and chair of the Texas Interagency Council for the Homeless, as well as on the Board of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. She has a Master's degree in Community and Regional Planning and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Read more about the Council's Regional Coordinators »

	FEDERAL PROPERTY: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WEED & SEED PROGRAM AT WORK IN LAWRENCE, MA, HELPS RESTORE NEIGHBORHOODS AND INCREASE ACCESS TO TREATMENT
WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-newsletter continues its focus on federal property and opportunities to secure resources for homeless programs. The e-newsletter previously focused on the Weed & Seed program housed within the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs' Community Capacity Development Office. This e-newsletter examines how Lawrence, MA, has used this innovative and comprehensive multi-agency federal, state, and local law enforcement and community investment initiative to generate additional benefits in community policing, law enforcement, neighborhood restoration, and intervention, prevention, and treatment. Programs seek to prevent violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity and improve the quality of life in targeted neighborhoods. Lawrence, MA, Mayor Michael Sullivan (pictured here) last month announced a 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in his city. Lawrence's DOJ Weed & Seed site, headed by Program Director Richard Rodriguez, was one of ten recognized in 2003 for a Coordination Honor Award for exemplary and effective work in implementing the community's Weed & Seed strategy. Many sites address community housing needs, including the needs of people who are homeless, in their strategy. Through the Weed & Seed process, seized properties may become available for redevelopment by Weed & Seed partners. Some sites have partnered with local service agencies to leverage Weed & Seed funding to renovate local abandoned buildings. Lawrence recognized not only the scope of the local drug problem but also the importance of access to treatment as part of its Weed & Seed strategy. Working with the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Weed & Seed has, to date earmarked a total of $20,000 from the site budget to transport individuals to nine different detox programs in the region. Of the 100 persons admitted to detox under this program, 80 were successful in completing their stay. There are currently over 300 officially recognized Weed & Seed sites across the country, with an average of 30 more added each year. Sites interested in eligibility to receive discretionary funding from participating federal agencies and DOJ Weed & Seed funds, and participate in federal training and technical assistance and conferences must first be officially recognized. To find out if there are recognized sites in your area or to find out more about initiating a Weed & Seed site, visit the Weed & Seed website. Read more about Weed & Seed »

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