Senate introduction of the Samaritan Initiative legislation is expected in the U.S. Senate soon. The Senate legislation is nearly identical to H.R. 4057, the bill introduced in the House of Representatives in March by Representative Rick Renzi (R-AZ). The Senate bill is expected to be referred to the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation chaired by Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO) (pictured here).

In Senator Allard's home state, the precursor to the Samaritan Initiative is already demonstrating measurable results. The Denver Housing First Collaborative, one of the 11 initiatives awarded federal funds last October under the HUD/HHS/VA Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness, has now moved into permanent supportive housing 55 of a planned 60 persons experiencing chronic homelessness. Eleven Denver agencies are partnering to create a comprehensive and integrated strategy to provide a total of 100 units of permanent housing, 60 units directly funded through the Collaborative grant award and another 40 leveraged through the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless is lead partner for the $3.4 million awarded to the Denver Housing First Collaborative, which includes the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and its Stout Street Clinic which, together with Denver Health, is providing primary care services; the Denver Department of Human Services, the Mental Health Corporation of Denver, Arapahoe House which is providing substance abuse treatment services, and the Denver VA Medical Center.

BOISE, IDAHO. "Finally, some good ideas on homelessness! We can't just fix the short-term problems without having a long-term plan on homelessness," said Boise City Mayor David Bieter when he first heard about the federal strategy to end chronic homelessness. According to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region X Coordinator Paul Carlson, who recently travelled to Idaho, Boise's new mayor faced a crisis in the operation of the city's primary shelter soon after taking office. After hearing the details of the national strategy last March, Mayor Bieter immediately set up a Boise/Ada County Interagency Council on Homelessness charged with creating a 10-Year Plan. Boise successfully met its short-term challenge of the pending closure of the shelter and is now hard at work developing a plan that is scheduled to be complete in January.

With a largely rural population of 1.3 million, Idaho has nevertheless seen increasing homelessness, with an estimated need for 1000 new units of supportive housing, according to Paul Carlson, who pointed out that Boise, with a population of 300,000, also has an encampment along the Boise River. Stated Carlson, "When you visit the Corpus Christi Ministries' day shelter in downtown Boise, homeless people echo the same wish as homeless people everywhere: 'Help us get housing and jobs'."

POCATELLO, IDAHO. "People don't think of Pocatello having a homeless problem, but it is here, and we are going to do something about it!" says Mayor Roger Chase, who is moving his city forward on a planning process and participating in a regional plan. Mayor Chase has charged his staff to work with community leaders, homeless providers and advocates to devise a local plan that follows national strategies to end chronic homelessness.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. In their first- ever conference on homelessness bringing together an expansive group of partners, including government officials, providers, advocates, and consumers, the Riverside County, CA, Housing and Homeless Coalition gathered earlier this week to hear a national perspective on their commitment to a 10-Year Plan from United States Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano, who was invited to keynote the event. Father Andrew Green, Coalition Chair, and Riverside County Supervisor Roy Wilson kicked off the conference with local perspectives. Later sessions focused on public-private partnerships and integrating faith-based partners into county initiatives with remarks by the United States Department of Labor's Jeff Chism, and updates on a "zero tolerance" resolution on discharge to homelessness and the county's homeless census. Rounding out the day was a session entitled "From NIMBY to Neighbor" focused on housing initiatives.

"Riverside County has set in motion a plan that impacts every citizen of Riverside County and gives them the assurance that the quality of life for those who are homeless and those who are housed will be improved. Riverside County is saying that all of its citizens will be known by a single name - neighbor - and treated as one, " stated Director Mangano. Pictured here are Riverside County Homeless Coordinator Joan Thirkettle, Council Director Mangano, Riverside County Department of Public Social Services Assistant Director Jo Weber, Riverside County Department of Public Social Services Administrative Manager for Homeless Programs Cathy Welborn and County Supervisor Roy Wilson. While in Southern California, Director Mangano also met with Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Brett Franklin and Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater to discuss 10-Year Plans.

The Arizona State Capitol was the setting last week for the second meeting of the Arizona Governor's Interagency and Community Council on Homelessness, created in June 2004 by Executive Order by Governor Janet Napolitano. Charged to act as a statewide homelessness planning and policy development resource, the Council is working to produce a plan to prevent and end homelessness in Arizona using evidence-based improvements to programs and policies that will ensure services and housing are provided in an efficient, cost-effective, and productive manner. The Council has taken as its mission "to end homelessness in Arizona by providing housing and supportive services through state level policy, infrastructure, and funding."

Council Co-chairs Arizona Economic Security Department Director Dave Berns and Housing Department Director Sheila Harris convened the meeting, which focused on strategies for supportive services, including development of measurable outcomes and implementation of evaluation processes using a logic model. Public-private partnership is a key emphasis for the Council. Federal, state, and local partners have joined the Virginia G.Piper Charitable Trust in developing a statewide program evaluation process.

State Homeless Coordinator Charlene Moran Flaherty of the Office of Economic Security described proposed measurable outcomes that include decreasing the number of people living on the streets and the length of stay in shelters, and increasing the effectiveness of prevention efforts, movement to permanent housing, and availability of supportive housing. Working committees on youth development, information sharing, discharge planning, and risk assessment have been formed to carry out key tasks. Ms. Flaherty also described the proposed interdepartmental Data Warehouse, which would roll up data to the state level to measure progress in implementation of the state plan.

At the invitation of the Council, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano addressed the meeting and commended the public-private partnership that has been created to reach the Council's goals. Present for the meeting were state agency representatives working on issues of children, youth and families, health care, criminal justice, education, veterans' services, and information technology. While in Arizona, Director Mangano also met with Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon whose city is partnering with other jurisdictions in a Maricopa County-wide planning process, and Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup whose industrial engineering background provides a unique perspective on "engineering" the 10-Year process.

More than 400 people from across the country gathered in Chicago this week for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) National Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) Conference. Representing providers, advocates, system developers, administrators, and users, consumers, researchers, state and local government, and community funders, the conferees came together to focus on HMIS planning and implementation, integration of HMIS into homeless program operations, and key data and policy issues. Among the topics covered were strategies for data collection in street engagement programs, using HMIS data to benchmark 10-Year Plans, and HMIS issues for members of HUD/HHS/VA/DOL Policy Academy teams.

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Patricia Carlile opened the conference, and was joined by HUD's Special Needs Assistance Programs Program Coordination and Analysis Division Director Michael Roanhouse. Researchers Dr. Dennis Culhane of the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Martha Burt of the Urban Institute provided insight into how other data collection methods can amplify homeless program data for policymaking.

On July 30, 2004, HUD released the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) Data and Technical Standards Final Notice. The Final Notice establishes standards for the types of information that homeless assistance providers collect from homeless persons in the course of providing services and creates privacy standards to protect client confidentiality. The Final Notice responds to public comments received by HUD following the issuance of a draft Notice in July 2003. The standards were developed with extensive input from a panel of experts composed of local homeless assistance providers, representatives from national advocacy organizations, state and federal government representatives, and leading researchers.

Convening in Phoenix, Arizona, with a theme of "Open Hearts, Open Hands, Open Minds," the National Society of St. Vincent de Paul last week welcomed its government and community partners along with 700 attendees from across North America to its annual conference. Public and private partners were in evidence for the day, with Secretary of State Jan Brewer and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon offering opening remarks, along with National St. Vincent de Paul President Stephen Jenkins and Director Nancy Spencer, and Steve Zabilski, Society Executive Director in Phoenix. The Society operates programs across the country to put into practice its philosophy of person-to-person service. Having been on the forefront of services to homeless people for decades, the Society is now contemplating a more significant role in public policy deliberations related to homelessness.

United States Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano (pictured here), who was invited to keynote the conference, was introduced by St. Vincent de Paul Board Member Charlene Moran Flaherty, who is also a member of the Arizona Interagency Council. He stressed the importance of the "person-to-person" actions that are central to the Society's philosophy: "Involving the consumer helps us hit the mark and often the bull's-eye with our planning. When we know 'place' is the most important resource to the consumer that influences our partnership and plans. A consumer-centric plan makes common sense. And the intent of all of our partnering, all of our planning, and all of our resources should be to provide the consumer with what they want - a place to live."

Phoenix, home to the largest St. Vincent de Paul Council in the nation, also offered attendees a chance to visit the city's Day Resource Center, a pilot one-stop program that went into operation in June to centralize services for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. The Center's partner agencies are the Arizona Department of Economic Security, which administers Medicaid, Food Stamps, SSI, and General Assistance, as well as the Southwest Behavioral Health/PATH outreach team, Health Care for the Homeless, Central Arizona Shelter Services, and ValueOptions, Maricopa County's for-profit Medicaid managed care provider.

. . . that the St. Vincent de Paul Society, first established in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1845, assisted almost 14,000,000 people in the United States last year, through homelessness prevention program, including rent and utility assistance, emergency services, including food programs and pantries, and shelter and housing.

. . . that Society programs also assist persons involved with the criminal justice system through prison visiting, halfway house programs, treatment and employment programs, and services for victims of crime.

. . . that last year's record $1.27 billion in HUD homeless assistance awards to over 3,700 projects nationally included over 600 awards totalling $168 million to faith-based organizations, representing a record commitment to faith-based grantees in the history of McKinney-Vento funding. 2003 was the third consecutive year that McKinney funds increased.

WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-newsletter continues a series of reports on veterans' Stand Down events around the country. Stand Downs are community- based events targeted to homeless veterans and designed to offer a welcoming atmosphere, a safe gathering place, and easy access to a broad range of services for homeless veterans. Stand Downs are derived from the military practice of 'standing down" from customary activity or the front line.

At Ligaht House Field and Recreation Center in Philadelphia for 3 days last week, long-time Stand Down sponsor Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service and Education Center brought essential services to 275 veterans in need, with 80 veterans receiving counseling for housing issues from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Veteran Resource Center (HUDVET). Among the veterans were some who received assistance in previous years and now have become homeowners, and others who secured long-term rental situations.

United States Department of Labor Deputy Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training Charles S. Ciccolella was on site for the Stand Down, which was supported by DOL/VETS, Veterans' Employment and Training Service. Other partners included the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Education, Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and Corps of Engineers, plus the City of Philadelphia, Keystone Mercy and the Red Cross.

Pictured here is the HUDVET tent at the Stand Down. HUDVET is a partnership between National Veteran Service Organizations and HUD, providing an online directory to increase veterans' knowledge of HUD homeless assistance programs and services for veterans and other individuals who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-newsletter continues its focus on elements of the Title V federal surplus property and opportunities to secure resources for homeless programs under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

What do Alaska, Alabama, California, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas have in common with Hawaii, Iowa, Oklahoma, Alabama, Montana, and Virginia? They are some of the 25 states with surplus land and buildings listed in the weekly Federal Register announcement of Title V property under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

The Title V program is historically an interagency initiative involving the federal landholding agencies, and with specific roles for the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services, the General Services Administration, and the U.S Interagency Council on Homelessness. The Council and its federal partners in the Title V process have convened a policy work group on the Title V program to support the President's commitment to end chronic homelessness in 10 years and expand policy coordination and collaboration to benefit people experiencing homelessness.

Properties listed as suitable/available will be available exclusively for homeless use for a period of 60 days from the date of this Notice. Where property is described as for ``off-site use only'' recipients of the property will be required to relocate the building to their own site at their own expense. Homeless assistance providers interested in any such property should send a written expression of interest to HHS, addressed to Heather Ransom, Division of Property Management, Program Support Center, HHS, room 5B- 17, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857; (301) 443-2265. (This is not a toll-free number.) HHS will mail to the interested provider an application packet, which will include instructions for completing the application. In order to maximize the opportunity to utilize a suitable property, providers should submit their written expressions of interest as soon as possible. For complete details concerning the processing of applications, the reader is encouraged to refer to the interim rule governing this program, 24 CFR part 581.