FORT WORTH, TEXAS. "You can still ladle the soup and you can still write the checks," said United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano acknowledging the philanthropic and humanitarian generosity of the 250 mostly business leaders gathered at a luncheon sponsored by Downtown Fort Worth Inc. this week. "But now I think you're being called to a different duty in your city," he said, as he urged them to extend their business acumen to the effort underway to develop and implement a 10-Year Plan to end chronic homelessness in Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

The invitation to address the business community had been extended by Downtown Fort Worth President Andy Taft. Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief, who has appointed an Advisory Commission on Homelessness to lead development of a plan, also urged the business community to get involved. "Those sleeping in the shelters or under bridges are part of the Fort Worth family, and it's time we came together to help them. Those who don't think homelessness affects them are wrong. This problem affects all of us. It impacts our workplaces. It impacts our neighborhoods. It impacts our quality of life. . . Eliminating homelessness is a priority for me, for this city council, and for Fort Worth as a whole. . . I know Fort Worth can rally around this issue to find meaningful, long-term solutions."

Pictured here, l-r, City Homeless Coordinator Otis Thornton, Mayor Moncrief, Director Mangano, and Downtown Fort Worth President Taft.

Director Mangano noted that the most successful 10-Year Plan efforts-- those that have begun achieving reductions in street homelessness-- have qualities that are also present in Fort Worth. First, is the political will of the jurisdictional CEO. "Your Mayor has demonstrated his intent, both professionally and personally, to effect the remedy here in Fort Worth", said Director Mangano. "Without that political will, plans sit on shelves. With it, they are implemented and show results." Second, they have a point person to drive the process, something Fort Worth has done with the appointment of Otis Thornton as the city's homelessness coordinator, and third, a business community willing to get involved. "Others may know more about homeless people than you. But you may know more about how to end homelessness than they," said Director Mangano emphasizing the business community cost benefit acumen and expectation of results from investments.

This week Mayor Moncrief is leading a 22 person Study Group of business and community leaders on a trip to Denver, Seattle, and Los Angeles to "see first hand what works and what doesn't." In meetings with the Advisory Commission and with the Study Group, Director Mangano described the National Partnership being constellated by the Council. "Communities creating jurisdictionally-led community-based 10-Year Plans that are infused with political will, shaped around business principles, informed by cost benefit, concentrating resources, focused on housing, investing in innovations, and that anticipate a return on investments in results, are seeing the numbers on their streets and in their shelters decline for the first time in 20 years, said Director Mangano.

DALLAS TEXAS. In his inaugural remarks following his election in June, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert spoke of the city's potential for greatness-"our people are our city" - and noting the many citizens he and his wife Laura had met during the campaign said, " When it comes right down to it, most people want the same things . . . a clean, safe place to live. . . a feeling of being included . . . to have their voice heard in their community. . . all of us want hope and the promise of opportunity today . . . and into the future. For this, we must bring all our people together. . . and understand that our interests and goals are intertwined. . . " This week in his first meeting with United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Philip Mangano that also included Dallas homeless czar Mike Rawlings and Council Team Leader Michael German, Mayor Leppert expressed his support for the continued implementation of Dallas 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. In April, Dallas, the nation's 9th largest city in its 3rd year of Plan implementation, reported a 23% decrease in chronic homelessness over the last year, bringing the decrease in chronic homelessness to 43% over two years.

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE. The change to the Volunteer Ministry Center logo unveiled by VMC Executive Director Ginny Weatherstone at a 20th anniversary service of celebration and thanksgiving at St. John's Episcopal Church on Sunday is more than just symbolic. The roofline that now appears above the VMC letters artfully gives testimony to the Center's changing orientation from serving homeless people through emergency day shelter services to solving homelessness through permanent housing.

Invited to speak at the celebration service (pictured top), United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano praised the giving power of the citizens of Knoxville through two decades of volunteerism at the Volunteer Ministry Center and noted that the VMC's food and shelter emergency programs had planted many seeds of charity from which the VMC is now moving forward "to ensure there is a harvest of justice. . . by creating the very remedy homeless people have wanted, the central antitdote to their condition, namely, a place to live." In addition to operating 16 single-room occupancy units for single, homeless men with some income that are rent-subsidized by the local housing authority above its current offices, VMC is creating 50 permanent supportive housing units through the renovation of the former 5th Avenue Motel.

VMC is among the many community partners that helped develop the Knoxville- Knox County Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness which adopts a housing first strategy and called for the appointment of a joint city-county point person to oversee progress. The joint city- county 10-Year Plan effort was initiated by Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and chaired by (now retired) University of Tennessee College of Social Work Associate Dean Dr. Roger Nooe and City Community Development official Mike Dunthorn. In May, Mayors Haslam and Ragsdale appointed Jon Lawler, an experienced real estate developer with a record of community and pastoral service, to lead the Plan implementation following Dr. Nooe who had guided the transition from planning to implementation.

On Monday, Director Mangano was invited by Mayors Haslam and Ragsdale to join them and Mr. Lawler to speak at a breakfast meeting of business leaders to discuss why the 10-Year Plan effort to end chronic homelessness is important to the community and how involvement of the business community is critical to successful plan implementation and also at a luncheon meeting of church and congregation leaders to discuss faith based partnership efforts in successful 10- Year Plan efforts. Pictured are, l-r, Mr. Dunthorn, Mayor Haslam, Director Mangano, Mayor Ragsdale, and Mr. Lawler. Director Mangano had spoken at the plan unveiling at the invitation of the Mayors and more recently had presented the President's Call to Service Award to two VMC volunteers, Kennett Hobbs and Dr. Reuben Pelot.

In his remarks, Director Mangano noted that successful implementation of 10-Year Plans improve the quality of life for everyone in the community; that better research has identified strategies that work based on results data, not anecdote; that these field tested, evidence based strategies, including housing first and other rapid rehousing efforts, should be the focus of investment; that these rapid re-housing efforts targeted to folk who have been long term on the streets or in shelters and "for whom we thought a blanket and a bowl of soup was the best we could do" have an 85% retention rate; that the economic impact of chronic homelessness revealed through cost benefit studies in 65 10-Year Plan communities and elsewhere shows costs to community systems of the current status quo to be up to $120,000 a person per year or more; and that as implementation proceeds, savings to community systems can be reinvested in permanent housing solutions.

Director Mangano spoke of being in Quincy, Massachusetts last week for a " rare occurrence that will become common place." A shelter was being shut down " not because of NIMBY complaining, but because of Numbers of homeless declining"-a 45% drop in street homelessness over the past three years. 32 cities across the country are experiencing the first reductions in street and chronic homelessness in more than 20 years, said Director Mangano.

HILLSBORO, OREGON. Washington County is the second largest county in Oregon and borders Portland/Multnomah County. On Monday, Washington County Commissioners endorsed development of a plan to end homelessness by committing $40,000 in local government funding for consulting assistance to develop the plan. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region 10 Coordinator Paul Carlson, who congratulated the Commissioners after their vote and encouraged them to actively oversee the plan's development, reports that the plan will be a collaborative effort of the county and the cities of Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Tigard and will identify current and future resource needs to end homelessness.

Newly appointed homeless coordinator Annette Evans and Community Services Director Susan Wilson will help coordinate the effort which is expected to be completed by March 2008. Washington County has already moved forward to adopt the Project Homeless Connect innovation, holding its first Connect event in March providing services to more than 150 homeless individuals and families, and has scheduled a second Connect for January 30. Pictured,l-r, Commissioners Andy Duyck, Desari Strader, Coordinator Carlson, Commissioner Roy Rogers, Community Services Director Wilson, Commissioner Dick Schouten and Commission Chair Tom Brian.

YAKIMA, WASHINGTON. In the second year of their 10-Year Plan implementation, Yakima County officials have reported a 15% decrease in street homelessness in the past year. This week U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Director John Meyers, accompanied by Council Regional Coordinator Paul Carlson, addressed the Yakima City Council and Yakima County Commissioners on the progress of 10- Year Plan efforts in Region 10. Regional Director Meyers, who describes himself as a fiscal conservative, told the elected officials that he was a 10-Year Plan convert because the plans provide an alternative to homelessness that is both compassionate and fiscally responsible.

Tim Sullivan of the United Way of Yakima County and Steve Gaulke, PATH case manager, described some of the plan's accomplishments, including a successful effort to house 12 of the county's longest term homeless with the highest service utilization rates. A new resource center will be opened soon to coordinate entry of homeless families into the community's housing and service system. Yakima Public Housing Authority Director Dick Allen is recognized as an exceptionally strong supporter of the plan. Having already committed 75 project based vouchers for the plan effort, Mr. Allen has pledged an additional 50 vouchers. The 125 vouchers account for more than 20% of the total vouchers available to the housing authority. Mayor Dave Edler, a former Seattle Mariners professional baseball player and current pastor of Yakima Foursquare Church, pledged the continuing support of the City Council for the plan's implementation.

Pictured top, HUD Regional Director Meyers presenting to the Yakima City Council. Below, l-r, Yakima County Commissioner Rand Elliott, Director Meyers, Commissioner Mike Leita, Human Services Director Steven Hill, and Tim Sullivan, United Way.

VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON. Clark County holds the distinction of being the first county in Washington State to develop a 10 Year Plan and last week United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region 10 Coordinator Paul Carlson was invited to address the annual Council for the Homeless Ten Year Plan luncheon attended by almost 300 business and elected leaders, service providers, and community members. Today every county in Washington State has developed a plan pursuant to the 2005 Homeless Housing and Assistance Act sponsored by state representative Mark Miloscia, whose impetus was the action by Clark County and other early adopters of the 10 Year Plan model.

With leadership from the Council for the Homeless and endorsed by city and county elected officials in the fall of 2003, the Clark County plan enjoys continuing strong support from Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, County Commission Chairman Steve Stuart and State Representative Jim Dunn. Newly appointed Council for the Homeless Director Craig Lyons and other plan leaders are committed to treating the plan as a "living document" to incorporate innovations and best practices as they emerge from research and planning efforts underway in more than 300 jurisdictions around the nation. Clark County is one of four Washington and Oregon counties collaborating in a regional rapid rehousing plan to end family homelessness, Bridges to Housing. This unique interstate regional effort is supported in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Pictured is Homeless Coordinator Lyons with Vancouver Mayor Pollard.

LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA. "You've assembled some fresh ingredients and the finest chefs. First rate ingredients including Housing First, appropriate discharge planning, a 10-Year Plan, prevention, employment, education of youth, Veterans initiatives, and HUD funding," observed United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano as he keynoted the opening plenary session of the 3-day "Cooking Up Ways to End Homelessness In Louisiana." The 14th Annual Statewide Conference, where the new State Plan - The Road to Supportive Housing - was unveiled, was hosted by the Acadiana Regional Coalition on Homelessness and Housing, the Louisiana Interagency Action Council for the Homeless, the Louisiana Advocacy Coalition for the Homeless, and the Louisiana Association for the Education of Homeless Children & Youth.

The new plan, awaiting approval by the Governor, addresses both historic homelessness and the "new face" of homelessness that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The housing- focused plan, which sets a goal of creating 4,000 units of permanent supportive housing over the next 10 years, also stresses prevention, including the appropriate discharge planning outcomes that were a goal of the state's Policy Academy team. The Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency have included a new 3000-unit Permanent Supportive Housing initiative in the state's hurricane recovery programs.

Planners recognized that the nonprofit sector and the organizations that drafted the plan must secure state level commitment and leadership to ensure sustained political will for further plan development and implementation. One goal of the plan is to establish an Office of Homeless Services within the Office of the Governor.

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Director Cynthia Leon introduced Director Mangano, and was joined by current Regional Interagency Council Chair and HHS Regional Director Michael Garcia. HUD Senior Project Manager Linda Jarrell of Shreveport served as advisor to the conference planners. Ann Oliva, Director of HUD's Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs provided an update on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Programs. Nan Roman, President and CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness and Barbara Duffield, Policy Director of the National Association of Education of Homeless Children and Youth, were scheduled speakers during the event as were Martha Kegel, Executive Director, UNITY of Greater New Orleans, and Janice Roberts, State Homeless Coordinator. U.S. Interagency Council Team Leader Michael German also participated.

Pictured is Director Mangano meeting with Lafayette Consolidated Government Chief Administrative Officer Dee Stanley, HUD Region 6 Director Cynthia Leon and HUD Senior Project Manager Linda Jarrell.

Housing First strategies were a focus of presentation, and Dr. Sam Tsemberis, founder and Executive Director of Pathways to Housing, provided insights into the nationally recognized model that provides immediate, independent permanent housing along with client- driven treatment and support for clients' recovery and for their community integration. Ann O'Hara, Associate Director of the Technical Assistance Collaborative, assisted attendees in understanding the programs and resources to achieve successful housing placement and retention.

Marge Wherley, Supervisor of Housing and Homeless Initiatives for Hennepin County, Minnesota's Prevention and Rapid Exit services described the prevention strategy, recent data, and posed questions for Louisiana communities to consider as they work to end family homelessness. Family Promise, a national program that engages congregations in services for homeless families, was also presented, along with insights on the community wide congregational effort.

Tours available to attendees included a visit to the new St. Michael Center for Veterans, a Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem site scheduled to open shortly. This 16 bed center will provide transitional housing to homeless veterans with disabilities. Services include case management, skills training, meals, clinical care through the VAMC, and peer support.

WASHINGTON, DC. Recent proclamations signed by President George W. Bush ask the nation to observe the month of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and as also legislated by Congress, National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Such designations are intended to increase our awareness of the issues and resources available, and to encourage us to become involved in solutions.

Domestic violence is acknowledged as a precipitating cause of homelessness for many women and children. Of the $1.4 billion in McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants announced by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson in February, nearly half of the funds support projects for homeless and at risk women and children including 560 programs that primarily work to help victims of domestic violence. In addition to these resources, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) administers a number of technical assistance and funding opportunities including the Domestic Violence Transitional Housing Program which supports holistic, consumer centric approaches to providing transitional housing services that move individuals to permanent housing, and the Family Justice Centers, a $20 million Presidential initiative announced in 2003. The Family Justice Centers initiative creates replicable models for how communities can more effectively coordinate domestic violence services by bringing together under one roof victim advocates, law enforcement, prosecutors, probation officers, forensic medical professionals, civil law attorneys, chaplains and representatives from faith and community based organizations to offer centralized assistance with medical care, social services, housing, legal and employment assistance.

At the August ceremonial opening ceremony for a Family Justice Center in New Orleans, then Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said, "Victims should not be left to make it through a confusing and overwhelming process on their own. And no one agency or organization can get the job done alone either. This Family Justice Center is built on partnerships and teamwork -- common goals and uncommon compassion." The other centers are located in Sitka, AK.; Alameda County (Oakland), CA.; Tampa, FL.; Nampa, ID; South Bend, IN.; Monroe, LA.; Boston, MA.; St. Louis, MO.; Las Vegas, N.M.; Brooklyn and Buffalo, N.Y.; Defiance, OH; Tulsa, OK.; Knoxville, TN.; San Antonio, TX.

A website created by OVW, www.enditnow.gov, serves as a comprehensive online resource of information to help victims of domestic abuse. It includes links to hotlines including the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE; information on the individual Family Justice Centers; tip sheets; and listings of online and national resource organizations. A new Public Service Announcement (PSA), launched by OVW this week in recognition of October's designation as National Domestic Violence Awareness Week, may be viewed on the site in both English and Spanish.

The Presidential proclamation for National Disability Employment Awareness Month, reads in part, ". . . Landmark reforms such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 have helped to ensure that individuals with disabilities are better able to engage in productive work and participate fully in the life of our Nation. It is important that we continue to expand on these opportunities for Americans with disabilities by eliminating the barriers and false perceptions that hinder them from joining the workforce. By enhancing the workplace environment for people with disabilities, employers can help provide access to jobs that allow these individuals to demonstrate their potential and realize their dreams . . . Since 2001, my New Freedom Initiative has helped promote the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of society, including education, training, and employment. . . We will continue to build on the progress that has been made for individuals with disabilities and will work to ensure that our Nation remains a place of opportunity for all Americans."

Announced in February, 2001, the New Freedom Initiative is the President's plan to tear down barriers to full integration into American life that remain for many of the 54 million Americans with disabilities. A Progress report released in July noted among the steps the Administration has taken to promote full access to community life for persons with disabilities the revitalization of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness "to seek innovative policy solutions to the high homelessness rate among people with disabilities" and the Council's promotion of the Project Homeless Connect one- day,one stop engagement technology that seeks to bring hospitality and immediacy of services to those experiencing homelessness. Employment opportunities are a critical part of the equation. Housing creates a trajectory of recovery from the social isolation that so often characterizes the lives of people with disabilities who have been living long term on the streets and in shelters. Stably housed, they often come to the realization that the shortest distance between their social isolation and the social integration they want is a job.

U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao has chosen Workers with Disabilities: Talent for a Winning Team as this year's awareness month theme and the Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is at the forefront of efforts aimed at eliminating the chronic underemployment of persons with disabilities. ODEP's work primarily falls into three categories: employers and the workplace; workforce systems such as the Ticket to Work Program and One Stop Career Centers; and employment-related supports, which include education and training, health care, reliable transportation, affordable housing and assistive technology. For the One Stop Career Centers, the Disability Program Navigators Initiative is a collaboration of DOL's Employment and Training Administration and the Social Security Administration intended to help one Stop Career Centers more effectively serve customers with disabilities, including people who are homeless. A new initiative announced by OEDP in August was the award of nearly $1.9 million to establish a National Technical Assistance Center on Transition and Employment of Youth with Disabilities. A consortium led by the Institute for Educational Leadership's Center for Workplace Development in Washington DC will focus on increasing service delivery system capacity to ensure that youth with disabilities graduate from high school and get the assistance they need to continue their studies or enter the workplace. Other members of the consortium include the National Youth Employment Coalition, Washington, D.C.; the PACER Center, Minneapolis, Minn.; the Center on Education and Work at the University of Wisconsin - Madison; and the University of Minnesota's Institute for Community Integration in Minneapolis. Throughout this month, OEDP is profiling on its web site individual success stories as well as employers and organizations that have successfully implemented strategies to hire, support, empower and otherwise value employees with disabilities.

ODEP manages the federal government's Disabil ityInfo.gov website, a collaborative effort of 22 federal agencies in response to an Executive Order to create a one-stop resource for disability related information. This summer, a state and local resources map, designed to assist visitors in finding disability-related information in their own states and localitieswas added to the site. This new feature enables users to search for disability service organizations at the state and local government levels, as well as Federal offices close to home, in every state and U.S. territory.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. United States Department of Health and Human Services Region I Director Brian Golden assumed the Chair of the Regional Federal Interagency Council on Homelessness from outgoing Chair and Department of Housing and Urban Development Region I Director Taylor Caswell at a meeting convened last month in Boston. Council member Federal agencies participating were from the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Education, and Veterans Affairs, including VA New England Healthcare System (VISN I), and the Social Security Administration.

The Regional Interagency Councils on Homelessness(RICH), comprised of senior federal agency officials in the regions, are one of the building blocks of the effort, that also includes the 20 federal agencies partnered in Washington and 54 state (and territory) interagency councils, to make government resources more available and accessible to homeless persons,

On the Council's meeting agenda were briefings for the Federal partners on partnership, innovation, and results from two 10-Year Plan cities in the New England states. The City of Nashua, NH and the City of Springfield, MA were invited to discuss the progress each is making in implementing their 10-Year Plans to End Homelessness. Nashua has had a 10-year plan since 2004 and has reported a 64% decrease in chronic homelessness since 2003, and a 46% decrease in overall homelessness. Speaking for the 10-Year Plan were Peter Kelleher, President and CEO, Harbor Homes, Inc., and Lori M. Piper, Senior Vice President Commercial Loan Officer, Merrimack County Savings Bank. Nashua's presentation noted the commitment of city resources and the political will of the mayor, supported by monthly meetings to review what is getting results and determine next steps. Presenters also noted the importance of persistence in applying for federal resources, which has resulted in increased resources from HUD, as well as the Federal Home Loan Bank, VA, and the recent award of SOAR technical assistance for the SSI program statewide. Nashua has also convened Project Homeless Connect events in 2005, 2006 and has one planned for 2007.

Springfield, which unveiled its plan in January 2007, emphasized the role of Mayor Charles Ryan and engagement of business sector, most notably the role that the Vice President of the regional Peter Pan Bus Lines plays as chair of the implementation of the 10-Year Plan. City 10-Year Plan point person Gerry McCafferty, Deputy Director of Homeless and Special Needs Housing City of Springfield, noted that new local energy had been created by developing and implementing the plan, giving rise to a more positive community attitude of hope. The City's first Project Homeless Connect held in August developed many new partners in the business and corporate community, raising $6,000 in three days for the event.

WASHINGTON, D.C. A final regulation recently issued by the Social Security Administration will extend the quick disability determination (QDD) process to all State disability determination services and will be implemented across the country over the next several months. Under QDD, which was piloted in New England, a predictive model analyzes specific elements of data within the electronic claims file to identify where there is a high potential that the claimant is disabled and where evidence can be quickly and easily obtained.

In making the announcement, Social Security Administrator Michael Astrue said, " The length of time many people wait for a disability determination is unacceptable. I am committed to a process that is as fair and speedy as possible. . .The quick disability determination has been very successful and efficient so far in New England and I am happy to say it will help people filing for disability benefits anywhere in the United States." In New England, 97% of the cases identified through the QDD model were decided within 21 days, with an average decision time of 11 days. Commissioner Astrue reported that SSA will continue to incorporate more diseases into the QDD model which will allow more claims to be considered through this process.

Testifying in May before the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senators Max Baucus (MT) and Charles Grassley (IA), on the issue of application processing backlogs, Commissioner Astrue noted that difficulties are posed when application processing delays impede access to benefits for those in need, especially those with disabilities. Without appropriate intervention for those who are most disabled, one possible outcome of these difficulties is homelessness or continued homelessness.

Encouragingly, the Administration's efforts to end chronic homelessness have yielded unprecedented intergovernmental partnerships which begin at the Federal level to achieve expanded and expedited access to Social Security benefits for the most vulnerable and disabled persons. Twin multi-year initiatives, the Social Security Administration's Homeless Outreach Projects and Evaluation (HOPE), and SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery), a collaborative initiative of the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development, along with SSA, are providing coordination, expertise, and outcomes.

Documenting disability is one of the barriers to accessing mainstream program benefits faced by many persons experiencing chronic homelessness. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council has released an updated version of its Documenting Disability, Simple Strategies for Medical Providers which was developed with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

This latest edition updates the 2004 manual to incorporate the June 2006 Social Security Administration Medical Listing of Impairments. It also includes the more comprehensive information about the appropriate documentation of impairments that occur with substance use disorders that was original published in June as a supplement to the 2004 manual. The NHCHC's Documenting Disability manual has become an important community resource in the effort to end chronic homelessness where lack of disability documentation often precludes access to social security disability benefits which would provide income to support housing and other services for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. The Manual serves to inform clinicians about SSA's disability criteria and explains how they can expedite the disability determination process. The authors note "By understanding the process of applying for SSA disability benefits and the requirements for providing evidence in support of a disability claim, providers can do so more efficiently and effectively. They can also use the process of disability evaluation and advocacy to engage individuals who are homeless in primary care and mental health/substance abuse services."

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. California Keys, a networking group of California city and county 10-Year Plan leaders originated by San Diego's Hannah Cohen, was reconvened this week with the help of United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region 9 Coordinator Ed Cabrera who facilitated the meeting held at the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration Building.

The two dozen participants including those participating by teleconference represented the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Kern, Merced, Monterey, Orange, Napa, Placer, San Bernadino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Ventura, Yolo and the cities of Fresno, Oakland, Oxnard, Pasadena, Riverside San Jose, Santa Monica, and Ventura. They were welcomed to Los Angeles by Flora Gil Krisiloff, Senior Deputy to LA Board of Supervisors Chair Zev Yaroslavsky.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano presented an overview of the progress of the National Partnership being constellated to end homelessness from the 20 agencies partnered together in Washington, to the 54 state and territory interagency councils on homelessness, to the more than 300 10-Year Plans around the country, the innovations and best practices emerging from research and plan implementations, and the results from cost studies demonstrating the many costs of chronic homelessness to communities which can be upwards of $120,000 a year per person. Keys participants also exchanged information on the progress of their individual plans and particular challenges they were facing.

Some comments received after the meeting:

. . . We particularly appreciated the cost avoidance information.

. . . It was especially helpful to hear some of the great things other jurisdictions are implementing and the successes they have had. I plan to incorporate many of them into our plan.

. . . I was uplifted by the "can do" attitude.

. . . It was good to be with you and all of the others in Los Angeles yesterday. You gave me a lot of insight on how to approach the many roadblocks we have encountered as a community in an effort to put in the forefront our Chronic Homeless population and help them receive the services they so desperately need.

Earlier in the day, Director Mangano was recognized and thanked by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for his work as Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to develop a federal strategy and coordinate a response to end homelessness throughout the nation that has included cajoling "Governors, Mayors, and County Executives into embracing and adopting as their own the goal of ending chronic homelessness, an endeavor that to date has seen more than 300 cities and counties committing to their own 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness." Pictured, l-r, Supervisor Don Knabe, Chair Zev Yaroslavsky, Director Mangano, and Supervisors Yvonne Burke and Mike Antonovich.

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS. Director Mangano's efforts as the Cambridge Director of Homeless Services to establish and nurture the Cambridge Multi-Service Center - bringing together for the first time multiple agencies under one roof to more effectively assist people out of homelessness - was recognized last week by the Mayor and City Council of Cambridge during the 20th Anniversary celebration for the center. Pictured here is Director Mangano receiving a proclamation from Cambridge Mayor Kenneth Reeves recognizing his vision in creating the center and his continuing efforts to support innovations in services and housing to create national models for rapid rehousing of homeless individuals and families. Mayor Reeves was joined by City Council member Marjorie Decker and Center Director Len Thomas.

email: usich@usich.gov

web: http://www.usich.gov