STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT. Flurries are not uncommon this time of year in New England. But it's the flurry of 10-Year Plan development coming to fruition in Connecticut that is capturing attention this season. Last week Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy presented a copy of the Stamford-Greenwich 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, Different Time, Different Place, to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region 1 Coordinator John O'Brien during a dedication ceremony for 24 Fairfield Avenue, the most recent permanent supportive housing units created as part of a planned 33 unit Fairfield Common project in Stamford. The unveiling of the Stamford-Greenwich Plan follows last month's Hartford and New Britain 10-Year Plan launches. Willimantic/Windham County and Middleton/Middlesex County leaders are expected to unveil their 10-Year Plans next month.

"We live in one of the wealthiest parts of America and there really is no reason for people to be homeless here," said Mayor Malloy. The Stamford-Greenwich Continuum of Care, composed of city agencies and non profit organizations, led development of the 10-Year Plan, which recognizes that "emergency housing/shelters are a minimal response" and calls for the creation of 45 permanent supportive housing units for persons experiencing chronic homelessness and veterans and 20 housing units for homeless families. The Plan also recognizes the importance of strengthening prevention efforts; and the need for "increased medical services to an overall aging homeless population." Planners also note that 51% of homeless people in Stamford are employed, reflecting both the high cost of housing in the community and the successful collaborative efforts of service providers to provide training and job search assistance to their clients.

The Plan unveiling was held at a 4-unit recently renovated home that is one of 5 historic homes on Fairfield Avenue in Stamford being preserved and renovated into permanent supportive housing by "Partners Housing," a collaborative effort of the Mutual Housing Association of Southwestern Connecticut and Laurel House, an agency providing supportive services for persons with mental illness. The renovation of the historic homes is part of a larger Fairfield Common project that will include construction of 12 new units, a central green and "clubhouse" center to create a "supportive housing village." Numerous public and private sources are providing funding for this effort including the City of Stamford, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through McKinney- Vento, HOME, and HOPE VI resources, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Melville Charitable Trust, and the Stamford Housing Authority.

Pictured here top, l-r, Stamford Mayor Malloy, Mutual Housing Association of Southwest Connecticut Deputy Executive Director Bobby Owens, and Council Coordinator O'Brien. Pictured bottom, l-r, Laurel House Executive Director Stephen Dougherty, Mayor Malloy, Council Coordinator O'Brien, and Stamford-Greenwich CoC Chair and Shelter for the Homeless HOPE Project Administrator Jerome Roberts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has called ending homelessness in the nation's capital "a major priority" of his Administration as he moves forward to achieve the objectives of the city's 10-Year Plan, Homeless No More, adopted in 2004. "We are committed to a Housing First strategy that focuses on first getting a roof over one's head, and then providing the needed services to keep people in permanent housing," said Mayor Fenty at the June Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. He reported that homelessness in the city had dropped by 6.5% from 2006 to 2007, and that the number of permanent supportive housing units in the city had been increased by 11%.

An alliance with the District's faith community is central to the effort, helping to create new housing solutions for persons experiencing chronic homelessness and those at risk of homelessness. Meeting last week with more than 500 members of the Washington Interfaith Network, to whom he had pledged during his campaign to "fund, build, and preserve 14,000 affordable housing units, including 2,500 permanent supportive housing units for persons experiencing chronic homelessness, over a four year period," Mayor Fenty announced 350 people living primarily on downtown streets will be offered permanent supportive housing opportunities and that a partnership with Catholic Charities will create 150 new units of permanent supportive housing on a city- owned vacant parcel of land. Additionally, the city will create a rental housing "SWAT Team" to ensure preservation of existing government subsidized housing units and affordable private rental units in four neighborhoods considered at most risk of succumbing to pressures from gentrification and development.

In July Mayor Fenty announced that the city would allocate $117 million annually to preserve and create affordable housing and said that the city would require that 30% of new units built on city-owned land be affordable for low income residents. He asked the Interfaith Network to partner with the city to build 5000 homes affordable to residents making $25,000-$60,000 a year. Four sites have already been identified for the first 500 homes.

WASHINGTON, DC. Over 90% of Americans in a new Gallup poll think the country can do more to address homelessness, and over 80% want to contribute to solutions by giving of their own time or money. More than 70% of those polled believe that self-sufficiency for homeless people is possible with proper housing. The new poll, commissioned by Fannie Mae in eight cities across the nation, was released this week in Washington at a National Press Club event by Stacy Stewart, Senior Vice President of the Office of Charitable Giving at Fannie Mae. The press event was convened in conjunction with this week's 20th Annual Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walk. Ms. Stewart noted in her opening remarks that much has been learned about what works and what doesn't in ending homelessness and indicated that the role of public opinion is a distinctive element that must combine with all other sectors committed to ending homelessness.

Noting that solutions to homelessness begin with assembling accurate information, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said that government needs accurate information to understand the scope of the challenge of homelessness and develop effective solutions. The Mayor noted the initiatives Boston has undertaken to target elders who are homeless and to develop a citywide prevention center funded through public and private investment, as well as its annual census of streets and shelters.

Ms. Stewart observed that the key question for new sites to join the 20-year-old Fannie Mae event was the commitment of jurisdictional leadership through mayors. On Saturday, November 17, 2007, there will be new Help the Homeless events in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, and Seattle in addition to Washington, D.C. Fannie Mae Foundation's Joe Weisbord also attended.

Commenting on the Gallup poll results, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, who this week is convening a National Summit of jurisdictional leaders with the City of Denver, funded by Fannie Mae, indicated: "The instincts of the American people are right on target in the Gallup Poll findings. Americans instinctively understand what the research and data reveal. 71% of Americans believe that self-sufficiency for homeless people is possible with proper housing. That's just what we are seeing in creating permanent housing with support services for even the most disabled and vulnerable Americans. 85% retain that housing. That's led to a decrease in street homelessness in our country."

"Americans reject the mythic notion that homeless people choose to live lives on the streets or under bridges," he stated. "The poll indicates that the vast majority of Americans understand that there are economic and medical and housing reasons that precipitated the fall into homelessness. While most polled believe that numbers have gone up over the past 10 years, the good news for them is last week's announcement of a documented decrease in street homelessness in our country by 11.5%. According to data collected from communities across the country, there are 20,000 fewer people on the streets. The poll indicates that people are willing to invest their time and resources to create such results."

The national mission of the Help the Homeless Program is to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness and to increase resources for organizations working to prevent and end homelessness. The Help the Homeless Program fosters volunteerism in service to homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless. To date, the effort has raised more than $62.5 million for local nonprofit organizations that serve homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless.

Lynn Blodgett, President and CEO of ACS, previewed his newly released photography of people who are homeless at the press event, with his photos providing the backdrop. Mr. Blodgett's photos will be displayed in participating Fannie Mae cities. "Finding Grace" is the product of Mr. Blodgett's travels, during which he stops to meet and photograph people who are homeless.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. A permanent supportive housing project in Austin, Texas, and a redeveloped state hospital campus in Pembroke Pines, Florida that includes the Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center for homeless and at risk women and their children, are among the eight projects that have earned their municipalities a 2007 Award for Municipal Excellence at this week's National League of Cities (NLC) 2007 Congress of Cities and Exposition in New Orleans. The awards are cosponsored by NLC and CH2M HILL. "The winning cities show that the most creative and innovative solutions to our nation's pressing challenges often begin at the local level," said NLC President and Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. "The NLC recognizes and celebrates these programs so that other local leaders can use these ideas to create similar efforts in their own hometowns."

Incorporating "Green Building" technology in creating permanent supportive housing in Austin.

Austin's Spring Terrace is a 140 unit apartment project with supportive services for homeless and very low income individuals created through the renovation of a former Extended Stay hotel. 20 of the units are specifically reserved for chronically homeless individuals through a partnership between the project sponsor, Foundation Communities, and Caritas of Austin. Caritas, derived from the Latin word for "love" was founded 43 years ago by Monsignor Richard McCabe as a safety net for the community's working poor. Today it is Travis County's largest non-governmental source of assistance for the working poor, the unemployed, the homeless, the near- homeless and documented refugees serving over 20,000 adults and children annually. The 20 units leased at Spring Terrace represents Caritas' first investment in creating permanent housing opportunities and was made possible by funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Wachovia Foundation.

Spring Terrace is the second supportive housing project in Austin developed by Foundation Communities and drew recognition from NLC for the extensive public and private collaborations that made possible the $5 million project that incorporates "green building" features. A $50,000 "Green Communities Initiative" grant from Enterprise Community Partners was used to fund numerous cost effective and environmentally friendly features including solar electric power, a water conserving "rainwater harvesting" system, and the use of building materials that promote health indoor air quality.

Recovery Center for Women and Children part of innovative campus in Pembroke Pines.

The community of Pembroke Pines in Broward County, Florida turned a vacant state hospital campus into Pines Place, providing affordable rental housing for seniors, facilities for human services delivery, and the expanded Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center for women and their children. The Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center includes forty 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, a child care facility, and a treatment and administration building constructed on 5 acres of the campus grounds. The Recovery Center, which moved to its new facilities in 2006, was founded in 1995 by the Junior League of Fort Lauderdale in response to the critical lack of services for recovering substance- addictive women with children in Broward County and has served more than 500 families, reports Executive Director Marsha Currant. It was named in honor of the namesake great niece of the famed suffragist who was one of the four founding members of the League and a woman in recovery.

The Center aims to "interrupt the cycle of addiction and family dysfunction" by providing housing for the women and children to stay together while the mother completes her treatment and obtains other support services including mental health, trauma, vocational, and education counseling and her children receive an in-depth developmental assessment and intervention services. An Aftercare program that includes continuing case management, home visits, relapse prevention groups, and transportation to planned activities is available to the mother and children for up to 3 years after leaving the residential program. The Center assists 55 families at any given time including mothers who are dually diagnosed.

With the adoption of a resolution in 2003 endorsing the Administration's goal to end chronic homelessness, the NLC has encouraged municipal leaders to develop 10-Year Plans and has worked with the Interagency Council on Homelessness through its Institute on Youth, Education and Families to promote adoption of the Project Homeless Connect innovation.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA. Senator Jack Reed (RI), co-sponsor of current Senate legislation to reauthorize the McKinney-Vento Act programs at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, was recognized last week by the Corporation for Supportive Housing with the 2007 Champion in Supportive Housing Public Policy Award. Senator Reed was recognized at CSH's fourth annual Supportive Housing Leadership Forum.

"We are presenting these awards to those who embrace the vision that we can end homelessness by creating affordable homes and offering the support services that save people from the streets," said Deborah DeSantis, President and CEO of CSH. "This year, we are paying tribute to United States Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Enterprise Community Partners, and Affordable Housing Finance. Over 200 supportive housing advocates from across the country, including providers, elected officials, agency heads and funders took part in the forum.

A recent CSH publication entitled, New Homes, Brighter Futures: Profiles of Housing Programs for Young Adults. examines 10 affordable housing models integrated with supportive services targeted to young adults at risk including those with mental illness and those at risk as they age out of the foster care system Each profile includes information on the program's history, eligibility requirements, services, financing and contact information. The profiled programs are:

• Almost Home Program, Urban Youth Development Corporation, East Orange, NJ
• Castro Youth Housing Initiative, Larkin Street Youth Services, San Francisco, CA
• Coolidge Court Apartments, Fred Finch Youth Center, Oakland, CA
• Edwin Gould Residence, Edwin Gould Academy; New York, NY
• Ellis Street Apartments, Larkin Street Youth Services, San Francisco, CA
• First Place Supported Housing Program, First Place for Youth, Oakland, CA
• Rising Tide Communities, Orangewood Children's Foundation, Santa Ana, CA
• Robin's Nest Supportive Housing, Robin's Nest, Glassboro, NJ
• Schafer Hall Young Adult Initiative, The Lantern Group; New York, NY
• Stepping Stone Community Residence - SRO, Institute for Community Living, Brooklyn, NY

Also of interest may be a July 2007 free online Special Edition of the interdisciplinary journal Family Court Review which focuses on the work, findings of exemplary programs, and recommendations of the American Bar Association's Committee on Youth At Risk. The Committee, established as an initiative of 2006-07 ABA President Karen Mathis, focuses primarily on at-risk young people ages 13-19 including those aging out of foster care.

DALLAS, TEXAS. The passion Federal Region VI Interagency Council on Homelessness Working Group Chair Susan Macaulay brings to her work is palpable. Together with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region VI Director and RICH Chair Michael Garcia and US. Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Director and former RICH Chair Cynthia Leon, Ms. Macaulay, who is the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Positive Youth Development Program Coordinator, is helping lead one of the most active federal Regional Interagency Councils on Homelessness in the nation. The Regional Interagency Councils on Homelessness are comprised of senior federal agency officials in the regions who meet regularly to collaborate on making resources more available and accessible to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The Region VI Homeless Resource Guide, which was a particularly meaningful project to the late United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Region VI Coordinator Sally Shipman, is being used as the prototype for the development of similar guides in each of the federal regions.

This week United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano was invited to a special meeting of the Region VI Council, convened to get an update on the progress of the National Partnership being constellated to end homelessness, and to hear about cost benefit studies and other tools which are helping build political will for the creation and implementation of jurisdictional 10-Year Plans to end homelessness. Also discussed was Region VI's pilot effort to provide comprehensive technical assistance to the city of Waco to help forward its 10-Year Plan implementation.

Pictured here are Director Mangano and Council Regional Coordinator Team Leader Michael German with members of the Region VI Council. Federal agency participation in the Region VI Council is broad and deep with participation by numerous agencies and often several offices within an agency. In addition to Regional Directors Garcia and Leons and Ms. Macaulay, participants in this week's meeting were: Leon R. McCowan, HHS Administration for Children and Families Regional Administrator; Betty Simmons, ACF Deputy Regional Administrator; Donald Watson, Department of Labor DOL/VETS Deputy Regional Administrator; Nicolas Ramon, Acting HUD Dallas Field Office Director and Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Contact; Julia Lothrop, Special Assistant to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Regional Administrator; Wes Davis, Dallas Regional Communications Director for Social Security Administration; Sharon Butler, HHS/ACF Children & Families Program Specialist; Elma Goodwin, ACF Management & Program Analyst; Carolyn Meier, ACF Associate Regional Administrator; Ralph D. Rouse, HHS Office of Civil Rights Regional Manager and Deputy Manager George Bennett; Sandra Brumley, Senior Equal Opportunity Specialist, Office of Civil Rights; Carl Stiles, HUD Office of Field Policy and Management; and Patricia Bostic, Development Director for U. S. Representative Michael Burgess. At the meeting, Acting HUD Dallas Field Office Director Nicolas Ramon was introduced as the Region's Interagency Council on Homelessness point of contact.

While in Dallas, Director Mangano joined Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, 10-Year Plan Leader Mike Rawlings, and HHS Regional Director Garcia in meeting with members of the philanthropic community to discuss implementation of Dallas' 10-Year Plan.

This week's announcement by the Federal Government of a nearly 12% decrease in chronic homelessness was heartening news for federal, state, and local jurisdictional leaders, and faith-based and community organizations who are partnered together coast to coast to achieve the goal of ending chronic homelessness in our nation. While the nearly 12% reduction is a national figure, it has been achieved through both federal policy and resource investments and the actions and investments of individual states and communities. In this week's e-news we excerpt coverage from two media sources-one national and one local.

C-SPAN WASHINGTON JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 10.

Invited to appear on C-SPAN's Washington Journal program Saturday, United States Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano fielded questions from program host Pedro Echezarria and viewers regarding the progress of efforts to end chronic homelessness reflected in the reported decrease in chronic homelessness, and also about efforts to prevent new incidences of homelessness, particularly among recently returning veterans.

Director Mangano discussed the promising news of last week's release by the Administration of national data reported by local communities showing a nearly 12% decrease in chronic homelessness between 2005 and 2006. Noting that "this is the first recorded decrease in street and chronic homelessness in America in more than 25 years," Director Mangano said the data is evidence that the National Partnership being created between the Federal Government, Governors, Mayors, County leaders, and the private sector is having its intended effect. "On this issue, there is no partisanship, just everyone partnered together to make a difference," said Director Mangano.

"Beginning with a new intent to end rather than manage chronic homelessness,"Director Mangano cited jurisdictionally-based, business-principled 10- Year Plans, innovative ideas such as permanent supportive housing, and increased public and private resources including an unprecedented six consecutive years of increased federal funding and the President's $4.47 billion FY 2008 budget request for programs targeted to homelessness, as the elements "creating the results we've been looking for."

Director Mangano acknowledged that the good news of the reduction in overall chronic homelessness is tempered by concern that any veteran should be homeless. He noted that the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are investing many more resources and collaborating in new ways to prevent homelessness among returning veterans, citing as just one example the new effort to do at-risk assessments prior to discharge. Many new initiatives and collaborations are resulting from implementation of recommendations made by the Task Force on Returning Global War on Terror Heroes, established by President George Bush in March and led by then VA Secretary Jim Nicholson; and by the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors, co-chaired by former Sen. Robert Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. Director Mangano also noted that the number of veterans homeless on any given night is down about 20%, from about 250,000 less than 10 years ago to just under 200,000 today. "Our intent is to continue to bring this number down. That's the commitment of this Administration and the commitment of our country."

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, Excerpts from article headlined Homeless Number Down in U.S.; San Francisco called "model" for outreach:

. . . The number of chronically homeless people across the United States has dropped by 11.5 percent thanks to an increased focus on providing counseling and housing rather than police crackdowns or emergency shelter beds, federal officials said Wednesday.

. . . Declines in individual cities included 43 percent in Dallas, 36 percent in Denver and 15 percent in New York. In San Francisco, chronic homelessness actually increased 4 percent between 2005 and 2007, but federal and city officials attributed that to a more thorough count in 2007 when twice as many people were used to conduct the count . . . City and federal officials pointed out that between 2002 and 2007, the number of chronically homeless people in San Francisco dropped 38 percent, from 4,535 to 2,771.

. . . "These are the numbers we've been waiting for a quarter of a century," said Philip Mangano, director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness . . . "We have gathered together over the past several years an unprecedented number of innovative ideas, public will and resources so that now, for the first time, we can actually see the numbers drop," he said. "And San Francisco has a lot to do with that. It has served as a real model of some of the best practices in our nation, showing that you must not simply continue to manage homelessness, but you must abolish it."

. . . Mangano's agency reported at a national summit last year in Denver that the number of street people in cities across the country had dipped, citing individual community homeless counts portraying declines. However, Wednesday's HUD report is the first time a national aggregate number has shown such a decline since homelessness first emerged as a national crisis in the 1980s.

. . . As examples of San Francisco's positive models, the director pointed to aggressive creation of supportive housing, the popular bimonthly Project Homeless Connect, and expansion of on-street outreach counselors. Supportive housing is supplying homes with counseling services on site to address the addiction or mental problems that typically cause hard-core homelessness.

. . . San Francisco Human Services Agency chief Trent Rhorer said the city still has a huge uphill battle to end homelessness, but the techniques named by Mangano have made headway. He said the city, primarily through the Care Not Cash program that diverts welfare grants for homeless people into housing, has created 1,531 supportive housing units since the end of 2003 . . .

WASHINGTON, D.C. Since its revitalization by President Bush in 2002, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness has been constellating a National Partnership that ensures that every level of government and every element of the private sector is at the table, partnered together to reduce and end homelessness with a priority on ending chronic homelessness. Instrumental to the creation of this National Partnership has been the work of the Council's Regional Coordinators who have pursued the establishment of federal Regional Interagency Councils on Homelessness; and provided technical assistance to Governors offices to facilitate creation of state interagency councils on homelessness, and to mayors and county executives to encourage the development of jurisdictionally-led, community- based 10-Year Plans and adoption of the Project Homeless Connect engagement innovation.

Results are quantifiable: To date, 54 Governors of states and territories have taken action to create state interagency councils on homelessness; 320 10-Year Plans have been created or are in development; the Project Homeless Connect innovation which began in San Francisco 3 years ago has now been adopted by over 150 communities; and representatives of federal agencies in the regions are meeting regularly to identify and remove barriers to the accessing of resources by homeless and at risk individuals and families.

Last week, Council Director Mangano welcomed the Regional Coordinators - Michael German, John O'Brien, Ed Cabrera, Paul Carlson, Daryl Hernandez, Samuel Miller, John Zegarelli, and Teresa Chappell - to Washington for a two day strategy session to affirm their contributions to the efforts around the country which have produced a nearly 12% reduction in chronic homelessness, the first recorded decrease in street and chronic homelessness in over 25 years and to discuss next steps. A particular focus was on ways the Regional Coordinators can assist 10-Year Plan implementation efforts achieve results through the use of national best practices. The Regional Coordinators exchanged information on exemplary programs and promising approaches involving both targeted homeless assistance monies and mainstream resources that are achieving results in their regions. Opportunities were discussed to facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges including convening national meetings of state leads and community 10-Year Plan champions, and preparing for the Council's Third Annual Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders April 10-11.

During the two-day strategy session, the Regional Coordinators met with Pathways to Housing Founder Sam Tsemberis for a discussion of "housing first" strategies and with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management Bob Young. As head of HUD's Field Policy and Management office, Mayor Young has brought exceptional personal and professional commitment to ending homelessness and the work of the Council. The Council is pleased to announce that HUD Region III Director John Bravacos has appointed his special assistant Elvis Solivan as Region III's Homeless Coordinator; and at this week's Region VI Federal Regional Interagency Council on Homelessness meeting, Nicolas Ramon was introduced as Regional Coordinator contact for the region. Mr. Ramon has led HUD's faith-based initiatives in Region VI and is the Acting HUD Dallas field office director.

email: ichnews@setechnology.com

web: http://www.usich.gov