HONOLULU, HAWAII. A statewide homeless forum, Unlocking the Door: The Key to Ending Homelessness was sponsored last week by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Honolulu field office and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation. The forum, which included remarks and participation by Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, was a collaborative effort of the State of Hawaii Homeless Programs, Oahu Partners in Care, the Maui Community Alliance, the Kauai Continuum of Care, and the Community Alliance Partners of Hawaii Island. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Western Regional Coordinator Ed Cabrera represented the Council. Pictured here is Council Coordinator Cabrera with Governor Lingle at the forum.

In her remarks, Governor Linda Lingle noted, "Our goal is never to house homeless people. Our goal is to end homelessness." The Governor updated forum participants on the progress being made to end homelessness including the "Next Step Shelter in Kaka`ako (300 residents), Onelau`ena at Kalaeloa (200 residents), Lighthouse Outreach Center in Waipahu (85 residents), and Waianae Civic Center (will house 300 residents when complete)." The Onelau`ena, "meaning a place where all necessities of life can be found", provides transitional housing for homeless families in a three-story, former military building at Kalaeloa in Barbers Point. When completely occupied, the building will accommodate approximately 200 residents. During the October 29th dedication, Governor Lingle said, "We are providing a safe and secure facility where families with nowhere else to turn can have a safe, supportive place to stay while they work toward gaining self-sufficiency and finding more permanent housing. Beyond just providing a roof over their heads, we believe it is critically important to work closely with these families to provide supportive services to help them gain skills to move forward."

Council Coordinator Cabrera in his remarks said that the Council eagerly awaits action by Hawaii's mayors to join the National Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness through a commitment to jurisdictional 10-year planning and that the political will demonstrated by Governor Lingle has been a model for other Governors which the Council acknowledged with "A Home for Every American Award."

Breakout sessions included discussions of Youth Aging Out of Foster Care led by Barbara Garner of the Catholic Charities Foster Program; Post Prisoner Re-Entry: Discharge Planning Best Practices led by Sound Families Program Executive Director Alice Shobe; Preventing Homelessness-Preventing Evictions led by Gavin Thornton of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii; Employing the Homeless led by John Rio of the Chronic Homeless Employment Technical Assistance Center (CHETA); Assisting the Micronesian Homeless Population by removing cultural barriers led by Major Brian Saunders, Salvation Army Commander in Micronesia; Alternate Housing Resources and Measuring Project Performance sessions led by Rocky Wade of Training and Development Associates; Sound Families and the Washington Families Fund: Successful Public-Private Partnerships led by Sound Families Program Executive Director Alice Shobe; and Rural Issues and Homelessness: Strategies for Success on a Shoestring led by Greg Hancock of the Rural Community Assistance Corporation.

Participants in the Youth Aging Out of Foster Care System heard from six young people who had made a successful transition. A representative of the Hawaii Department of Human Services also discussed the state's Family Finding program to connect and reconnect youth to families.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA. Southern Nevada, an area of nearly 8000 square miles anchored by the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, is one of the nation's fastest growing regions. A $5.3 million 10-Year Plan to Reduce Homelessness was approved by the Las Vegas City Council in March of this year. The Plan, developed with support from Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, aligns with efforts underway in the county and region through the HelpHopeHome effort of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Commission and its Commission on Homelessness.

Earlier this month, Las Vegas and Clark County held their 14th annual "Standdown for the Homeless" and in keeping with their 10-year planning efforts, this year's event offered even more engagement and on-site services. More than 300 volunteers were on hand to assist the more than 2200 homeless consumers with medical services including flu shots, immunizations, HIV screenings and mammograms; dental services; vision testing; benefits application assistance for housing and veterans services; mental health counseling; legal services; wheelchair and walker repair; employment-related services; pet care; and a variety of family and youth services. 20 detox beds were immediately available with vans providing transportation. Catholic Charities provided 200 shelter and transitional beds.

Pictured here, top, is Las Vegas Mayor Goodman with United Way of Southern Nevada CEO Dan Goulet receiving a check from Sky Las Vegas Marketing Director Gina Jackson for the Southern Nevada Homeless Trust Fund. The Fund, which is being overseen by The United Way of Southern Nevada, offers the community the opportunity to make financial contributions to the effort to end homelessness. Donors may choose to target their donations to one of three areas: Immediate Services including medical care, mental health and substance abuse treatment services, Transition Services including case management, transitional and permanent housing and employment services, or the Permanent Affordable Housing Endowment. Also participating in the event were State Assemblyman Mark Manendo, Assistant County Manager and chairperson of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Commission Darryl Martin, Regional Homeless Coordinator Shannon West, and United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Coordinator Ed Cabrera. Pictured bottom are key sponsors and organizers including Mr. Martin (second from left), Ms. West (fifth from right), Ward 5 Councilman Lawrence Weekly (third from right), Mayor Goodman (second from right) and Mr. Cabrera (far right).

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. Partnership, Innovation and Re-Investment: Identifying and Replicating Results was the subject of last week's Summit for mayors and jurisdictional 10-Year Plan leaders sponsored by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Common Ground Community, and the Rockefeller Foundation and hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. The November 16-17 summit was the ninth in an ongoing series of Mayors' Summits on Ending Chronic Homelessness.

Last week's meeting built on the results that were the focus of the National Summit for Jurisdictional Leaders: Moving From Good to Better to Great in Sustaining 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness held in Denver in May. Three issues were highlighted for discussion: the key elements of 10-Year Plans from cities implementing plans that have reported decreased street homelessness and produced public "report cards" this year; emerging cost benefit analysis from more than 35 cities; and results-oriented strategies to reinvest health care resources to finance permanent housing and services for persons experiencing chronic homelessness.

WASHINGTON, DC. Applications from state agencies and federal recognized Native American tribal governments for federal funding through the Prisoner Re-Entry Program (PRI) for pre-release assessment, programming and services, transition planning, and post release supervision are due January 17, 2007. 24-36 month grants of up to $450,000 will be awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice' Bureau of Justice Assistance. PRI is a federal multi-agency collaboration announced by President George W. Bush in 2004 to assist communities reduce recidivism by helping returning offenders find housing and work and access other services in their communities. The target population includes individuals ages 18 and older convicted as an adult and imprisoned in a state or tribal prison or a tribal, regional, county or local jail. A 25% match is required. Click here to read the full grant announcement which is available on www.grants.gov. Pictured here is U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General and member of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Alberto Gonzales.

More information about the Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative can be found on the U.S. Department of Justice website which also includes an extensive list of national resources. In September, Cheri Nolan, Senior Policy Advisor to the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee regarding SAMHSA's commitment to and activities in support of the prisoner re-entry and other criminal justice initiatives. These efforts are described more fully in SAMHSA's FY 2006-2007 Criminal and Juvenile Justice Strategic Plan.

As noted in the August 3, 2006 enews, the Council of State Government's Re-Entry Policy Council has produced two documents dealing with re-entry and housing issues. Homelessness and Prisoner Re-Entry, was written by the RPC in partnership with the National Alliance to End Homelessness and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and Prisoner Re-Entry was developed by the RPC in partnership with the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). As the RPC's Katherine Brown noted, "It has been estimated that more than 10 percent of those coming in and out of prisons and jails were homeless prior to incarceration and others lose their housing while incarcerated. Housing partners may not perceive people released from prison and jail as a key part of their clientele, or appreciate the special needs of this population; and correction partners may not appreciate the complexity of housing systems or understand how they can contribute resources and support to housing partnerships to ensure that releasees and their families find and maintain appropriate housing."

Communities partnering in the 2006 National Project Homeless Connect Week (December 4 - 8) are adopting a new media tool made available by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, working in partnership with SONY/Columbia Pictures. SONY/Columbia Pictures has offered National Week cities the opportunity to hold preview no-cost screenings of the forthcoming feature film, "The Pursuit of Happyness," starring Will Smith as Chris Gardner, a homeless single father in San Francisco and Oakland who sets his sights to become a successful broker and eventually owns his own brokerage firm in Chicago. Many cities are scheduling their previews for the night before their Project Homeless Connect event to engage local leaders.

SONY has generously offered preview screenings to reach local opinion leaders, including many key figures regularly identified as partners in jurisdictional planning to end chronic homelessness. With more city, county, and state leaders than ever engaged in forwarding the Administration's goal of ending chronic homelessness, media acts as an important vehicle for raising awareness and furthering the work of assisting homeless individuals through the efforts of Federal agencies, State and local governments, and private voluntary organizations in communities. The message of this film contributes to breaking down myths and stereotypes concerning homeless people and their abilities and capacities.

Cities continue to adopt the one-day, one-stop innovation of Project Homeless Connect as an effective tool that mobilizes civic will and resources to help people experiencing homelessness move more quickly toward permanent housing and stability. Cities committing to new events also continue to innovate within the innovation of PHC. Upcoming stories will profile a "Legislative Connect" and a "Medical Connect" model focused on chronic homelessness. A complete list of all communities committed to the National Project Homeless Connect Week, as well as communities committed for dates in early 2007, is posted on the Council's website: see www.usich.gov to view the complete city list and useful PHC tools.

The Council continues to reach out to federal and state partner agencies to encourage their on-site participation at Connect events. Successful PHC cities have emphasized the importance of bringing the resources of federal partners and state partners from State Interagency Councils on Homelessness, Policy Academy teams, and mainstream programs to local events. All Council members agencies have been invited to the National Project Homeless Connect Week sites, as have state partners.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK. During his keynote address at the 2006 National Alliance to End Homelessness Annual Conference in Washington, DC in July, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg reiterated his Administration's commitment to reducing street and shelter homelessness by two-thirds by 2009 as outlined in his 2004 Uniting for Solutions Beyond Shelter Plan: The Action Plan for New York City. He reported that there were 19% fewer individuals and 30% fewer children living in shelters than in 2003 and that the City's most recent Point in Time survey had found 13% fewer individuals living on the street and other public spaces this year. Last week New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs and Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Robert Hess announced that so much progress is being made toward the 2009 goal that the City's largest shelter for homeless single adults, the 1000-bed Camp LaGuardia, will be closed by June 2007.

Deputy Mayor Gibbs and Commissioner Hess were joined by Orange County Executive Edward Diana at the announcement made at the Prince George Hotel, a supportive housing residence operated by Common Ground Community. Camp LaGuardia, located in Orange County, has been operated by the City since 1934. In his remarks, Commissioner Hess noted," A shelter is not a home, nor is it an effective long term solution to homelessness. Our strategies of prevention, supportive housing, and rental assistance are paying off and by closing Camp LaGuardia, we will be able to reinvest in programs that will help further reduce dependency on the shelter system." Camp LaGuardia's nearly $19 million annual budget will be reinvested in housing and services included in the City's 10-year plan with its five-year 2/3 reduction goal to provide more permanent housing solutions. In November 2005, the City formed a $1 billion partnership with the State of New York to help finance the creation of 12,000 new units of supportive housing in the city under the New York/New York III agreement.

Pictured here is Deputy Mayor Gibbs (far left) with Commissioner Hess (second from left) and Mayor Bloomberg at the announcement of Mr. Hess' appointment as Commissioner of Homeless Services.

LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA. Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, Florida is a not-for-profit, charitable organization established in 1983 that works to restore families in crisis to stability and self sufficiency. Families served by Adopt-A-Family fall into 3 categories: homeless families with children, working poor families at risk of becoming homeless, and families in a short term "situational crisis" putting them at risk of homelessness.

Adopt-A-Family is a partner in the Family Empowerment Coalition, an 11-year collaboration of 13 non profit agencies that work together to streamline the process for providing help to families in need.

Adopt-A-Family operates several programs of assistance including,

• The Family Empowerment Program through which families in crisis are linked with community partners including businesses, churches and other faith based organizations, service clubs and individuals who "adopt" the family for a period of one year providing emotional support and assisting the family financially.
• A 30-unit apartment complex is home base for a Service Enriched Housing program for low income, working poor families striving to become homeowners.
• A Homeless Intervention Program provides eviction prevention assistance and helps families living in shelters and transitional housing with the costs associated with moving into permanent housing.
• Project SAFE (Stable, Able Family Environment) is a 32-unit apartment complex through which families can receive 2 years of transitional housing and support services including access to Project Grow. Clients pay the monthly rent and utilities. Recently, the Palm Beach Commissioners approved $40,000 in community development block grant funding for Project SAFE.
• Project Uplift provides case management and financial assistance for up to three months to families at risk of homelessness because of a "situational crisis."
• Project Grow is an after school and out of school program for children whose families reside in the Project SAFE and the service enriched housing units.

In the 23 years since its founding, Adopt-A-Family has assisted more than 117,000 families. One of its more recent initiatives is a Community Land Trust (CLT) to create a permanent supply of affordable housing. Earlier this month, Adopt-A-Family unveiled its latest CLT project, a 9-unit rental complex. Adopt-A-Family has also been able to facilitate homeownership opportunities through the CLT for very low income working families by providing families with 99 year leases on the houses while retaining ownership of the underlying land. Since the family only has to qualify for the cost of the house, and not the land, the price is considerably more affordable while at the same time enabling the family to build some equity. If the homeowner decides to sell, the amount of profit is capped at 5% for the first five years, capping out at 25%. Adopt-A-Family retains first right of refusal to buy back the home. For families who have participated in Adopt-A-Family support services, the foreclosure rate has been less than 1%. A campaign, "Hope Begins With a Home" has been started to raise $1.9 million for the CLT. The campaign has received a boost from a $100,000 challenge grant donation from Jayne and Tim Donahue, the outgoing chairman of the Sprint Nextel Corporation and from a $463,500 grant from the Florida Department of Children and Families Office on Homelessness.

WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-news presents information on the Title V federal surplus property program and the opportunity to secure resources - including for permanent supportive housing - under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act for persons experiencing homelessness.

The November 17, 2006 listing of "suitable and available" properties includes land in Lousiana and a building in Illinois. Properties listed as "available but unsuitable" are also included in the Notice. Properties listed as available but unsuitable will not be made available for any other purpose for 20 days from the date of the Notice. Homeless assistance providers interested in a review by HUD of the determination of unsuitability should call the toll free information line at 1-800-927-7588 for detailed instructions or write a letter to Mark Johnston at the address listed at the beginning of the Federal Register Notice.

Effective September 1, 2006, Title V surplus properties may be used for permanent supportive housing for families and individuals.

In a change to federal policy which became effective September 1, 2006, local governments and eligible community organizations may submit applications to acquire Title V surplus properties for permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals and families. The new regulation defines permanent supportive housing as housing that is "long term, affordable, community based, and linked to appropriate supportive health and social services that enable homeless individuals and families with disabilities to maintain housing." Any existing grantees or lessees interested in changing current program activity to include permanent supportive housing are requested to provide a written expression of interest to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at the Division of Property Management, Administrative Operations Service, Program Support Center Room 5B-17, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 28457.

Property including land and buildings newly identified as "suitable and available" to assist the homeless are listed each Friday in the Federal Register and are available exclusively to applicants for homeless use for a period of 60 days from the date of the Notice. Applicants for these federal surplus properties must identify how they intend to utilize the property to meet the needs of homeless persons in their communities. Click here to view the November 17, 2006 Federal Register notice or visit the Council's website at www.usich.gov and click on the funding tab to view the latest listing each week.