Administrator
Martha N. Johnson
General Services Administration

THIRD ANNUAL NATIONAL PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT WEEK
December 3-8, 2007

Across the nation in 25 cities and counties of every size, more than 10,000 homeless neighbors were welcomed into "the living room of the community" by more than 6,000 elected officials and community volunteers seeking to make resources more available and accessible to end homelessness, during the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness' Third Annual National Project Homeless Connect Week.

PRESIDENTIAL GREETINGS TO PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT PARTICIPANTS RECOGNIZE THIRD ANNUAL WEEK OF COAST TO COAST ACTIVITIES

"I send greetings to all those observing National Project Homeless Connect Week 2007, hosted by the Interagency Council on Homelessness.

"Our Nation is a land of great blessings, and with those blessings comes the responsibility to reach out to others and love our neighbors. Since 2004, Project Homeless Connect events have encouraged community and business leaders and volunteers throughout America to assist homeless families and those in need. By offering employment opportunities, counseling, and support to individuals who are homeless, you are helping ensure more Americans enjoy the promises of our country.

"My Administration is committed to providing permanent housing solutions for our citizens who are without a home and ending chronic homelessness. We are working with faith-based and community organizations and local governments to offer assistance to the most vulnerable in our society. Through the Samaritan Housing Initiative and Homeless Assistance Grants, we are helping find housing and other services for homeless individuals to make a positive difference in their lives.

"I appreciate National Project Homeless Connect Week participants and all those who dedicate their time, talents, and energy to serving a cause greater than self. Your good work helps more of our citizens escape poverty and demonstrates the compassionate spirit of our Nation."

FRATERNAL ORDER STEPS FORWARD IN PARTNERSHIP; PHC OFFERS BANKING SERVICES.

DANBURY, CONNECTICUT'S inaugural event was hosted by the United Way and the local Elks Club, and held at the Elks' facility. The Lions' Club was also a partner, offering eye exams. Special engagement strategies reached out to Spanish-speaking guests. Pictured here are (left to right): Mark J. Nolan, Chair, Danbury Housing Partnership, USICH Regional Coordinator John O'Brien, Danbury Mayor Boughton, Milena Sangut, Co-Chair, Greater Danbury Continuum of Care, The Honorable Dianne E. Yamin, Danbury Judge of Probate, Chair, Mayor's Taskforce to End Homelessness, and Thomas A. Kirk, Jr., PhD, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Danbury's Washington Mutual Bank, which sends bank representatives on a regular basis to help shelter guests, was at the Danbury PHC helping attendees sign up for no- fee checking accounts.

SHEPHERDS WELCOME GUESTS; ORLANDO USES REGIONAL PHC EVENTS TO BUILD WELCOME; FIRE DEPARTMENT "CONNECTS" FOR HEALTH. IN ORLANDOFLORIDA, which hosted its event on December 7, results were expanded over prior PHC events: over 925 homeless guests were welcomed, compared to 600 at the prior event. Nearly every guest was assigned a "shepherd" to assist them with resources.

Orlando's first PHC was followed by four regional events over the summer, each designed to reach those living unsheltered in camps and other locations. The series was followed by a briefing for City Council. In East Orange County, a June PHC at University Presbyterian Church welcomed 70 guest, and, in Seminole County the same month, Sanford Civic Center welcomed over 265 guests. In July, West Orange County's Central Florida Fairgrounds was the PHC site, which hosted over 230 guests. Also in July, Osceola Christian Ministry Center in Osceola County saw over 250 guests at its PHC event. Over 40 agencies and 36 congregations took part in these events. Over 80% of those who accessed resources were not previously in the HMIS system.

At the Orlando PHC, paramedics from the Orlando Fire Department staffed a medical station to check blood pressure and blood sugar for guests as one component of health services available.

IN NEW YORK CITY, 31 persons experiencing chronic homelessness moved to housing as Common Ground Community's Street to Home initiative married the engagement and one-stop elements of Project Homeless Connect with a successful targeting strategy for the streets. In Brooklyn, individuals targeted through the Street to Home registry moved to YMCA beds, supportive housing and rented apartments.

Street to Home incorporates strategic targeting of individuals and intensive followup modeled on the successful approach used in the United Kingdom's Rough Sleepers Initiative. The Rough Sleepers Initiative achieved a 75% reduction in street homelessness across England and prompted deeper investment in homelessness from Parliament.

IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, Mayor Eddie Perez and United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano welcomed 450 homeless neighbors to St. Patrick St. Anthony Franciscan Center for Project Homeless Connect. Nurses from Charter Oak Health Center provided foot-washing followed by new warm socks for guests. Mayor Perez and Director Mangano are pictured here as they welcomed each guest to the event, along with Plan Chair Bill Farley. United States Department of Health and Human Services Regional Director and current Regional Interagency Council Chair Brian Golden also attended the event, his fourth Project Homeless Connect event in the region.

The Hartford Continuum of Care, Hartford Commission to End Homelessness and Connecticut Coalition for End Homelessness organized the event, inviting volunteers with a recognition of the event's national implications and origins: "Every year, on a national level, thousands of community volunteers partner with city government, non-profits and the private sector to provide a one-stop shop of health and human services for homeless individuals and families. By participating, you will be raising awareness of the services you provide in the community and extending the opportunity for the homeless to connect with these services. The goal of Hartford Project Homeless Connect is to provide easy access to services and resources that support the transition of the City's homeless off the streets and/or shelters and into housing."

The Hartford Wolf Pack Hockey Team, which is an American Hockey League Team affiliated with the New York Rangers supported the event, too, when, on December 7, the team invited game attendees to enter for free by bringing coats, hats, scarves for the Project Homeless Connect. The team also provided box lunches for the one-stop. Pictured here is Mayor Perez speaking to the volunteers before the doors were opened.

IN MIAMI, nearly 500 homeless individuals were welcomed by 200 volunteers to the third Miami Cares event. Miami Cares Day is organized by the City of Miami's Homeless Assistance Program, which aims to identify and engage homeless individuals, and to place them into appropriate housing, facilitate employability skills, create a work history and instill life management responsibilities, thereby strengthening their ties to the community. More than 90 individuals left the streets through resources accessed at the event. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Team Leader Michael German is pictured here as he met with Miami Mayor Manny Diaz prior to the event.

"Miami Cares is a day we set aside to show that the City of Miami cares for the homeless population through catering to the participants and providing the tools to get them off the streets all in one place," said Sergio Torres, Administrator for the City of Miami's Homeless Assistance Program. The Miami Homeless Assistance Program is part of Mayor Manny Diaz's 10-Year Plan which has reduced chronic homelessness by 50%. The Plan sets a goal of providing services to hundreds of homeless individuals to engage them and help break the cycle of chronic homelessness in the city. Miami Cares is different in that it allows the homeless individual to provide his or her own diagnosis of needs. By allowing people to make their own decisions, it is the hope of the City of Miami to connect with homeless persons not engaged in services.

Partners of the Miami Cares III include City of Miami NET, Miami Rescue Mission, Miami Dade Homeless Trust, and Miami Coalition for the Homeless, Inc.

IN SAN JOSE, Council Director Philip Mangano last week joined San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed at the city's Convention Center for San Jose's fifth PHC event with Santa Clara County. Mayor Reed, a Charter Signatory to the America's Road Home Statement, joined Director Mangano at a mid-day rally and results update for PHC volunteers and guests. San Jose Housing Director Leslye Krutko, who participates in California Keys, the partnership of the state's 10-Year Plan cities, introduced Director Mangano. San Jose City Councilmembers Nora Campos, Pierluigi Oliveiro, and Judy Chirco also attended the event, as did PHC Project Manager Fernando Cazares. As noted last week, San Jose and Santa Clara County have utilized Americorps volunteers to build their event, and the volunteers were on site for the day. Regional Coordinator Eduardo Cabrera also participated.

San Jose's event was marked by an extensive outreach effort, and Mayor Reed noted the need for engagement in his remarks. "The goal of the event is to reach out and make connections with the homeless people who are not currently taking advantage of all the services available in the city and the county," Mayor Reed said. "We have to do an extensive outreach effort to make sure that happens; it's been a success, and we know it works." Mayor Reed is pictured here with Director Mangano at the event.

San Jose's Mission Community College provided volunteers who visited outdoor locations including bridges, rivers, railroad tracks, and other locations to make the PHC known to potential guests. Read "Words of the Week" in this e-news for the story of one volunteer's extraordinary birthday experience of volunteering at the San Jose PHC event.

Just after the PHC event, Santa Clara County announced major changes in the UPLIFT transit pass program that reaches persons who are homeless, more than doubling the number of people who will be served by the program. Lack of transportation was named as a key barrier faced by individuals in accessing and keeping employment. Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) offers over 700 monthly reduced-fare bus passes to homeless clients, and the new program will offer 1,850. The UPLIFT program requires clients to receive services and meet each month with their case managers to ensure that they are taking accessing all services for which they are eligible.

SAN FRANCISCO SUPPORTS FAMILY CONNECTIONS AND REUNIFICATION WITH PHONE BANK. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. It's called the "quiet success story" of the City's PHC history: a Sprint- Nextel phone bank that "connects" guests to family and friends with whom they have lost touch. Reunification opportunities were part of the City's 10- Year Plan, and in an upcoming e-news, we'll look at how San Francisco and other cities have helped restore family connections as a Plan goal.

Modern means of communication are one gap closed by the phone bank, but another San Francisco example shows that personal visits also matter. Persons who are homeless in San Francisco received another source of encouragement to take part in Project Homeless Connect: a pair of local probation officers who developed a strategy to visit their probationers on the streets made sure to mention the upcoming event and urge their clients to visit and access resources. We'll look at these mobile officers, their strategy, and some of their counterparts in other cities in an upcoming issue.

USING THE AIRWAYS TO MOBILIZE CIVIC WILL. Spreading the word on Project Homeless Connect offers long-term opportunities to build community awareness and participation. In Lincoln County, Oregon, where an inaugural PHC was convened last month, kickoff events - including webcast remarks from United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano - are playing on local cable access television.

JURISDICTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP SHOW COMMITMENT TO PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT. IN LOS ANGELES, four sites hosted Project Homeless Connect events last week. Council Director Philip Mangano (pictured here) visited the Skid Row rally site, where City and County officials were also present. Miriam Long, Deputy to Supervisors' Chair Yvonne Burke introduced Director Mangano. Leslie Wise, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's point person on homelessness, also attended the event, as did Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Executive Director Rebecca Isaacs, Michael Castillo, County CEO's Office PHC Coordinator, Garrison Smith, County Homeless Coordinator, Kathy House, County CEO's Office, and Louisa Ollague, Deputy to Supervisor Gloria Molina.

Former Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Zev Yaroslavsky issued a Proclamation for the day, which directed the County Departments of Public Social Services, Mental Health, Public Health, including Alcohol and Drug Program Administration, Internal Services, Public Defender, Probation, the Sheriff, and the Los Angeles County Police to participate in the event, and to work with the Chief Executive Office to ensure effective coordination for the event. All County departments were directed to encourage their staffs to volunteer on the day of the event and accommodate reasonable requests for personal leave by County staff that choose to volunteer, and the County's Chief Executive Officer was to coordinate with County departments regarding deployment of County staff who will work in both an official and voluntary capacity at the event. Director Mangano is pictured here with Miriam Long, Deputy to Chair of the Board of Supervisors Yvonne Burke, Garrison Smith, County Homeless Coordinator, and LAPD Officers taking part.

FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP WITH PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT. IN NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, partnership from government was in evidence, as United States Department of Health and Human Services Regional Director and current Regional Federal Interagency Council Chair Brian Golden attended the Nashua event. This was his third PHC, as he previously visited Springfield, MA and Manchester, NH. While in Nashua, Director Golden also had the had the opportunity to tour Buckingham Place, a VA Grant and Per Diem program for homeless veterans opened by Harbor Homes earlier this year. He also met with Nashua Mayor-elect Donnalee Lozeau.

Project Homeless Connect is marked by best practices in ensuring consumer choice, immediacy of access, and results. All were apparent in events across the country last week, where local partners broke new ground in their offerings and their partnerships. The e-news highlights a few examples from the Third National Project Homeless Connect Week here.

SAN FRANCISCO INTEGRATES CITYWIDE FINANCIAL INITIATIVE WITH PHC. IN SAN FRANCISCO, which hosted its 19th PHC, Wells Fargo was on site to offer consumer- centric banking services to the "unbanked." Mainstream financial services and access are an important element of a trajectory out of homelessness, and Wells Fargo was on hand to help as part of the City's "Bank on San Francisco" initiative to extend mainstream financial services that safeguard resources and avoid check-cashing and other fees.

GIFT CARDS, MUSIC, AND PUBLIC FOCUS MARK NJ PHC. IN MORRISTOWN, NJ, the Project Homeless Connect kicked off on the Morristown Green, where a Freeholders' Proclamation (read here by Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom) designated the day as Project Homeless Connect Day. NJ Senate President Richard Codey and NJ Senator-elect Joe Pennacchio made remarks, and Council Regional Coordinator Samuel Miller welcomed partners to the event at St. Peter's Episcopal Church which included over 100 guests. Joanne Bjornson, Executive Director of the Interfaith Council for Homeless Families of Morris County, was the key PHC organizer. Music was provided for the launch, with $3,000 in Wal-Mart gift cards, $1,500 in bus passes, $1,000 in laundry cards, messenger bags filled personal care items, as well as quality of life services.

Morristown and Morris County partners included: Boonton Housing Authority, Church of the Redeemer, Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown, Daily Record, Dover Housing Authority, Eric Johnson House, Family Service of Morris County, Homeless Solutions, Inc., Hope House, Interfaith Council for Homeless Families, Jersey Battered Women's Service, Legal Services of Northwest Jersey, Madison Housing Authority, Market Street Mission, Mental Health Association of Morris County, Inc., Monarch Housing, Morris County Department of Human Services, Morris County Division of Community Development, Morris County Employment and Training Services, Morris County Office of Health Management, Morris County Office of Temporary Assistance, Morris County Organization for Hispanic Affairs, Morristown Health Office, Morristown Housing Authority, Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown Parking Authority, Morristown Police Department, NewBridge Services, Saint Clare's Hospital, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program, Social Security Administration, Trinity Lutheran Soup Kitchen, United Way of Morris County, USDA, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, The Women's Center at CCM, and Zufall Health Center/ Dover Community Clinic.

IN THIS E-NEWS STORY, we offer a first-person account by San Jose volunteer Deb Colden who thought spending the day of her birthday at Project Homeless Connect last week would be a good experience for her. Deb Colden describes the many giving hands she encountered before she ever arrived at the event, and calls her experience perhaps her "best birthday" ever. She graciously agreed to share her account here.

"I had the most remarkable experience tonight . . . I decided to volunteer at San Jose's Project Homeless Connect tomorrow. I figured this would be a good way to spend my birthday. This is my first time volunteering for this event, which brings about 300 volunteers and numerous agencies under one roof to provide a day of 'one-stop shop' services for homeless people.

"I went to the orientation today and learned the program is expecting over 500 homeless or 'unhoused' guests to participate. Before I left the orientation, I asked if there was anything special that was needed. I had been planning to get some toiletries and socks. I was told that they had enough new socks, but unfortunately didn't have a lot of shoes. They asked the volunteers to donate any good condition shoes, if they had them.

"So I decided I'd do a little shopping. I went to Big Lots and bought a bunch of toothbrushes and toothpaste, but there were no shoes. So I trucked over to Kohl's Department store across the street thinking I could probably buy at least several pairs of shoes on sale there.

"Now usually I am reluctant to ask for help but I figured, hey, it's for charity, maybe a manager would help me. So I asked to see the manager, showed her the poster for the event and said I was hoping to buy as many shoes as I could and gave her a budget.

"The manager, suggested that I open a charge account because in that way Kohl's could help by discounting the shoes 20%, and she would give me a discount on top of that. Then she asked one of the employees to go with me to locate clearance shoes which would be heavily discounted already. The clerk, a woman named Thuy, spent a ton of time with me in the back room, scanning shoes and finding the best bargains. I think she was due for her break, but she stayed with me until we had found 18 pairs of shoes that I could afford. She spoke in heavily accented English and told me she is Vietnamese and that, although her family didn't have a lot of money, they always made sure that they gave some to those who were less fortunate. I told her that was what she was helping me do by stretching the budget so well.

"So, we hauled those 18 boxes of shoes out of the back room on a big cart, and then she went to get the manager, who had specifically requested we call her when I was ready to check out. While I waiting, several customers came by thinking the shoes were a display. I politely explained that I was buying all the shoes for a charity program, so they were not for sale. One man came by and commented on the good price (clearance) and asked if there were any more. I told him he would need to check with one of the staff.

"While I was waiting, another woman at the cash register offered to set up my Kohl's credit account which I needed for the discount. As I went through the process, I told her that the shoes were for homeless people. She was really pleased about the donation. She and her daughter had also been homeless for a year. She said it was the hardest thing she'd ever lived through and then someone just called her and offered her a place to live. I got teary- eyed listening to her.

"Then the manager arrived and we started ringing up the 18 pairs of shoes. At this point, the customer who had commented about the 'good price' came over to check out his purchases, and on the spot, his family decided they wanted to buy $50 worth of shoes for me to take.

"I was stunned. The manager and clerk and I just stood there with our mouths open. Thuy went to the back room with the man's wife and sister to help them find clearance shoes to buy for me. We had so many shoes to process at the register that two other staff members came to help us remove the security tags and ring everything up. The man's wife and sister returned with their shoes for me. And when I thanked them, they thanked me!

"In the end, I had 26 pairs of shoes, and these wonderful people who were complete strangers to me helped make it all happen."