Innovative solutions to end homelessness
Policy
Working With PHAs To End Homelessness
Feb 18th
This post was originally written for the National Alliance to End Homelessness blog.
As communities redouble their efforts to achieve the goals of Opening Doors, one thing is abundantly clear: we need all hands on deck to truly end homelessness in this country. This includes our partners at public housing agencies (PHAs) both as providers of mainstream housing resources and as key collaborators within our existing systems of care. As we continue to focus on permanent solutions like permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing strategies, we must expand the tools and resources available to support these efforts. This includes broadening and deepening our connections with our PHA partners.
This past week’s National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness saw some of the most exciting and influential thinkers in the field come together in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) convened public housing agencies and Continuums of Care (CoCs) from targeted communities for a special pre-conference session to highlight the ways in which communities have successfully worked across HUD programs to create more opportunities for housing and services targeted towards persons experiencing homelessness.
The session began with More >
Ending Homelessness with Scattered Sites Housing
Jun 17th
This post was originally written for Poverty Insights on April 7, 2010
Permanent Supportive Housing: Scattered Sites Model
There seems to be an increased interest in addressing homelessness in the Phoenix metropolitan area. I’m not certain what to attribute this phenomenon to; whether inspirational leadership, increased capacity in the non-profit housing and service provider industry, favorable policies emerging from the public sector, or a heightened awareness resulting from increased media coverage of our current economic climate. Rather than speculate on the reasons for the heightened attention, we need to harness the momentum and act swiftly.
We all know that housing is the solution to homelessness. More specifically, permanent supportive housing ends homelessness. So how do we capitalize on the current interest in homelessness and create permanent supportive housing options in our communities? I believe we need to invest in tenant-based, scattered sites supportive housing, which is the most effective way to rapidly re-house individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
For 16 years the organization I run, HOM, Inc., has administered scattered sites supportive housing programs targeted to individuals with serious mental illness exiting homelessness in Phoenix and its surrounding communities. Our housing programs provide permanent supportive housing to approximately 1,100 households per month. From this perspective, I More >
