Care Not Cash by October. Homeless CAAP clients are being given up-front access to permanent supportive housing whenever possible. Over time, all homeless CAAP clients will receive a housing referral. Emergency shelter is offered to all homeless CAAP clients until they actually move into housing (i.e., clients referred to housing are offered shelter while they complete the expedited referral process, and clients awaiting a housing referral are also offered shelter). Periodically, homeless CAAP clients who have been converted to Care Not Cash and have logged the longest time in shelter are prioritized to receive housing referrals. Available Care Not Cash housing statistics through October '04 are as follows: 710 housing referrals have been offered to homeless CAAP clients. Four hundred ninety-three homeless CAAP clients have moved into housing. Seventy-five homeless CAAP clients are still active in the housing referral process. The San Francisco Rental Assistance Program- This program financially assisted approximately 1,100 low-income families, disabled, seniors and singles with their housing crisis. Approximately 450 households received a grant to prevent eviction in fiscal year 2003-04. The remaining 600 recipients received a grant to move into permanent, safe housing. Seventy-five percent of those assisted remain in housing for one year or more. The Eviction Defense Collaborative in fiscal year 2003-04 financially assisted 500 households that were at risk of eviction Eighty-three percent of those receiving a grant remain in current housing for one year or more. Legal services are also available to assist their clients with the court process. The Family Eviction Prevention Consortium (FEPCO) - This Program provided 336 eviction prevention grants to low-income families facing eviction citywide. While the Mission, Tenderloin, and Bayview districts were predominant, all 11 city districts contained families who received assistance. In accordance with the program design, funds are leveraged from several sources including contributions from the families themselves, which accounted for 42 percent of the over $900 thousand disbursed. Santa Monica: Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC) operates the Daybreak Shelter and Access Center programs. The Access Center serves as the entrance to the continuum of care for homeless individuals and families in the city and assists approximately 200 homeless people daily. The Access Center provides emergency food, showers, assessments, case management, support groups, shelter placement, and other services that support homeless persons in moving into temporary, and, eventually, permanent housing. The goal of OPCC's continuum of care philosophy and programs is to permanently house homeless persons in private housing, with appropriate income and case management support as needed. Approximately 93 percent of persons placed in permanent housing by OPCC over the last five years have remained successfully housed. Towards that end, OPCC's Daybreak program will be relocated to a new facility and expanded by ten beds to include a total of twenty congregate housing and ten shelter housing beds for homeless women. Safe Haven, a new program, will provide an additional twenty-five congregate beds for homeless men and women. In total, the new facility will include fifty-five congregate and shelter housing beds. Seattle: For eight years the REACH Program has provided intensive case management services to homeless addicted individuals in downtown Seattle. Forty percent of our clientele are Native American, 50 percent have mental health disorders; in addition, most have significant chronic and acute medical conditions and all have long histories of homelessness and addiction. Funded by Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, REACH Case Managers initiate outreach and connect clients to housing, healthcare, entitlements, mental health services, addiction treatment services and other support as needed. REACH started the Camera Club in 2000 by handing out 50 disposable cameras to any interested clients. To our surprise, 46 cameras returned from individuals drinking daily on the street as well as sober clients adjusting to independent living. Clients took pictures of places they had slept outside and the apartments they had proudly acquired, they organized sightseeing excursions to photograph local tourist attractions, they took portraits of themselves and their friends, validating their own experiences by documenting and sharing their lives. Many had not seen pictures of themselves or their community since childhood. The REACH Program organized a photo exhibit and opening night event in a local café for clients and their friends. Since then the Camera Club has thrived and expanded. The group meets weekly with a volunteer professional photographer and takes regular field trips to help clients connect with their community. In addition to creating a positive self image for marginalized, often invisible homeless individuals, the Camera Club has generated several unexpected outcomes. Clients who were unwilling to engage in survival services because of their independence and mistrust of social service organizations have been able to develop rapport with staff through their creative expressions. The regular meetings provide structure and community for individuals who feel lonely and overwhelmed during the challenging transition to independent, sober lifestyles. Finally, the opportunity to interact with clients through a positive medium has brought energy and optimism to the work of the entire REACH team. St. Paul: We have networks of churches that meet homeless families at the central intake office. These congregations lend their facilities in the evening for a month at a time to host homeless families. Congregation volunteers provide staffing and meals. Time in these shelters does not count against the maximum time in the primary county shelter system. Trenton: The Homeless outreach project at Greater Trenton Behavioral Health Center and the Salvation Army Drop-In Center has case managers stationed at the Rescue Mission and the Soup Kitchen. |