Closing the Front Door

GAP:  

Lack of a comprehensive prevention system to serve clients efficiently before they become homeless.

GOAL:  

Expand the range and availability of homeless prevention strategies, increase their immediate accessibility, and improve their long-term effectiveness.

OUTCOME:  

Evansville, Indiana will have in place by the year 2014 a comprehensive wrap-around prevention services model that will keep at-risk people housed.

STRATEGY 1:

Develop a Homeless Prevention System to Identify and Assist People Most Likely to Become Homeless.

In order to direct assistance and resources toward the prevention of homelessness, we must identify those most at risk for homelessness. But as the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) 1992 report on prevention points out, this is a challenging task. The report describes several factors that place individuals and families at increased risk of homelessness, and asserts that among the "very poor," those who must spend over 30% of their income on housing and those who are in temporary or unstable housing are most at risk of homelessness.  (National Alliance to End Homelessness)

Among these "precariously housed, very poor people" the report identifies other factors that identify those at greatest risk. These include a history of previous homelessness or previous discharge from public or medical institutions that was not followed with successful integration into work, stable housing, or sobriety. If individuals have been in foster care, are victims of domestic violence, or lack a support network of friends and family they are also considered at increased risk of homelessness.

Successful prevention efforts, according to the NAEH, will further affirmatively target

single men, female-headed households with no experience of independent living, individuals with chronic mental illness or serious health problems, and people with substance or alcohol abuse who fall into the above categories.

The development of an assessment tool that assists local service providers in determining both risk and the types of assistance needed to prevent homelessness is the first step in improving local efforts at effectively targeting those most at risk. Once the tool is developed, the community of service providers will be made aware of the purpose and goals of the assessment tool. Partnership agreements will be developed with service providers to utilize the assessment tool and provide training in its use and application.

STRATEGY 2:

Establish an Oversight Initiative that Develops and Coordinates Resources Required to Prevent Homelessness that Includes Rent and Mortgage Assistance, Legal Assistance and Other Supportive Services.

The first step in achieving this strategy is to identify where and how public and private funds are being used in local homeless prevention efforts. A survey of the 2004 operating budgets of local organizations for specific homeless programs showed just over $175,000 was allocated for prevention services out of a total of over $6,135,000.  (Hayes, 2004)

In their 1992 report on the prevention of homelessness, the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) states:

Prevention holds hope as a sensible and cost effective way to stop the growth of homelessness. Given scarce public and private resources, the continual entry and reentry of people into the homeless population makes it difficult to move beyond an emergency response to the problem. Were we to stop this flow, we could more effectively provide assistance to those who are currently homeless and begin to reduce the size of the homeless population. Only when this is done will the end of homelessness truly be in sight. (NAEH)

At present, CAPE and Outreach Ministries receive specific homeless prevention money through Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds that provide financial assistance for rent arrearages in order to prevent eviction. In order to strategically allocate both financial and human capital investment in ending homelessness, we must clearly identify the types of assistance that effectively close the front door to homelessness and determine whether our efforts reflect those priorities.

We do not want to overlook the role that other community agencies play in providing financial assistance to the low income of our community. These programs assist a variety of clients in need regardless of their housing status. These programs serve many potentially at-risk clients and episodes of homelessness may be prevented, but the intervention is not specifically categorized as homeless prevention.

The NAEH report goes on to state:

It is generally agreed that a truly successful prevention effort would address emergency intervention, stabilization for those most at risk, and, most broadly, the creation of an infrastructure of housing, income, and support services which would keep people from reaching the brink of homelessness. (1992)

Once the services that best serve Evansville’s at-risk population are identified, community-wide, comprehensive services will be coordinated in order to reduce duplication of services and effectively meet as many needs as possible.

To help fund these efforts, we will seek to identify, secure, and mobilize appropriate federal, state, and local resources that are specifically suited for prevention services.

STRATEGY 3:

Develop a "Housing First" Program for 750 Households.

This program will be targeted to those assessed to be at the highest risk for homelessness and demonstrate the potential to benefit from this level of intervention. This program will include intensive case management and rental subsidy.

A "Housing First" approach recognizes that stable housing is itself key to the development of self-sufficiency. This approach encompasses crisis intervention and emergency services, needs assessment, permanent housing services and case management. While the term is most often applied to re-housing, its core elements are essential in the stabilization of individuals and families at risk for homelessness.

In the current context, a "Housing First" model serves to prevent homelessness. The model is further discussed in Strategy 1 of "Opening the Back Door to Leave Homelessness" as part of the infrastructure that bridges individuals and families out of homelessness and into housing.

Once our local agencies and service providers can effectively identify those at risk for homelessness and provide services that address the specific issues that put them at risk, a program that prioritizes stable housing can provide an infrastructure that allows these individuals and families to remain permanently housed. "Housing First" staff will seek to develop plans of action that link individuals with service providers according to the clients’ strengths and resources.

This client-centered case management will be structured to continue as long as the assessment tool and individual self-sufficiency plan indicate a need for that level of support.

STRATEGY 4:

Develop a Travelers’ Aid Program.

"Linda" and her family planned to move from a mountain state to Owensboro, but expenses along the way were higher than they’d anticipated. They didn’t intend to end their journey here, but a combination of factors resulted in their homelessness in Evansville.

In a focus group for formerly homeless individuals held in September 2003, Linda said they found a place to camp in their van at Burdette Park. Her husband, fortunately, found work and they were eventually able to pull together enough money to move into an unfurnished "fixer-upper" with no running water. Over time, they have made it a home.

Linda said they were unaware of any services that could have assisted them during the period of time they stayed in the park.

Our research pointed to the fact that Linda and her family are not alone. Other travelers, for one reason or another, stop in Evansville and become part of our homeless population. In order to help close this door to homelessness, we need to establish tools that will enable us to first identify the number of persons who become stranded in Evansville and whether they have an alternative desired destination with an accompanying support system in place. If they do, assistance can be provided to help them arrive there.

As part of that process, we will investigate program models and funding sources for a Travelers’ Aid program and seek to locate appropriate service provider(s) who would be able to add this type of program to their existing services.

STRATEGY 5:

Develop a Year-Round Utility Subsidy Program for the 30% Area Median Income (AMI) Population.

Utility costs are often a part of the equation that results in homelessness. The current energy assistance program operates from November through mid-March, but the need is often year-round. In order to provide this type of assistance and close this door to homelessness we will locate an effective program model, identify potential funding sources, and secure a service provider to administer the program.

Vectren Energy Delivery, in cooperation with the Indiana office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC), has received approval for a two-year pilot proposal called the Universal Service Fund (USF) from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

According to Vectren, "The USF will help make natural gas service more affordable to low-income customers by providing a reduced rate for residential gas service and by promoting energy efficiency and conservation." (Vectren Press Release 3/22/04)

This program would provide year-round assistance for natural gas usage and would eventually replace the existing energy assistance available through the limited timeframe of November-March 15.

As this plan is enacted within our community, it will be monitored in terms of its effectiveness in preventing homelessness. Feedback can then be provided to Vectren regarding continued program support or changes necessary to strengthen the program’s ability to prevent homelessness.

STRATEGY 6:

Increase Access to Mainstream Resources by Improving Coordination of Federal, State and Local Programs.

Mainstream services are defined as government-funded programs designed to meet the needs of low-income people. Examples include Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), supplements such as Food Stamps and WIC, Medicaid and other health service programs, including Veterans Health Assistance, Workforce Investment Act, and housing subsidy programs such as Section 8 and public housing (Schwab Foundation 2003).

The Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation 2003 report Holes in the Safety Net: Mainstream Systems and Homelessness states that "the most important but under-utilized source of income, housing, and services to people who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness are government-funded programs designed to meet the needs of low-income people." That report builds upon the conclusions in the National Alliance to End Homelessness Ten Year Plan that mainstream systems "have deferred to homeless assistance programs rather than joining forces with them, thereby evading the cost and responsibility of helping their most disadvantaged clients." ( p. i)

The Schwab Foundation report goes on to explain that many of the conditions that arise from homelessness create barriers to that population’s utilization of mainstream resources. Because homeless people often have no ability to store documents needed to prove eligibility, for example, they cannot apply for benefits that could help them retain housing.

In order to help those at risk for homelessness develop better access to mainstream resources, greater coordination is necessary among federal, state, local, and community service providers. We will seek to facilitate such a coordination of efforts by first educating these providers on the steps individuals face in ending chronic homelessness. We will encourage these mainstream resources to designate a "Homeless Liaison" within their organization and will encourage their participation in PPCHS.

The Policy & Planning Council for Homeless Services will maintain regular contact with the Indiana Interagency on Homelessness and work with the Ten Year Commission to increase coordination efforts at local, state and federal levels.

STRATEGY 7:

Create a Community Discharge Plan to Prevent Release from a Publicly Funded Institution Resulting in Immediate Homelessness.

The Schwab report previously cited clearly states the case for such a plan:

"Failure to appropriately discharge persons leaving institutional care is a contributing cause of homelessness. Public systems may fail to prevent homelessness because they are not held responsible for doing so, and because they often do not have the resources and expertise. In some cases they have strong financial incentives to discharge people as quickly as possible." (p. 5)

A planning team will be developed that is composed of representatives from all publicly funded institutions – jails, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, state hospitals and governing bodies – with the goal of developing community accepted pre-release discharge standards that do not permit discharge to homeless shelters.

Individuals who have been released from correctional institutions into homelessness are of particular concern. The State of Indiana currently accepts assignment to a homeless shelter as an appropriate discharge plan. Newly released former inmates inevitably face additional obstacles to their successful re-integration into society when they attempt to secure new documents, access services, or seek employment without permanent housing.

"George" is an example of an individual who faces many of the barriers common to many coming out of prison. George shared his story in one of the focus groups for currently homeless persons and describes the extreme difficulty in "adjusting" to life outside the prison system. He is in his mid-sixties, reads at a fourth grade level and has limited job skills. He has had no success in locating employment. Without income, George will be forced to stay in a shelter.

As George told us, "I was in prison for twenty-two years – I can’t adjust to the outside,

I’m used to the inside, I’m between the worlds. People don’t understand. It’s like we’re being punished for something we’ve already paid our time for."

Unfortunately, George is not unique. Nationwide, over 1600 state and federal inmates are released each day – a total of over 600,000 a year. (Travis and Lawrence "Beyond the Prison Gates," p. 1). In order for our ten-year plan to succeed, we must take into account the increasing numbers of people who enter homelessness from our correctional institutions. Partnerships with local organizations will be encouraged and grants and assistance from the Department of Corrections will be sought to create the support services needed for individuals to complete a transition into stable employment that leads to permanent housing and the ability to become full participants in society.

Hospitals, another key component of a successful community discharge plan, often find themselves in a race against the clock when they identify an individual whose release will result in homelessness. Because permanent housing cannot be secured quickly, patients are sometimes assigned to emergency shelters on discharge. It is not uncommon for the shelters to be asked to provide "a bed" to patients undergoing chemotherapy or dialysis, or recovering from back or knee surgery. In these cases and many others, the patients require a level of care much higher than our emergency shelters are equipped to deliver.

According to the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, the Vanderburgh County Community Corrections (VCCC) begins its exit process 60 days prior to participants’ release from the program in order to facilitate participants’ access to services and housing. Because admission to Section 8 subsidized housing is often denied due to individuals’ prior offenses, release to permanent housing can be difficult. The VCCC revisits its participants’ discharge plans again 30 days prior to release and attempts to resolve any housing problems before the release date. (Eric Williams, interview, 21June 2004)

A successful community discharge plan will develop and/or coordinate supportive services within existing systems to begin working on discharge shortly after admission.  In addition to these goals, the plan will lead to the development of guidelines for housing placement, employment assistance, initiating access to all appropriate entitlement programs, referrals to all needed treatment providers, and acquisition of all necessary documentation. These steps will help bridge individuals into both mainstream programs and community-based services that will facilitate their access to the shortest path to permanent housing and self-sufficiency.