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2009
Accomplishments
indianahousingnow.org
Promotional support
provided by
Integra Bank
:30 Radio Spot
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| April 2006 Vol.
2, No. 2 |
Destination Home Update
working
together to end & prevent homelessness in our
community |
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Update Archives |
Greetings!
Thank you for your ongoing interest in the progress of
implementing our community's 10-year plan to end & prevent
homelessness!
With these updates, we hope to encourage you with news of local
progress on the strategies of the plan, educate you with information
re: projects, and inspire you with news of other activities around
the country!
Destination Home has 4 key components. This new
update format allows us to keep you informed on the progress in each
of those areas in the different sections below labeled: PLAN, CLOSE,
OPEN & BUILD.
New endorsements of the plan are noted in
the next section. To access "Destination Home" online,
click
here.
Visit the new Aurora,
Inc. website! Let us know what you think by using the link to
"Contact Us."
Send your friends and colleagues to the site to
sign up for e-newsletters, like this Destination Home Update and
Aurora News by clicking on the "Join Now" button at the bottom of
the main page: www.auroraevansville.org
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Endorsements of Destination
Home | |
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New Commitments to
the Spirit & Philosophy of Destination Home
We
continue to actively solicit endorsements, both from organizations and
individuals. We welcome a recent endorsement from:
 | AARP Foundation/SCSEP |
Copies of the endorsement statement
can be found in the plan or
click
here to print either the organizational or individual endorsement.
Please send in your endorsement if you support the spirit and philosophy
of Destination Home. |
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Progress toward: PLAN for
Outcomes | |
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Using Data to Develop
Local Outcomes to End Homelessness
Strategy 1: Establish Evansville- Vanderburgh County
Participation in the Hoosier Management Information System
(HMIS)
STRATEGY 2: Monitor Information That Will Provide
an Effective Measure of the Ten-Year Plan’s Outcomes.
The
system has been operational locally for nearly two years. 19 agencies have
been trained to use the system. We have begun to pull information from the
system to use as baseline data. Reports can be pulled from the system with
up to two combinations of different items of demographic
information.
For example, 226 persons were entered into HMIS from
3/11/06 - 4/11/06, with the data field "History of Homelessness"
completed. Of that number, 10.6% had never been homeless before. 67% had
experienced homelessness one other time, while another 22% had two or more
episodes of homelessness.
If you are interested in learning more
about the functionality and usefulness of HMIS to your organization,
please contact Mary Jenkins with DMD at 436-7823 or by e-mail
mjenkins@evansvilledmd.com
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Progress toward: CLOSE the Front Door to
Homelessness | |
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Homeless Prevention
Strategies
Strategy 1: Develop a Homeless Prevention System to
Identify and Assist People Most Likely to Become
Homeless.
Preventing the loss of housing is cost-effective and
a foundational component to ending homelessness.
A committee has
been working on developing a rating scale to identify those at risk of
losing housing. Time has been spent to research the types of scales
currently available and if any are being used for this
purpose.
Once developed, the scale will be made available to all
social service agencies. Each will be encouraged to use the tool as part
of the intake process. A corresponding rating for appropriate
interventions will also be developed and implemented.
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Progress toward: OPEN the Back
Door | |
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Leaving
Homelessness
STRATEGY 1:Develop a "Housing First" Program for Those in
Emergency Shelter that Includes Rent Subsidy and Transitional Case
Management for Up to 250 Households.<br>
ECHO Housing has
applied for funding from the HUD Supportive Housing Program for 2006-2007
funding cycle to develop 20 units of supportive housing. This project will
be a partnership among landlords with existing housing, ECHO Housing, and
Aurora. Landlords will primarily maintain the property; ECHO Housing will
manage the properties; and Aurora will provide support services. 20
households will benefit from this endeavor!
Findings from local
HMIS data validate the importance of housing with supportive services. As
data noted above indicates, the majority (89%) of our homeless individuals
and families have experienced homelessness more than once. With support
services, we have a greater opportunity of breaking this cycle of
homelessness.
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Progress toward: BUILD the
Infrastructure | |
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Housing ~ Raising
Incomes ~ Services ~ Awareness
SERVICES
Strategy 5: Improved Access and
Coordination of services for Specialized
Populations.
PlayStations -- an early childhood
development program being devleoped for 6 local shelters to serve homeless
children ages 0-5. 4C of Southern Indiana, with the support of Welborn
Foundation, is working on two of these sites as a pilot project: Goodwill
Family Center and YWCA. These two pilot sites are awaiting the delivery of
resources that have been purchased for the project.
Four other
sites have been selected: Life Choices, Albion Fellows Bacon Center, House
of Bread & Peace, and Lucas Place. Initial funders for these sites
include the Downtown Optimist Club and the Junior League of
Evansville.
Further funding is needed in order to create
PlayStations at these sites and to have a Coordinator to oversee the
project. Contact the
Destination
Home Resource Coordinator for information on making
donations.
For information on the effects of homelessness on
children,
click
here.
Strategy 7: Provide Training for Community Service
Providers.
Bridges Out of Poverty Community
License:
This comprehensive approach to understanding the
barriers faced by people who live in poverty extends to businesses who
hire low-wage workers, service providers, schools, governmental policy
makers, churches and corporate citizens. Efforts to maximize human capital
while reducing poverty and homelessness will be maximized as the whole
community operates from the same mind set and understanding.
To
date $25,325 has been pledged to the development of this program. Support
has come from Albion Fellows Bacon Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boy
Scouts of America, Bussing-Koch Foundation, CASA, ECHO Community Health
Care, Evansville ARC, First Presbyterian Church, Goodwill Industries,
IMPACT Healthcare, Lampion Center, Legal Aid Society, Old National Bank,
United Way Board of Directors, United Way Targeted Needs Grant,
Vanderburgh Community Foundation, Visiting Nurses Association, and Youth
Service Bureau.
Please contact the Resource Coordinator for more
details about this exciting strategy.
AWARENESS
Strategy 2: Promote
Destination Home: A Ten Year Journey to End Homelessness
The
Task Force that developed Destination Home knew that public awareness and
support of this effort is crucial to its success, thus, the great emphasis
on education and awareness and laying a good foundation during the first
year of implementation. With the generous support of a three year pledge
from Vectren, an Education Specialist has been hired to help carry out the
educational strategies and promotional activities of Destination
Home.
Kat Isbell
"brings a wealth of experience to
this position. We're looking forward to the new opportunities this role
brings to the community," states Luzada Hayes, Executive Director of
Aurora.
Presentations
A presentation on
Destination Home was been made last month to the WorkOne Partners group.
If you would like to schedule a speaker or presentation or want
promotional materials, please contact
Kat at (812) 428-
3246 or e-mail housingmatters@auroraevansville.org
In the
News
An April letter to the editor in the Evansville Courier
& Press afforded an opportunity for an educational response related to
the realities of homelessness and homeless services. The response also
invited readers to view "Destination Home" and to inquire about how to get
involved with implementing the plan. To view the letter "In Response"
click
here. (At the time of publishing this update, the letter had yet to be
published in the newspaper.)
Community
Connections
Patchwork Central, which recently submitted
an endorsement, featured Destination Home in its April
2006 newsletter. Judi Jacobson and Susan Steinkamp contributed
comments about people they’ve encountered through Patchwork who have
experienced homelessness.
Jane Case Vickers wrote “Homelessness in
Arts & Smarts,” conveying the struggles of children who have
frequently experienced homelessness: “We later found they had been in a
shelter again and were to be evicted from another house. They had to join
ranks to deal with the outside forces they couldn’t prevent from taking
their home."
Like Patchwork Central, you too can promote
Destination Home or incorporate specific strategies into your promotional
materials. The beauty of Destination Home is that it belongs to the entire
community and all of us have a responsibility to promote its purpose and
intent. Our thanks go to Judi and others who have incorporated Destination
Home in your newsletters or other organizational
activities.
Constant Contact: A benefactor in the community
has made it possible for us to utilize this web-based e-mail campaign
software. We are grateful for the opportunity to add this new feature to
the news we convey to you, our interested partners.
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Inspiration from Other
Communities | |
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What Other
Cities/States Are Doing to End Homelessness
HENDERSON, KENTUCKY. Led by Kentucky Governor Ernie
Fletcher, federal, state, and local partners broke ground last week for
the first of a dozen new residential recovery facilities targeted to
reduce the state’s drug and homeless problems. The Women’s Addiction
Recovery Manor (W.A.R.M.) in Henderson will provide counseling, support
and hope for women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction . . .
The development is part of Governor Fletcher’s Recovery Kentucky
initiative, a joint effort by the Governor’s Office for Local Development,
the Department of Corrections, the Office of Drug Control Policy, and
Kentucky Housing Corporation to build housing recovery centers across the
state targeted to persons experiencing homelessness. Each center will use
a recovery program model that includes peer support, daily living skills
training, job responsibilities and challenges to practice sober living . .
.
Recovery Kentucky plans to develop recovery centers across the
State to provide housing and recovery services for up to 1,000 people
initially, with a center planned in each Congressional district.
Read
on ... in news from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. Mayors and City officials from across
Kentucky gathered last week in Louisville for the latest in a series of
statewide mayoral summits where the United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness has joined state and city partners to focus on the creation
of 10-Year Plans.
Read
on ... in news from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
WARREN, OHIO. The City of Warren and Trumbull County, Ohio
released their joint Blueprint to End Homelessness: A Ten Year Plan 2006
to 2016 at a press event attended by 75 people in Warren on February 28.
The Plan, which has the endorsement of both the City of Warren and
Trumbull County, calls for "a permanent, safe, decent and affordable place
to call home" for all persons and families experiencing the possibility of
homelessness in Trumbull County.
Read
on ... in news from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
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Closing Comments | |
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Looking Forward &
Staying Informed
Commission on Homelessness
The next meeting is set for
10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 at Mayor Weinzapfel's office. This
City- County commission has been established to oversee the implementation
of Destination Home.
Accessing the Full Plan
Destination Home can be found on-line
at www.auroraevansville.org
Copies are also located in the Reference Section of all branches of the
Evansville-Vanderburgh County Public Library and the Willard Library.
Getting Involved
If you would like to explore a strategy
for development, participate in an ongoing strategy or would like more
detailed information, please contact Destination Home
Resource
Coordinator, Luzada Hayes, at 428-3246 or
luzhayes@auroraevansville.org.
Funding
Sources
Destination Home is funded in part by: Bussing-Koch
Foundation, Fifth Third Foundation, Mission & Ministry Inc., Trinity
United Methodist Church and Vectren Corporation.
To financially
support Destination Home strategies and endeavors, send checks made
payable to
Aurora, Inc., 1100 Lincoln Avenue, PO Box 74, Evansville, IN
47714-0074.
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Contact Information
phone: 812-428-3246
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