Commission on Homelessness

MEMBERS MEETINGS COMMITTEES MINUTES

The Commission on Homelessness is the oversight body whose charge is to keep Destination: Home strategies moving forward.

This Commission has been established by both the Evansville City Council and the Vanderburgh County Commissioners. The Vanderburgh County Commissioners passed an ordinance to establish this joint Commission in December 2004. The City Council passed the ordinance to establish this commission in Feb. 2005. The Commission is described in Destination: Home, Accountability and Monitoring of the Ten Year Plan found on pages 35-36.

MEMBERS

The following members compose this Commission:

	Lloyd Winnecke, Mayor
	Troy Tornatta, County Commissioner
	Royce Sutton, County Councilman, Vanderburgh County Council
	Missy Mosby, City Councilwoman, City of Evansville
	Patty Avery, Homeless Youth Coalition
	Craig Berkeley, Old National Bank
	John Browning, Southwestern Indiana Mental Health
	Carol Braden Clarke, United Way of Southwestern Indiana
	Diane Clements, Human Relations Commission
	Cathy Gray, Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
	Tom Horstman, WorkOne Southwest
	Lynne Imes, Homeless Services Council of Southwest Indiana
	Tom Barnett & Gayl Killough, Department of Metropolitan Development
	Walt Lowe, Lowe Realty, Inc.
	Mildred Motley, Evansville Housing Authority
	Arin Norris, Raising Incomes Committee
	Cathy Pearce, FSSA-Vocational Rehabilitation
	Cynthia Smith, Homeless Youth Coalition

Staff support provided by

	Luzada Hayes, Executive Director, Aurora, Inc. as the Destination: Home Resource Coordinator
	Mindy Niehaus, Coalition Coordinator, Discharge Planning Coalition
	Naila Carnagua, Prevention Coordinator, Aurora, Inc. Homeless Prevention Coalition

MEETINGS

The Commission held its first meeting on June 7, 2005.

The leadership will alternate between the Mayor and the County Commissioners, with Mayor Weinzapfel serving as the chair the first year. Operational guidelines for the Commission are being developed. Aurora, Inc. will assist the City and County in facilitating the commission’s meetings and tasks.

The Commission meets monthly and members have become familiar with the plan, housing, discharge planning, and prevention initiatives. They will establish baseline measures to determine the success of identified strategies, look at the issues of raising incomes and developing sustainable funding, and identify ways to connect Destination: Home strategies to other community initiatives already underway.

The purpose of the Commission is to make non-binding recommendations to city and county government, nonprofit organizations, and other interested agencies concerning the ten-year plan to end homelessness. It will also make similar recommendations on other issues of importance concerning homelessness in our community and oversee progress on the implementation of Destination: Home.

COMMITTEES

Commission committees:

The Housing Committee is charged with overseeing the housing strategies outlined in Destination: Home. The committee is also promoting of the indianahousingnow.org website for matching landlords with individuals/families seeking rental units

~ Chair: Mildred Motley

The Discharge Planning Coalition has developed and approved a community Discharge Planning Policy which does not allow discharges into homelessness. Work continues toward implementation of the policy.

~ Chair: Cathy Gray

Coordinator: Mindy Niehaus email at homelink@destination-home.info

The Homeless Youth Coalitionaddressing the prevalence of homelessness among teens and young adults from ages 13 - 23. Coalition members are raising awareness of issues, causes, and needs of homeless youth as well as working toward prevention, a continuum of services, improved data, and influencing legislation related to the solutions to the problem.

~ Co-Chairs: Patty Avery & Cynthia Smith

The Homeless Prevention Coalition has created a housing risk assessment tool for area service providers to use in identifying households at-risk of becoming homeless. The tool also includes suggested interventions based on the level of need and available community resources.

~ Chair: Lynne Imes

Coordinator: Naila Carnagua email at naila@auroraevansville.org

The Raising Incomes Committee is addressing strategies related to increasing opportunities for low-wage/low-skill workers to obtain the necessary skills and employment to earn a living wage.

~ Chair: Arin Norris

The Homeless Health Coalition is addressing strategies related to streamlining access to health care for people who are homeless.

~ Leaders: John Browning, Carol Collier-Smith, Luzada Hayes

MINUTES

Minutes of Commission meetings

State of the City Address 2008 - Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel

"Our city-county Commission on Homelessness has brought together a wide-range of community representatives to address the plight of the homeless. I am pleased by the progress that is being made through our monthly meetings and look forward to continuing the dialogue to help ensure individuals and families in Evansville and Vanderburgh County have the most basic of needs met."

Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel

"The nation’s housing challenges will not diminish without the involvement of all levels of government, as well as the collaboration of businesses and nonprofit housing and service providers."

Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University,

State of the Nation’s Housing 2005