Transcript UNITY of Greater New Orleans

UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
A Collaborative of 60 Agencies
Working to End Homelessness
Bringing New Orleans Home
New Orleans City Council
Housing and Human Needs
Committee
August 20, 2007
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Who are we?
• An award-winning collaborative founded in
1992
• 60 nonprofit and government agencies
working to prevent, reduce and end
homelessness
• Provide both housing and services
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• Secure $12 million annually in competitive
HUD funds
• Distribute funds to 50 agencies in Orleans
and Jefferson; train their staffs
• Oversee work of 100 subcontracts
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Provide two basic types of housing:
• Permanent Supportive Housing
• Transitional Housing
HUD Continuum of Care funds can be used to
fund services in emergency shelters, but not
the construction or operating costs of
emergency shelters.
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• Provide a wide variety of services:
– Outreach, housing search assistance, case
management, employment search
assistance, substance addiction treatment,
mental health services, medical care,
legal services, child care
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• UNITY requires the following performance from
the agencies it funds:
– At least 63% of transitional housing clients
move to permanent housing
– At least 80% of Permanent Supportive Housing
clients stay stably housed for at least seven
months
– At least 20% -30% of clients must be employed
upon discharge from program
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Who receives funding?
• 40 agencies receive UNITY Continuum of
Care Funds
• 16 agencies receive UNITY Housing Repair
Funds
• 11 agencies receive UNITY Homeless
Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Funds
www.unitygno.org
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Unity
of Greater New Orleans
Continuum of Care Funds
• Armstrong Family Services
• Bridge House
• Catholic Charities Archdiocese
of New Orleans
• Concerned Citizens for a Better
Algiers – Home Again
• Covenant House
• Daughters of Charity Health
Services
• First Evangelist Housing and
Community Development
Corporation
• Galilee Community
Development Corporation
• Gateway
• Goodwill Industries
• Hope House
• Harry Tompson Center
• Healthcare for the Homeless
• House of Ruth
• Jefferson Parish Human
Services Authority
• Last Hope
www.unitygno.org
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Unity
of Greater New Orleans
Continuum of Care Funds
• Lindy’s Place
• Living Witness
• Louisiana Public Health
Institute
• Loyola Law Clinic
• McCaleb Educational
Foundation
• National Council of Negro
Women
• New Orleans Mission
• New Orleans Police and Justice
Foundation
• New Orleans Pro Bono Project
• NO/AIDS Task Force
• Odyssey House
• Ozanam Inn
• Project Lazarus
• Resources for Human
Development
• Responsibility House
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Continuum of Care Funds
• Salvation Army
• Southeast Louisiana Legal
Services
• St. Vincent DePaul Society
• Travelers Aid Society
• Tulane University Hospital
Dept. of Pediatrics
• Volunteers of America
• UNITY of Greater New Orleans
• VIA LINK
• Salvation Army
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Housing Repair Funds
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Belle Reve
Catholic Charities
Community Christian Concern
Home Again
Hope House
Living Witness
Lovetouch Ministries, Inc.
McCaleb Educational Fund
National Council of Negro
Women
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New Orleans Mission
Odyssey House
Ozanam Inn
Project Lazarus
Responsibility House
Volunteers of America
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing funds
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Alternatives Living
Catholic Charities
Community Care Center
Community Service Center
Covenant House
Desire Community Housing
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Hope House
House of Ruth
In This Together
New Hope
Total Community Action
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
The current situation for people
who are homeless or threatened
with homelessness
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• Estimated double the rate of homelessness
in Orleans and Jefferson post-K
• Now estimated at 12,000 homeless persons
• Living in abandoned buildings, on streets,
in cars, in homeless housing
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• Thousands more doubled-up with family
and friends
• We’re seeing a whole new population of
homeless persons
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• While moderating, rents remain high
– 2-bedroom apartment now rents for
$978/month, up from $676 in 2005**
• Affordable housing in short supply
**Fair Market Rents, as cited in The New Orleans Index, Second Anniversary Special Edition, from The
Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program and Greater New Orleans Community Data
Center
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Pre-Katrina:
• UNITY Collaborative housed 2,788 people
in permanent, transitional and emergency
housing
– 940 in Permanent Supportive Housing
– 1,011 in transitional housing
– 837 in emergency shelters
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Five months after Katrina:
• 484 beds for Permanent Supportive Housing
– 51% of pre-K
• 629 beds for transitional housing – 62 % of
pre-K
• 180 beds for emergency shelters – 22% of
pre-K
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Current overall collaborative capacity is
64% of pre-K
• Can now serve 1,772 people
– 818 in PSH – 87% of pre-K
– 719 in transitional housing – 71% of pre-K
– 254 in emergency shelters – 30% of pre-K
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• In the past year, UNITY collaborative has
provided housing and services to more than
6,700 individuals and families
• Beds/spots in service programs are filled as
soon as vacated
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Current initiatives
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Rapid Re-housing and Homeless Prevention
Hurricane Recovery Program
• Contracting with La. Dept. of Social
Services to provide Road Home $$ for
homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing help in Orleans, Jefferson,
Plaquemines
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Rapid Re-housing and Homeless Prevention
• $3.8 million to go to 11 agencies – helping
more than 1,500 households
• Types of help -- rent assistance, utility
assistance and supportive services for
people/families at risk of homelessness
within 30 days
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Ten-year plan to end chronic homelessness
• Working with City’s Office of Planning and
Development
• Focus on creating Permanent Supportive
Housing as the evidence-based practice to
end city’s chronic homelessness problem
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)
Hurricane Recovery Initiative
• Worked with Louisiana Recovery Authority
to set goal of 3,000 PSH apartments
(including bricks/mortar, rent subsidies, and
services linked to the apartments) in Road
Home Plan
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Permanent Supportive Housing development
• Working with Common Ground Community –
nation’s largest developer of supportive housing –
previously identified by City of New Orleans and
Downtown Development District as the national
model for ending homelessness to replicate in
New Orleans
• Two Rockefeller/Univ. of Penn. fellows will staff
Common Ground Institute for UNITY of Greater
New Orleans
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Permanent Supportive Housing development
• Work with UNITY Nonprofit Supportive
Housing Developers Working Group to
identify & acquire sites, work with
architects, apply for funding, oversee
rehab/construction, train local nonprofits on
supportive housing property management
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• Idea-- housing that serves both disabled
homeless people and the low-wage workers
vital to the New Orleans economy
• Model values integration, adaptive reuse,
historic preservation, high-quality on-site
services, high architectural quality,
stabilization of surrounding neighborhood
• Goal is to develop 500 units city-wide
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
UNITY Welcome Home
• Outreach, housing search and placement
model – “Housing First” best practice
modeled after Philadelphia & San Francisco
street outreach
• Works to end street homelessness
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
UNITY Welcome Home
• $$ used for placement in UNITY
collaborative housing, rent assistance,
security deposits, furnishings, hotel
vouchers as emergency shelter
• Funded by HUD and Katrina Aid today
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
www.unityhousinglink.org
• Web-based affordable rental housing
database available to the public
• Landlords agree to rent at no more than
80% of FMR
• Typically at least 500 listings at a time
• Co-sponsored by Apartment Association of
Greater New Orleans
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Critical Policy and Funding Challenges
on the Horizon
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Key funding requests for Congress and State
• 3,000 Permanent Supportive Housing
vouchers for persons with disabilities or
otherwise vulnerable
• $10 million for rental assistance
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• More GO Zone Low Income Housing Tax
Credits to fully fund the recovery by
repairing New Orleans’ rental housing stock
• Full funding for Road Home program
homeownership program so that all
homeowners – including those who are lowincome – can repair their homes
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Permanent Supportive Housing Voucher
funding
• Need Congress to appropriate funds for
3,000 vouchers in Fall 2007
• Crucial last piece – have $$ for bricks and
mortar, services
• Chance to help most vulnerable
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
• Proven best practice – Permanent
Supportive Housing works, and is costeffective
• Louisiana can be a national leader
• Need the City Council’s support!
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Equitable housing redevelopment in New
Orleans
• Support dialogue with City Council to find
best ways to provide affordable, accessible
rental housing to help New Orleanians
return home
• Exploring ideas that work – pledge to
continue
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
Naval Support Activity – East Bank
• Working on proposal to use portion of the
space to address needs of those facing
homelessness
• Will work with neighbors and city leaders
www.unitygno.org
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UNITY
of Greater New Orleans
A Collaborative of 60 Agencies
Working to End Homelessness
Bringing New Orleans Home
504-821-4496
www.unitygno.org
www.unitygno.org
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