Transcript Improving Transitional Housing Models

Maximizing Transitional
Housing Resources
The Lancaster County
Pennsylvania Experience
Kay Moshier McDivitt
Community Homeless Advisor for Lancaster
County
150 North Queen Street, Suite 602
Lancaster PA. 17603
Tele: 717-735-8485
[email protected]
Our Community
• County of 500,000
• City of Lancaster: 56,000 person situated in the
middle of Lancaster County
• Very diversified population (from very rural
Mennonite/Amish communities to a large
concentration of Latino’s in the city)
• Historically, neither the city nor county
government has taken ownership of
homelessness, shelters or ending homelessness
Tabor Community Services
• Established in 1968
• Our Mission: To rebuild communities by helping
families find housing and financial solutions
• HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency
since 1971
• A Member of the National Foundation of
Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies since
1988
• Accredited through the Council on Accreditation
since 1996.
Tabor Community Services
• Financial Counseling Services
– Consumer Credit Counseling Services
– Matched Savings Accounts Programs
– Foreclosure Prevention Counseling Initiatives
• Housing Counseling Programs
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Rental Counseling/Prevention Programs
First Time Homebuyer Programs
Family Self Sufficiency/HOV Program
Rapid Re-Housing
• Supportive Housing Programs
– Permanent Supportive Housing
– Transitional Housing
Tabor’s Transitional Housing
Models
• Jubilee House opened in July 2000 in response
to Continuum of Care request
• Transitional Living Center merged with Tabor in
July 2004; Originally started as “Harb-Adult” in
1988 in a 54 room hotel serving single adults,
added families in the mid 90’s
• Beth Shalom merged with Tabor July 2006;
originally started as a transitional housing
program for “unwed” young mothers
Our Issue: What is our role in
meeting the community’s goal of
ending homelessness?
• Strategic Planning Process
– Identifies clear steps and goals
– Identifies key players in the process
• Redefined who we are
– Requires an “open mind” for ANY suggested changes
– Requires retraining, new resources and internal
cultural shifts
• Communicated our Role to the Community at
Large
– Funders/supporters
– Homeless Provider and Social Services system
– Clientele
Strategic Planning Process for
Shaping Tabor’s Transitional
Housing Programs
• Steps we took
– Revisited our program mission statements (Does the
goal of the program ultimately end homelessness)
– Critical review of outcomes, indicators, targets (are
we successful in ending homelessness?)
– Feedback from Lancaster County’s Continuum of
Care committee (what are the gaps/community
needs)
– Established a Community Review Committee
Strategic Planning Process for
Shaping Tabor’s Transitional
Housing Programs
• Identifies Clear Goals
– To review current mission and clientele and
make recommendations regarding goals and
direction
– Analyze outcome data
– Final Goal: to ensure program is meeting a
community need and is ending homelessness
Strategic Planning Process for
Shaping Tabor’s Transitional
Housing Programs
• Identified issues to be considered
– Current role, populations served, transitional vs
permanent, future funding, outcomes
• Identified possible options
– Continue as is, target populations, provided combined
transitional/permanent, full permanent
• Identified questions we wanted answered
– Gaps that exist, solution to fill that gap, feasibility for
plan, what does “program mean”, what does
“transitional” mean
Strategic Planning Process for
Shaping Tabor’s Transitional
Housing Programs
• Identify Key Players in the Process: Developed
a Study Group
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City government
Funders
Mainstream Providers
Board Member (current and former board members)
Neighbors
Homeless Providers
United Way
Staff, direct service and management
Former clientele
Redefining Who We Are
• Requires an open mind
– Any suggested change is worth reviewing; this is
about ending homelessness
– Winning teams are those that come up with new plays
– “Its not the letting go that hurts, it’s the holding on”
– We are here not for ourselves, but for the community
– Ultimately, going out of business can be a good thing!
• Retraining, new resources, internal cultural shifts
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Identify what training will be needed
Identify resources, both funding and services
Develop a plan to shift organizational culture
Identify strategic service providers to partner with
Communicating to the Community
at Large
• Funders/Supporters: Make them
believers, involve them in the process
• Get feedback from the providers, utilize
them to get the message out
• Get the word on the streets
• Most difficult for long established
programs
What Transitional Housing is for
Tabor: The Outcome
• Prioritized and now serve Targeted Populations
• Redefined length of stay:
• Service provision is through external program/sources
rather than internal
• Redefined staff role to that of a supportive service
coordinator
• Coordinated case management inclusive of all external
providers
• Shared outcomes and indicators with major focus on
moving to permanent affordable housing
• Established community partnerships
• Reductions in costs
Targeted Populations
• Jubilee House: Women completed treatment
programs who are homeless and have children
(family reunification)
• Beth Shalom: Women released from prison who
are homeless and have children
• TLC: Set asides
– Two Floors for Veterans (all referred through the VA)
– Single Men and Women coming from Prison (working
with pre-release unit and drug court)
– Two Parent Homeless Families,
– Single Male Headed Households
Length of Stay
• Not Program Driven
• Determined by individual plan to find permanent
housing, not by program “requirements”
• Focus on shortest length according the
individual needs
• Average for TLC dropped from 8-12 months to
3-4 months
• Jubilee from 18 months to 6-8 months
• Beth Shalom just started accepting residents,
still developing targets
Services provided externally
• Partner with community providers
• Less dependence on the program
• Ensures an ongoing sustaining support system
within the larger community
• Mental Health, Recovery, parenting services, life
skills etc. are all external providers
• Service participation is not mandated,
• Referrals made if identified as part of the
barriers to housing plan (better participation
because it is client driven, not program driven)
Redefined Staff Role:
Supportive Service Coordinator
• Shift from “what you need to do to stay
here successfully, to what you need to
leave here successfully”
• Role is not to counsel or “fix” but to
connect residents with the services
identified on the case management and
permanent housing plans
Coordinated Case Management
• Ensures seamless case management so
that all providers are on the same page
• Releases of information to obtain case
management plans from other providers
• Reduces duplication of services and
ensures successful housing procurement
Shared Outcomes and Indicators
• All transitional housing providers in the
community have shared outcome
measurements
• Program success is measured by
households successfully leaving the
homeless system and maintaining their
permanent housing
• Funders are using the shared outcome
measurements
Strategic Community Partnerships
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Treatment Programs
Lancaster County MH/MR and D&A
Children and Youth
VA
RMO (Re-entry Management Organization)
Emergency Shelter Providers
Food and Clothing Banks
Other Tabor Programs (Financial Literacy,
Budgeting, Matched Savings)
• Job Readiness and Employment Programs (WIB,
Career Link)
Cost Effective
• Reduced the TLC budget by 25%
• Reduced the Beth Shalom Budget by 60%
• Cost per household served reduced by
42%
Results
• 74% of households in the Transitional
Living Center moved to permanent
housing in an average of 3.4 months
• 82% of households in Jubilee House
moved to permanent housing in an
average of 7.2 months
• 94% maintained permanent housing for six
months, 82% for a year
Final Thoughts
• Re-defining the role of transitional housing
for your community requires a culture that
embraces change
• Clear goals are imperative
• Community involvement is key to success
• Prepare a communication plan
• Remember, “its not the letting go that
hurts, it’s the holding on”.
Kay Moshier McDivitt
Community Homeless Advisor for
Lancaster County
150 North Queen Street, Suite 602
Lancaster PA. 17603
Tele: 717-735-8485 Fax: 717-295-3680
[email protected]