Transcript Slideshow - Washington Low Income Housing Alliance

Retooling Transitional Housing
Using a Systems Perspective
Kari Murphy, Building Changes
Sheila Morley, City of Spokane
Tess Colby, Pierce County Community Connections
Workshop Objectives


Increase understanding of what retooling is and
why communities are retooling their transitional
housing
Increase knowledge of how 2 counties in
Washington State are retooling transitional housing
to more effectively reduce homelessness.
What is Retooling?


Changing the use of current homeless housing resources to
help more people access permanent housing faster.
Retooling involves:
contract changes with funders
 programmatic changes (removing time limits, eligibility criteria,
program rules, and policies and procedures)


For example:
TH  RRH
 TH  Shelter

Retooling Approach

System AND project analysis to determine need &
opportunities
Why Retool?





Current resource allocation isn’t ending
homelessness
HEARTH performance measures
Refined focus on ending the immediate housing
crisis, not on ending poverty
Match resources with need
Cost effectiveness
HEARTH Performance Measures:



Reduce the number of people who become homeless
Reduce the amount of time people spend in
homelessness
Reduce returns to homelessness
Performance on HEARTH Measure:
Exits to Permanent Housing
Shelter
Transitional
Housing
Rapid
Re-Housing
Source: Data from 14 Continuums in seven states that prepared Evaluators for National Alliance to End
Homelessness Performance Improvement Clinics in 2011-2012 compiled by Focus Strategies
Match Resources with Need



Temporarily homeless
Long-stayers
Episodically homeless families
Cost Effectiveness
Average Cost Per Exit for
Families with Children in 14 Communities
All Exits
Permanent Housing Exits
Source: Data from 14 Continuums in seven states that prepared Evaluators for National Alliance to End
Homelessness Performance Improvement Clinics in 2011-2012 compiled by Focus Strategies
Background & Context
Vision for Pierce County Family Homeless
System
• A right-sized system that
has something for every
family, when they need it
• No wait list, and no
unsheltered families
• Diversion Program
• Short LOS = turnover =
no unsheltered families
www.piercecountywa.org/cc
11
Current System
Pierce County Family System
2014
60%
• 43% of system interventions
in transitional housing, using
55% of resources
• Allocated 26% of our
resources to rapid rehousing,
which will provide 42% of
the housing slots
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Prev/Div
Shelter
Slots
TH
RRH
PSH
Investments ($$)
www.piercecountywa.org/cc
12
System Performance
• Length of Stay
– Shelter: 4.2 mo
– Transitional Housing: 13.5 mo
– Rapid Rehousing: 3.8 mo
• Exits to Permanent Housing
– Shelter: average 45%
– Transitional Housing: av 78%
– Rapid Rehousing: 4% return to
homelessness
• Exits with increased income
– Transitional Housing: av 20%
Length of Stay
16
14
12
10
8
$15,000/unit
6
4
2
$11,000/unit
$7,000/unit
0
Shelter (time limited)
Transitional Housing
(Time limited)
www.piercecountywa.org/cc
Rapid rehousing
(permanent)
13
Spokane County Facts
Spokane County- approx 475,000 residents
• 210,000 within the City of Spokane
1,763.79 square miles
Median household income, 2007-2011 $49,257
Persons below poverty level, percent, 2007-2011
Average rental vacancy rate: 4.3%
2014 Point in Time: 1149 Total Persons
US Census Bureau 2007-2012 reports
14.4%
Goal of Spokane’s Homeless System
•Easily accessible, responsive system for families and
individuals in a housing crisis
•Allows for a consistent assessment of clients needs
•Appropriate level of service and housing
•Provide permanent low-barrier housing options
•Shortest Length of stay possible in homeless system
Current Strategies in Place to meet this goal
• Coordinated Assessment System for Families
• Diversion Focus– Ensure that clients entering the system
have exhausted all other resources
•Targeted prevention assistance
•Prioritize Permanent Housing Options :
•Permanent Supportive Housing- for those with the
highest barriers
•Rapid Re-housing for those who have lower service
needs
Current Strategies: Prioritization of Funding for Permanent Housing Options
5%
2014- Investments in Homeless System
Total- $6,176.906.50
5%
Permanent Supportive Housing
26%
Support Services to High Barrier
Homeless Clients
21%
Rental Assistance
Temporary Housing
5%
Coordinated Assessment
Support Services to Homeless and
Formerly Homeless in Housing
38%
69% of all 2014 investments for permanent housing options
Current Strategies: Shift in Homeless Housing
Inventory
• From 2011-2013
– The distribution of beds shifted from temporary housing to
permanent housing
2011
Permanent
Housing
Beds
26%
Temporary
Housing
Beds
74%
2012
Permanent
Housing
Beds
38%
Temporary
Housing
Beds
62%
2013
Permanent
Housing
Beds
44%
Compiled from Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) Point in Time data 2011, 2012, and 2013
Temporary
Housing
Beds
56%
Why Retool?
Misaligned System
Calls to AP4H:
8,900
Literally homeless
households:
3,650
Vacancies in the
system:
320
www.piercecountywa.org/cc
Background on Decision to Retool
Retooling conversation started in 2011
•
Stakeholders attended 2-day NAEH workshop
•
Developing a Coordinated Assessment system was identified as the top
priority from that workshop.
•
Retooling Transitional Housing to Permanent Housing identified as 2nd
priority.
•
May 2011- Moved into planning stage for Coordinated Assessment System
with Implementation goal of 2012
•
Coordinated Assessment for Families Implemented in 2012.
•
How our system looks now
Rapid
Re-housing
provider
Rural
Outreach
All entry points
provide:
•Screening
•Diversion
•Assessment
HFCA- The
Salvation Army
•Referral to rapid re-
Phone
Walk-In
Email
housing
•RRH for all populations
•SSVF
•RRH for specific
DV provider
VOA- youth
provider
families with hh
under 18
Coordinated
Assessment
System
for Families
Coordinated
Assessment
System
for Families
geographic areas
•Referral to prevention
•Housing placement
Current Housing Inventory
9%
Emergency Shelter Units-55
Transitional Housing Units125
11%
Permanent Supportive
Housing Units-91
Other Permanent Housing
Units-24
34%
46%
www.piercecountywa.org/cc
Approach to Retooling
Retooling Process
• Data
• Best Practices
• Consultants
– Transitional Housing
– System Right Sizing
– Centralized Intake
• Homeless System Projection Tool
• Performance Improvement
Calculator
www.piercecountywa.org/cc
Our Approach to Retooling
•Lots of conversation, information and data provided to
Community Stakeholders:
HFCA Learning Community Members
Homeless Program Managers
Continuum of Care Advisory Committee
Decision Makers
•Data from coordinated asssessment, PIT, cost per
service, length of stay, recurrence, client data
•Stakeholders have developed short and long-term goals
for retooling system
What we have learned from Coordinated Assessment
•54% of families accessing the system don’t ever have to enter
the system
•Most families coming through the system have low barriers
and need a short term housing and service interventions- 85%
•Very low recurrence rate- Families aren’t entering the
homeless system after exit
•Role of Emergency Shelter had changed- Emergency Shelter
units had become a holding place for clients who needed Rapid
Re-Housing
•Housing inventory and the identified need is misaligned.
Retooling to….
Projected Distribution of Resources
Pierce County
Current Family System
PSH, 4%
Pierce County
Projected Family System
Prev/Div
10%
Prev/Div, 4%
PSH
14%
Interim
11%
RRH, 26%
Interim, 65%
RRH
65%
www.piercecountywa.org/cc
29
Vision for Pierce County Family Homeless
System
Family Experiencing Housing Crisis
Diversion/Prevention Screening
Centralized Intake
Interim Housing
YES: Same Day Referral to
Diversion Provider
Schools
NO: Same Day Entry to
Interim Housing Provider
Interim Housing Stay - Average 20 Days
* Permanent Housing Assessment
* Light Case management
* Housing Search and Placement
Rapid Rehousing
Permanent Supportive
Housing
www.piercecountywa.org/cc
Retooling Strategies: Short Term
•Changes in Service Delivery
•Moving from ES / TH units to Interim Housing Model. All programs
will take any household in need of temporary housing and adjust
their service delivery to that households need
•Integrating RRH methodologies into interim housing
programs- shift service component to reducing immediate
barriers to housing and housing search
•Increase partnership with local DSHS and RRH case managers
for integrated housing and employment case plan
Results of Short Term Strategies:
Length Of Stay In Interim Housing
Length of Stay in for clients assessed for
Emergency Shelter
70
Length of Stay in for clients assessed for
Transitional Housing
450
62
60
401
400
60
350
51
50
47
334
300
40
37
35
30
250
240
233
200
292
255
150
20
100
10
50
0
0
Q2
Q3
2012
Q4
Q1
Q2
2013
Q3
Q2
Q3
Q4
2012
Compiled from Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) data. Date Range 4/1/12 - 9/30/13
Q1
Q2
2013
Q3
Results of Short Term Strategies:
Rate Of Exits To Permanent Destination
Clients assessed for Emergency Shelter
Clients assessed for Transitional Housing
100%
100%
90%
90%
80%
80%
70%
70%
50%
47%
39%
40%
19%
10%
10%
65%
64%
61%
60%
50%
40%
30%
30%
20%
65%
59%
60%
60%
60%
20%
19%
10%
0%
0%
Q2
Q3
2012
Q4
Q1
Q2
2013
Q3
Q2
Q3
2012
Compiled from Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) data. Date Range 4/1/12 - 9/30/13
Q4
Q1
Q2
2013
Q3
Retooling Strategies: Long Term
Long term solutions:
•Adjustments to Inventory to meet need
•Continued shifting of resources to permanent housing options
•Continued adjustment to Service Delivery
Questions to be answered:
•What populations should be served in our Transitional Housing
and Permanent Supportive Housing units
•Can we re-tool current non-facility based TH programs to RRH
•How do we ensure the changes made won’t effect the current
efficiencies in the system
•How do local funding priorities need to be adjusted to complete
the re-tool of the system.
Tools needed for Retooling Decisions
DATA!
Continued review LOS, Exit and Recurrence Data within
system
Performance Improvement Calculator
STAKEHOLDER INPUT!
Continued conversation and input with CoC Advisory
Committee, program level staff and ultimately decision
makers
Questions?
Contact Information
Kari Murphy
Building Changes
206.805.6125
[email protected]
Sheila Morley
City of Spokane, Human Services Department
(509) 625-6052
[email protected]
Tess Colby
Pierce County Community Connections
(253) 798-6139
[email protected]