Transcript Slide 1

Buffalo and Erie County’s
Ten-Year Plan
A collaborative initiative to end homelessness
Katie McHugh Connolly
Program Director
Homeless Alliance of Western New York
Buffalo, New York
Context
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Buffalo and Erie County
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Homelessness
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In-line with cities of its size
Continuum of Care
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Rust Belt
Control Boards
High poverty rates
Run by a non-profit lead agency
Homeless Alliance
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Membership organization
Getting Started/Timeline
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Outreach about 10-Year Plans at monthly meetings
 ICH representative presentation
 Discussion amongst the group
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Decision from the group to develop a plan
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Steering Committee assembled
 Volunteers from membership
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Funding secured
 Small grant, local foundation
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Lead person identified
Homeless Alliance
Groundwork
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Small Staff
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Background Research
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Membership
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Review of Other Plans
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Research Culture
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Commitment to Change
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Root Causes
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Member Buy-In
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VERY Limited Budget
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Community Support
How do we make a ten-year plan RIGHT
for our community?
Prevention
Enacting policies and developing services needed to prevent homelessness
Resources
Using mainstream government resources to prevent and end homelessness
Independence through Housing
Developing housing opportunities to end homelessness and aid self-sufficiency
Services
Improving collaboration among existing service providers and filling gaps
Maintenance
Ensuring that formerly homeless individuals and families can stay housed
Guiding Principles
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Ground process in the voices of people experiencing
homeless and persons at-risk of homelessness
Maintain an open and community-driven process
Stay abreast of trends, policies, and best practices
Ensure continuing relevance of the plan
NEW DATA!
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Need for comprehensive data to
inform the plan and the process
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Don’t rely on census data
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Can meet HUD’s required Point-inTime count (last week of January)
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Use a survey to glean the most
information
Phase I: Data Collection
Questionnaire
Construction
Committee
Service
Location
Committee
Street
Location
Committee
Community-Wide
Data Collection
Volunteer
Committee
Phase I: Data Collection
• 24-hours
• 165 Community Volunteers
• 35 Service Sites
• Dozens of Street Locations
• 1,000+ Respondents
Findings
Service/Street Respondents
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65% indicated they had been homeless in their lifetime.
40% were currently homeless
92% had been homeless more than once
10% met “chronic” criteria
Shelter Respondents
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53% were homeless for the first time
47% had been homeless more than once
7% met “chronic” criteria
Self-Identified Reasons for Homelessness
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Lack of Income
Lack of Work
Lack of Affordable Housing
Substance Abuse
Research
Phase II: Planning
Environmental
Scan Committee
Community Forums and
Homeless Think Tanks
Outreach
Committee
Best Practices
Committee
Forums
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Activity-Based
Brainstorming
Problem-Solving
Sharing
Expertise
Think Tanks
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Conversational
Review of Process
Sounding Board
Sharing
Experience
Who’s around the table?
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Homeless service providers (All subpopulations)
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Government departments and officials
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Law enforcement
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Private sector (foundations, banks, business)
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Universities
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Concerned citizens
Prevention
Consultation with
Key Players
Committee
Resources
Committee
Think Tanks with
Homeless Persons
Independence Through
Housing
Committee
Services
Committee
Written Plan
Maintenance
Committee
Phase II: Planning
Releasing the Plan: A Media
Event!
Phase III: Plan Implementation
and Progress Evaluation
Concurrent processes to both:
• cooperatively implement the plan’s
recommendations community-wide,
including the development of an
implementation plan and community
indicators; and
• provide continuous evaluation and
monitoring of the plan’s progress to
ensure relevance and success
PRISM Participants
Alcohol and Drug Dependency Services
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt’s Office
Back to Basics Ministries
Belmont Shelter Corporation
Buffalo City Mission
Buffalo Metropolitan Housing Authority
Buffalo Urban League
Catholic Charities
Cazenovia Recovery Systems
Community Action Organization
Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled
Compass House
Cornerstone Manor
Crisis Services
Durham Memorial AME Zion Church/Central City Café
Eden United Methodist Church Food Pantry
Erie County Department of Environment and Planning
Erie County Department of Mental Health
Erie County Department of Senior Services
Erie County Department of Social Services
Erie County Office for the Disabled
Feed My Sheep
Franciscan Center
Friends of the Night People
Gerard Place
Group Ministries
Hearts for the Homeless
Hillside Children’s Center
Hispanics United of Buffalo
Homespace, Inc.
Interfaith Hospitality Network
Key Bank
Lake Shore Behavioral Health
Living Opportunities of DePaul
Loaves and Fishes
M and T Bank
Mental Health Peer Connection/Independent Living Program
Mid-Erie Counseling
Neighborhood Legal Services
Restoration Society
The Salvation Army – Buffalo Area Services
Social Security Administration
South Buffalo Community Table
St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy
Transitional Services, Inc.
FLARE - Teaching and Restoring Youth
UB Department of Social Work
UB Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth
United Way of Buffalo and Erie County
Veterans Administration
Western New York Veterans Housing Coalition
YWCA of Western New York
To learn more about the PRISM Project, visit our website:
www.wnyhomeless.org
Or call the Homeless Alliance of Western New York at
(716) 853-1101