Ending Family Homelessness: The Basics

NAEH, February 2008 Betsy Lieberman Building Changes BuildingChanges.org

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Causes of Family Homelessness

o Lack of affordable housing o Economic or domestic crisis o Difficulty securing “living-wage” job o Multiple disabilities

Simple Typology

o Approximately 80% of families need rental assistance/affordable housing and may need short term/transitional or emergency services o 15-20% of homeless families need subsidized housing and range of services

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o Complexity of issues: mental illness, substance abuse, criminal justice involvement, domestic violence and trauma

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Historic Perspective: Community Responses to Homeless Families o Similarities with AIDS housing field -- Responding to urgent needs -- Visionaries who have been personally impacted -- Focus on short-term/emergency/ transitional housing o Not a continuum of care/supportive housing priority; lack of community approaches

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Moving Forward

o Willingness for providers to see themselves as part of a

community solution

with

objectives shared goals and

o Serving families effectively and appropriately o Using resources judiciously o Commitment to do business

differently

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Creating Resources for Homeless Families o Creating an assessment tool used for all families o Continuum of homeless and housing services that is data-driven --Homelessness prevention --Rapid housing; Housing First --Housing assistance: rent subsidies that are need-based and potentially tiered amounts

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Creating and Linking Services that Work o Create needs-based service models o Use flexible and complementary benefits o Link with employment programs o Create a backdoor to open up units

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Homelessness, Housing & Assistance Act (2005) o Funded by a $10 document recording fee on real estate transactions in all Washington State counties o Commitment from all sectors is necessary to end homelessness in Washington o Housing and services administered at the local level, with counties as the lead o Counties and State develop and implement plans 2015 to reduce homelessness by 50% by

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Homelessness Housing & Assistance Act

Funding:

o Anticipates $12 - 16 million per year for housing and homeless services o Counties keep 60% of revenue; 40% goes to the state housing agency for a statewide grant program o All funds go toward ending homelessness o Essentially any activity that leads to reducing homelessness is eligible, if it complies with the state and local plan priorities, including TA and capacity building

Washington State Initiatives Sound Families (2001)

The Sound Families Initiative: $40 million to increase transitional housing plus services

1,445 units built 2,700 children and 1,500 families served to date

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67% found permanent housing School absenteeism down by 24% 60% increased their incomes Employment increased by 22%

Washington State Initiatives — Sound Families: Lessons learned Housing + Services WORKS

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Jobs + Education are critical levers o All families’ needs are not the same o Rapid re-housing and short-term supports vs. permanent supportive housing and ongoing, intensive services o Not enough being done to bring employment opportunities to wage earners in families

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Washington Families Fund (2004) o Created as a public-private partnership o Purpose: to expand availability of supportive housing for homeless families by providing stable, 10-year services funding awards across Washington State o Building Changes ’ roles: fundraising, grant making, administration, technical assistance, advocacy, research and evaluation

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Washington Families Fund o Washington State: $6 million in 2004 2007 ($6 million in 2008) o 18 philanthropic partners: $6 million to date o $ 9.3 million committed to 28 partnerships statewide o 389 units of service-enriched housing o 5,000 families--12,000 individuals over lifetime of grants

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o Structure of Washington Families Fund In 2007, a two-tiered funding model was introduced differentiating between families with high- and moderate level service needs o Moderate-Level Service model builds on the classic WFF model and adds an employment component to help families transition into living wage and an expanded focus on children ’ s services o High-Level Service model assists people chronically homeless and facing multiple barriers to housing stability

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Creating Results

o Partnerships o Working with Public Housing Authorities o Expanding resources as well as using resources more appropriately o Serving more families o

No family left in a car, under a bridge, on the streets