Overview

A PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH TO ENDING HOMELESSNESS

A public health approach mobilizes broad community partnerships to prevent and mitigate problems.  This approach works to support both the individual and the community.   In the context of homelessness, the premise is that addressing the housing and service needs of an individual or family protects the community, while… in turn… addressing housing and service needs for the health of the community protects the individual and family.  Society at large reaps the overall rewards of the approach.

Communities throughout the country are demonstrating that homelessness is a problem that can be solved, not just managed.  We can end homelessness by providing housing and support services focused on sustaining that housing.

The WMRCN is a regional approach to ending family and individual homelessness that focuses on the “right resources to the right people at the right time.” Our initiatives prioritize prevention, rapid re-housing and housing stabilization through community supports and economic opportunity.

The public health approach works at three levels:

  • Community: introduction of meaningful assessment and accurate referral at the many locations that encounter families at risk of homelessness and individuals who experience chronic homelessness.
  • Target groups: the coordination required to match the right resources to people in need.
  • Individuals: evidence-based strategies to provide housing, housing subsidies, and supportive services to individuals. Our goal is to serve 43 individuals and 310 families over an 18-month period.

We seek to change our system’s response to homelessness.  Creating this change takes leadership and public education, and relies on accountability to the community.

 

The Western MA Regional Coordinating Network is a collaboration of multiple service providers and agencies and civic and business leaders throughout Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire Counties.  It is led by a Leadership Council, which guides the effort, monitoring results and ensuring accountability.

 

This initiative is funded by a $1.1 million grant from the Massachusetts Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness.   The ICHH Grant Application provides a full description of the project.

 

The 501(c)(3) arm of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) is the fiscal sponsor for this project.