Individual Services Meeting
May 4, 2017
In attendance: Steve Connor, Hampshire County veterans services, John Hornik, Amherst Housing Committee, Jay Levy, Eliot CHS Homeless Services, Jen Lucca, Samaratin Inn, Kim Majewski, Gandara Center, Gerry McCafferty, City of Springfield, Dave Modzelewski, REACH, Donna Nadeau, DHCD, Lynn White, HRU
Community Solutions Learning Session Report-Out:
The bulk of today’s meeting included a presentation and discussion of a special 2 day “Learning Session” in Washington, DC, that took place a couple of weeks ago. It included 75 communities from across the country working on ending chronic and veteran homelessness. The Hampden County CoC attended, represented by 6 participants (from Health Care for the Homeless, MHA, FOH, Eliot Services and the CoC).
It was an exciting and rewarding time, filled with concrete action plan creation and goal setting. Community Solutions is a non-profit that is driving the analysis and experimentation with ending homelessness strategies, all data-driven. HUD is present and supportive of the effort.
Community Solutions will be convening this same group of 75 2 more times over the next year (next gathering in Chicago in September, then another gathering in January) on the premise that this effort will encapsulate 12 months of continuous improvement, i.e., real time experimentation with strategies and quick feedback, exchanges and next round of experimentation.
Gerry talked us through Hampden County’s summary action plan. Click here for their “Storyboard.” The goal is to reduce the number of chronically homeless people by 47% over the next 4 months. This will be accomplished by both increasing the number of people housed and reducing the number of people coming into chronic homelessness. This will involve several strategies which were also discussed, including the creation of “pipeline units” in order to maintain engagement with CH individual while searching out permanent housing unit and the shifting of resources to allow for greater prevention efforts. Friends of the Homeless’ Coordinated Entry effort will also dedicate an employee to housing search/landlord contact development. Conversations with Springfield Housing Authority have also led to a new partnership around their Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) subsidies. Gerry will also be reaching out to Holyoke Housing Authority (and other Holyoke city officials) to explore partnerships there.
The group observed how reducing the numbers of homeless individuals requires very “in-the-weeds” work – extremely exacting, individualized, concrete. The by-name list is a critical component of the effort.
We discussed how lessons learned from this effort can be utilized across the region. Gerry will send out the link to general materials available through Community Solutions.
Note: click here: https://cmtysolutions.docebosaas.com/lms/index.php?r=site/index&login=1 And go to the “new user” button at the upper right of the page
We agreed that it would be useful to incorporate in our monthly meetings a report-out on progress: how many people entered homelessness; how many people housed in a given month. Steve will explore whether this is possible via the Three County’s list.
Quick Summary of Federal Budget for FY17:
We noted the passage of the Continuing Resolution for the FY17 federal budget; that US Interagency Council on Homelessness is still funded and there have been increases in funding for homeless assistance programs. This is a pleasant surprise. But it has no bearing on what may lie ahead for FY18.
Hampshire/Franklin REACH Meeting: Monday, 5/8, 1 pm, DMH building
Dave Modzelewski announced that this meeting is being convened upon request by participants to discuss the future of this REACH meeting and if/how it may modify itself to support the by-name list work in the Three County region.
Next meeting date:
Thursday, June 1, 10:30 am- 12 noon, Friends of the Homeless, 755 Worthington Street.
