One Family Inc. Blog

Welcome to the One Family Right Resources Blog!

Monthly Archives: January 2012

CNN: Stimulus Money Kept Americans Off the Street, Study Finds

Stimulus money kept Americans off the street, study finds

By Matt Smith, CNN
updated 8:59 AM EST, Wed January 18, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • The estimated U.S. homeless population has remained basically flat, researchers say
  • But a rise in people sharing housing is “not a good sign,” an advocate says
  • About $1.5 billion in stimulus money helped keep people in homes, she says

 

(CNN) — Federal aid helped many cash-strapped Americans keep a roof over their heads during the prolonged economic slump, but the number of people living a step away from the streets has grown sharply, researchers reported Wednesday.

 

The estimated U.S. homeless population dipped about 1% between 2009 and 2011 despite the lingering effects of the 2007-2009 recession, the Washington-based Homelessness Research Institute concluded.

 

About $1.5 billion from the 2009 economic stimulus measure went toward rental assistance and programs steering recently evicted people toward new housing, “and it seems likely that that has worked,” said Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

 

Nevertheless, the homeless population went up in 24 states during the past two years, the Washington-based researchers found. And the number of people who have had to move in with friends or relatives — often a last stop before the street — is up as well, according to Wednesday’s report.

 

The Homelessness Research Institute, the educational arm of Roman’s organization, put the number of Americans living on the streets or in shelters at just over 636,000 in 2011. That’s down about 6,000 from the group’s 2009 estimate. The figure is based on reports and street counts from state and local agencies that receive federal housing funds.

 

Roman said the stimulus money, coupled with pre-recession federal programs aimed at veterans and the chronically ill, have kept that figure down even as the U.S. economy saw its worst downturn since the 1930s. But that money is drying up now that the Obama administration, Congress and the states are grappling with budget issues fueled by the recession.

 

“Just like all domestic discretionary spending, it’s vulnerable at the moment because of the deficit,” Roman said. States have already been cutting services, “So again, it’s notable that these are still working.”

 

The report found the effects of the recession keep cascading downward more than two years after its official end in mid-2009.


Click here to access the full article.

Click here to access the Alliance’s report: The State of Homelessness in America.

Webinar: Where Do Families Go After Foreclosure?

Join the Foreclosure-Response.org and HousingPolicy.org on Thursday, January 26, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST to hear about a recent Urban Institute report on the impact of foreclosure on residential stability. Researchers from Baltimore, New York City and Washington, D.C. will present on studies from each city and the differences that emerged in where families go after foreclosure.  They will also highlight the policy implications of their findings.

 

Speakers include:

  • Jennifer Comey, Urban Institute
  • Ingrid Ellen Gould, New York University
  • Kathryn Pettit, Urban Institute
  • Mathew Kachura, University of Baltimore

 

Register for this webinar!

NPR: Mass. Homeless Program Faces ‘Tsunami Of Need’

Mass. Homeless Program Faces ‘Tsunami Of Need

By Deborah Becker Jan 12, 2012, 4:24 AM

BOSTON — Massachusetts set a record last year in the number of homeless families living in hotels. When homeless shelters are full, the state uses the hotels for temporary housing.

 

A new program has helped reduce the number of families living in hotels, but there is so much demand that officials worry the numbers could go back up.

 

Among those helped by the new program is 27-year-old Lianie Rivera, who now lives in a spacious four-bedroom apartment near Boston. Rivera moved in about a month ago and is rightfully proud of her new home. Last fall, she found herself going through a divorce, raising her five children alone, and homeless. Because all shelters were full, the state put Rivera and her kids — all under the age of 9 — into an isolated hotel in Brighton. She says it was difficult to cook, to do laundry, to get along.

 

“We spend $3,000 a month for a family to live in a hotel. We spend $1,100 a month for them to live in an apartment.” –Chris Norris, Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership

“It was all one room with them. It was very crowded,” Rivera said. “You know how kids are, they are on top of each other. I was pulling out my hair. I was trying to get their behavior better. It was a very tough situation.”

 

Rivera is among the record number of homeless Massachusetts families who lived in hotels last year. But she was able to get into what’s known as the HomeBase program — a new state effort to prevent homelessness.

 

“It’s a great program. It certainly got me out of my situation and I’m thankful,” Rivera said. “It’s just that you want to be a parent. When you can’t provide a home for your children, it’s very painful.”

 

In August, the program began providing emergency housing funds and long-term rental assistance to low-income families. The $40 million program helped some 3,000 families and dramatically reduced the number of those living in hotels. But by October, there were so many people seeking assistance that the program had to be curtailed.

 

“I would describe it as a tsunami of need,” said Chris Norris, executive director of the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, a nonprofit that administers affordable housing programs in Greater Boston. To qualify for the HomeBase program, a family must earn less than 115 percent of the federal poverty level. So a family the size of Rivera’s would have to make less than $34,000 a year. Norris says thousands of families are in similar situations.

 

“We have more than 100,000 families on our wait-list right now statewide for rental assistance. It’s a nine-year wait,” Norris said.

 

Click here to read the remainder of the article.

Welcome Home Massachusetts

CHAPA is kicking off its Welcome Home Massachusetts campaign – a three year campaign with the goal of increasing affordable housing throughout the state.  Please see the enforcement request letter below and have your organization sign on if you share our goals of increasing affordable housing through the Commonwealth.

 

Welcome Home Massachusetts – Endorse now to be sure your name is included…

 

January 5, 2012

 

Dear Affordable Housing Supporter,

 

Thank you for a terrific response!  In one month, over 200 affordable housing supporters have endorsed Welcome HomeMassachusetts, CHAPA’s three year campaign with the goal of increasing affordable housing throughout the state.  If you have not already done so,  please confirm that we may include you in our list of endorsers by replying to this email.

 

The Welcome Home Massachusetts campaign has three components:

  • Communications and messaging – a statewide messaging and media initiative to highlight the increasing need for affordable housing;
  • Education and information – the development of new tools, including a website and an online guide, highlighting how to build local support and implement local housing strategies; and
  • Community Support – technical assistance to as many as 15 diverse community based groups across the state to support their outreach efforts.

 

A more detailed description of the Welcome Home Massachusetts campaign is attached to this email for your review.

 

You are receiving this email because you were included in the most diverse coalition to come together in support of affordable housing in the state – leaders representing business, civic, faith based, academic, human rights, municipal, elected representatives at the local and state levels and housing interests who joined together in support of affordable housing – in 2010 to defeat the repeal of the state’s affordable housing law.   It is exactly this broad based coalition that will makeWelcome HomeMassachusettssuccessful in achieving its goals.  We welcome your continued support as we move toward a website launch in early 2012.  Once you have responded, you will receive updated communications from the Welcome Home Massachusetts campaign as well as CHAPA’s monthly newsletter “Housing Briefs.”

 

After reading the attached Welcome HomeMassachusettscampaign proposal, should you have any questions or comments, please contact Carol Marineat cmarine@chapa.org or 617-742-0820.

 

CONNECT Symposium: From Poverty to Economic Resilience

A symposium to discuss the CONNECT model

Thursday, January 19th, 2012
3:30-5:30 pm
 At the
Federal Reserve Building
Connolly Center, 4th Floor
600 Atlantic Avenue
Boston, MA 02210

From poverty to economic resilience: an in depth conversation looking at the challenges facing low-income Massachusetts residents, best practices for supporting individuals on a path to economic security and cost effective models for service delivery in a tight economy. Speakers include:

 

Panel 1:What are the challenges that residents of the Commonwealth – and gateway cities in particular – face?

Moderator – Dr. Mary Fifield: President, Bunker Hill Community College
Robert Clifford: Policy Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Dr. Ramon Borges-Méndez: Associate Professor of Community Development & Planning, Clark University
Jan Bonanno: Dean of Student Affairs, Bunker Hill Community College

 
Panel 2: Best practices and models for moving families from poverty to financial stability

Moderator – Deborah Boatright: Regional Director, NeighborWorks America
Kevin Jordan: Director of Family Income and Asset Building, Local Initiatives Support Coalition
Kory Eng: Assistant Vice President of Community Impact, United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley
Marissa Guananja: Director of Resident Asset Development, Chelsea Neighborhood Developers, CONNECT Managing Partner

 

For a detailed agenda, visit CONNECT’s website.
***RSVP required for attendance*** 
Please RSVP by clicking here. There is no charge for participation in the symposium. Please bring a valid, government issued photo ID for admission into the Federal Reserve Building.

 To learn more about CONNECT, click here to download the case statement.
 

Harm Reduction for Youth: Helping All Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness featured harm reduction for youth experiencing homelessness in their recent newsletter.  Below you will find their newsletter article with links to best practices, tools, and resources for unitizing a harm reduction model while working with youth.

 

 

In the USICH newsletter referenced Deputy Director Jennifer Ho’s note on age appropriate harm reduction which can be found below:

 

How Using a Harm Reduction Model for Youth can Help Us Accomplish the Goal of Ending Youth Homelessness.

By Deputy Director Jennifer Ho

Harm reduction for a teenager is not the exact same intervention as harm reduction for, as an example, a 55-year old with a long history of homelessness and chronic alcoholism. When we talk about harm reduction for youth, we still mean a youth-appropriate intervention focused on positive youth development. There is a strong, urgent need to help youth who are engaging in risky behavior and experiencing homelessness. If providers can work with them to build strong and trusting relationships before their behaviors become long-term habits, you can keep them from a life on the streets.

 

Harm reduction is fundamentally about meeting a person where they are at, in a non-judgmental way that engages that person in services. Incorporating harm reduction strategies for youth who are engaged in harmful behavior, often as a result of what has happened to them along the way, helps us meet the vision of Opening Doors: no one should experience homelessness—no one should be without a safe, stable place to call home.

 

Using a harm reduction model requires agency commitment from the top down, and staff buy-in from the bottom up. It takes training, practice, supervision, patience and perseverance. Having been a part of such a model in Minnesota, I also know that it can be one of the most rewarding experiences. To give up on a young adult is to condemn them to a life on the streets, in prison, and even early death. To give a young adult hope and help them to a position of strength is the gift of a second chance, that new lease on life.

 

If it were your child who ran away and was in trouble, would you want to know that the organizations that have a mission to help homeless youth would open their doors and welcome her in, no matter what was going on with her at the time? As Bob Mecum the director of Lighthouse Youth Services said, this is about unconditional love.

 

Many may question using limited resources to help those who are hardest to reach when there are others willing to conform to strict rules to get help. That viewpoint, however, abandons our youth who have the deepest need, who are at the highest risk of negative life outcomes. If we are going to end homelessness for all youth, we must have the capacity to serve youth who have a variety of risk factors including histories of substance abuse, trauma, and mental illness.  The same factors that cause homelessness cause their increased risk of harm.

 

USICH spoke with staff from three youth programs that employ a harm reduction approach: Preble Street in Portland, Maine; the Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska; and Outside In in Portland, Oregon. They shared lessons learned and tips on how to build trusting relationships that can help youth find stability on their own terms.

 

Read what they shared on the following topics:

 

 

USICH also spoke with Tricia Clerk a young woman who experienced homelessness in Portland, Maine and who found stability after participating in a harm reduction program.

 

 

Housing Matters: Securing a Future for Our Lowest Income Families

While Massachusetts has been at the forefront of affordable housing production, the availability of permanent housing for homeless and other extremely low income families remains a serious challenge.  Please join us as we explore how permanent housing for these families provides the platform for positive changes in health, education, employment and asset-building.  In a new Home Funders’ video that will be aired at the forum, two families will share their stories about how a safe and stable place to live has impacted their lives.

 

The forum will also ask the question of what more can be done to create housing that is affordable for extremely low income families.  Our keynote speaker, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary Mercedes Márquez, and a panel of experts will explore the role of government and philanthropy in creating and maintaining affordable housing; current research on how safe, stable housing generates positive outcomes for children; and ideas for how we can continue working together to meet the demand for more deeply affordable housing for Massachusetts families in these challenging economic times.

 

Forum Presenters:

 

  • Mercedes Márquez, Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Barbara Fields, New England Regional Administrator, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Aaron Gornstein, Incoming Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development, Massachusetts
  • Xavier de Sousa Briggs, Associate Professor of Sociology and Urban Planning, MIT (formerly, Associate Director, White House Office of Management and Budget)
  • Megan Sandel, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health, Boston University School of Medicine and Research Scientist at Children’s Health Watch
  • Lisa B. Alberghini, President, Planning Office for Urban Affairs


To register, click here.

 

There is no registration fee, but space is limited.  Please register no later than Friday, February 3rd.

For more information, contact Soni Gupta, Executive Director of Home Funders, at sgupta@homefunders.org.

 

Home Funders is a collaborative created by private philanthropy to spur the production of housing for extremely low income families in Massachusetts.  The collaborative has pooled $21 million in Program Related Investments and grants to lend at very low interest rates to housing projects that pledge to set aside at least 20% of their units for extremely low income families.  Current members of the Home Funders Collaborative LLC are The Boston Foundation, Hyams Foundation, The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation, Highland Street Foundation, Klarman Family Foundation, and State Street Foundation.  Home Funders has also benefited from the generous support of eighteen other contributors.  For a full list of investors and donors, and for more information about the initiative, please visit the website at www.homefunders.org.

 

Spare Change News: A talk with Dennis Culhane A National Expert on Housing Issues

The Spare Change News recently published an interview with national homelessness expert Dennis Culhane.  In this interview Dr. Culhane share his thoughts and insights into Massachusetts’ HomeBASE program and his perspective on the proper role of emergency assistance.

 

From Spare Change News:

 

A talk with Dennis Culhane A National Expert on Housing Issues

Submitted by Chalkey Horenstein on Fri, 2011-12-30 00:31

Chalkey Horenstein: Let’s start with some background information. What kind of work have you done to research homelessness and the ways to prevent it?

 

Dennis Culhane: Among other things, I worked as a consultant to the state of Massachusetts for four years — the last year of the Romney administration and first three years of the Patrick administration — the purpose of which was to do research in support of reform of the [Emergency Assistance] (EA) program. I published a couple studies that looked at that, and I helped them to strategize and think about how to reorganize the EA program.

 

CH: What has your work taught you about programs like HomeBASE?

 

DC: The state spends a lot of money on shelter, and there’s not really any evidence that these resources produce much value. So a lot of people have been trying to figure out “Why don’t we have the state reposition the money to help people solve their housing problem, rather than stay in a shelter?” So more proactively, we wanted to aim the resources to housing. That was the origin of the thinking behind EA reforms, like HomeBASE.

 

But then there was the political aspect. What happened was the state would like to use more of the resources to do housing, but the advocates for the homeless (some, not all) resisted restricting eligibility for shelter. And one of the ways the state could have paid for more housing was to take money out of shelters and put it into housing — but you can’t do that if you’re not going to curtail the use of the shelter. And when it came to designing what housing options were going to be given to homeless families, the housing advocates pushed for a three year subsidy program – effectively a time-limited section 8 voucher — and that went beyond the reach of an emergency response program. However, this was very appealing to many families because you could just declare yourself homeless and get three years of rental assistance.

 

There was no cost containment in the proposal. It was very clear that on the one hand shelter eligibility was not narrowed, and they were granting a fairly generous housing benefit, and that was not going to be sustainable. The money to pay for housing subsidies was supposed to come from reducing the shelter system, but you can’t save money in the shelters unless you successfully narrow who gets shelter. For a lot of homeless families, they don’t actually need emergency shelter – it’s just a way-station until they get a new home. HomeBASE was supposed to be an emergency assistance program. But the advocates successfully got the legislature to approve a program that went beyond an emergency assistance program. It was essentially a housing voucher program.

 

CH: So is that why you think it seems to be having trouble lately?

 

DC: Yes.

 

CH: In your opinion, what could have made HomeBASE last longer/fair better?

 

DC: I think they have to go back to the drawing board. My original recommendation was that the emergency assistance program should be more broadly defined, and have more components: There should be different eligibility standards for different program components. If someone has an eviction notice and arrearages to be paid, there should be a program for that. If people are leaving for domestic violence or a building closing or fire, they should have access to emergency shelter. If someone is in a doubled up situation or crowded, the program should help them to stabilize or move into bigger units.

 

But the intention of the EA program is not to become a new housing subsidy program. It can’t be used just to sit in a waiting in line for a housing voucher. It should have a more emergency assistance-oriented approach.

 

The state should allocate housing subsidy programs with their own eligibility criteria, and while someone’s homelessness history could be part of that eligibility determination, the State has to take into account the whole array of people who need housing.

 

This is not to say that a homeless history is irrelevant, but being homeless should not be on its own a criterion for making you eligible for a housing subsidy. It leads to shelters acting as a waiting line for vouchers, and it’s very expensive. The average cost for a family in shelter is $27,000 per family — that’s the equivalent of three years in a voucher.

 

CH: What other programs have you seen work in the past? Could you give an example of a more successful program for the powers at be to refer to when revising HomeBASE?

 

The perfect example is the HPRP program (the federal Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program). That program on a national basis worked very well; more than 90 percent of those that received assistance were able to get out of (or avoid) homelessness, and they only used the program for an average of four months of assistance, because it was an emergency assistance program. The maximum allowed was 18 months, but communities were encouraged to use as little as possible to avert a homelessness episode or to stabilize a family in housing.

 

The key is that a lot of these situations can be sustained by helping people get through an immediate crisis — that usually means getting a car fixed, paying utilities, paying a few months’ rent, but the idea is that the program is emergency assistance – helping people to survive and transition through a crisis. That’s what the EA program should be modeled after — it’s working on a national basis.


Click here to read the remainder of the interview.

Patrick-Murray Administrations Announces 21% Decrease in Veteran Homelessness

PATRICK-MURRAY ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES
21% DECREASE IN VETERAN HOMELESSNESS
Commonwealth launches innovative pilot with federal VA
to help end veteran homelessness

BOSTON – Thursday, January 5, 2012 The Patrick Murray Administration today joined officials from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness to announce a new report showing homelessness among veterans in Massachusetts has dropped 21 percent since January 2011, nearly twice the rate of reduction nationally. The Administration today also launched a new federally funded pilot program that will serve 50 chronically homeless veterans in the Boston Metro area.

 

“We are ending homelessness among veterans,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “Today, thanks to the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Murray, our Department of Veterans’ Services and our federal partners, we are seeing significant progress. But we must keep going to ensure that the men and women who have served our country in uniform have access to all the benefits their service has earned them.”

 

“By working across agencies and in partnership with many advocates and service providers, Massachusetts continues to make great strides in providing resources for our military servicemen and women,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Veterans’ Services and chair of the Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness. “We welcome this great news, but there is plenty more work to be done. Our Administration will continue to work with local, state and federal partners to help individuals and families, including our veteran population, transition to affordable and stable housing.”

 

Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services (DVS) Secretary Coleman Nee delivered the  announcement  today  with  VA officials  at  the  New  England  Center  for  Homeless  Veterans. The findings come from the 2011 supplement to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, which was prepared by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Officials from the VA credited innovative programming, a committed network of providers and Massachusetts’ strong benefits system for veterans as contributing factors to the Commonwealth far exceeding the national rate of decline in veteran homeless.

 

The Patrick-Murray Administration’s new pilot program will supplement these efforts by offering comprehensive, peer-to-peer services to 50 chronically homeless veterans receiving HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers in the Boston area. The Statewide Housing Advocacy for Reintegration and Prevention (SHARP) initiative, to be administered by DVS, will offer peer support, mental health services, psychiatric evaluation and linkages to emergency shelter to veterans recently placed in supportive housing at a veteran-centric facility. The team will also identify and enroll new homeless veterans in the HUD-VASH program.

 

Through a $323,000 grant from the VA, the initiative will rely on an existing network of veteran service providers dedicated to supporting homeless veterans. Using these new funds, DVS has contracted for four peer support specialists, one substance abuse counselor and one psychiatrist to provide care coordination services. The Commonwealth has also established working agreements with the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea, HopeFound, the Lynn Housing Authority, the New England Center for Homeless Veterans, the Pine Street Inn, St. Francis House and Veterans’ Northeast Outreach Center in Haverhill to identify veterans and work with DVS to move the veterans toward supportive housing.

 

The SHARP program is a collaborative effort between the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; VA New England Health Care System (Network 1); the National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans; the VA Health Center in Bedford; the VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative; the University of Massachusetts Medical School; and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

 

Since 2009, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and HUD have worked with more than 4,000 community agencies across the country to successfully house 33,597 veterans in permanent, supportive housing with dedicated case managers and access to high-quality VA health care. In Massachusetts, DVS works with the VA and more than 30 contracted providers to offer emergency beds, transitional beds and permanent beds on VA campuses and elsewhere. The Commonwealth also applied for and was awarded 1,035 HUD-VASH vouchers between 2008 and 2011. The VASH program combines Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance for homeless veterans with case management and clinical services provided by the VA, which offers these services for participating veterans at VA Medical Centers and community-based clinics. Massachusetts anticipates an additional 225 vouchers in FY12.

 

“We’ve got a sacred duty to keep faith with those who have worn the uniform of our country. There’s nothing more fundamental than making sure they a roof over their heads and the services they need so that the bravest Americans who have given so much aren’t sleeping on the streets of Massachusetts,” said Senator John Kerry. “The Patrick-Murray Administration has been ambitious in combating homelessness among veterans and I believe that effort is showing results we can build upon.”

 

“The announcement of the new pilot program to battle chronic veteran homelessness in Boston is welcome news,” said Senator Scott Brown. “Our heroes should never be denied the housing, social or medical assistance they need to get back on track. We owe our veterans in Massachusetts and across the nation these kind of comprehensive, community-based programs that help them move forward in life and eventually secure and maintain meaningful employment.”

 

“Our veterans deserve the very best services that we can offer,” said Congressman Stephen F. Lynch. “I commend Governor Patrick for making our veterans and their families a priority. With programs like the SHARP initiative, Massachusetts continues its commitment to our veterans, ensuring they receive the services and support they need.”

 

“This initiative reflects Massachusetts’ unparalleled commitment to supporting veterans,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby. “The peer-to-peer approach has been extremely effective in other veterans’ initiatives, and this new partnership will help support veterans transitioning back into civilian life. We appreciate the strong support and generous funding that the VA has provided to Massachusetts to support this important work.”

 

“Massachusetts leads the nation in providing benefits and services to our veterans and their families,” said Secretary Nee. “By coordinating the resources of federal, state, local and not-for-profit entities working with veterans, we have been able to serve more people, establish better outcomes and maximize public dollars to their fullest potential. Fully utilizing all existing resources as well as employing new methods, such as peer-to-peer outreach and Housing First initiatives, will help us dramatically reduce the number of homeless veterans in Massachusetts in the year ahead.”

 

“We are extremely grateful for our partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services and so many other expert community and federal organizations,” said Craig Coldwell, MD, Director of Mental Health Services at the VA New England Healthcare System. “Ending and preventing homelessness among Veterans requires full collaboration. Together we are dramatically advancing our systems of social support and health care to deserving veterans and their families.”

 

“The progress in Massachusetts exemplifies how increased investments combined with a smarter, collaborative, and more targeted approach is the critical path to ending homelessness,” said Barbara Poppe, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. “The significant progress made is attributable to the tremendous partnership between the state of Massachusetts, the VA, HUD and key stakeholders. This type of partnership is exactly what President Obama envisioned upon receiving Opening Doors.”

 

“The New England Center for Homeless Veterans is honored to host today’s kickoff and be part of the SHARP Team,” said Andrew McCawley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New England Center for Homeless Veterans. “The leadership of Massachusetts’ Department of Veterans Services in conjunction with Federal agencies has made this a reality. The Program demonstrates how collaboration and innovative support services can meet the needs of Veterans.”

 

Ending homelessness, particularly among veterans, is a top priority of the Patrick-Murray Administration. Governor Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Murray have instituted a number of policy changes, new collaborations and strategies to accomplish this mission. DVS funds more than 30 shelter and transitional housing non-profit organizations, providing housing services to eligible veterans ranging from Emergency Homeless Shelters, group residences, to Single Room Occupancy quarters. In addition, the Massachusetts Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness is leading a five-year strategic plan to end homelessness in the Commonwealth by 2013. Chaired by Lieutenant Governor Murray, the Council established a veterans’ subcommittee designed to address the specific needs of homeless veterans in Massachusetts.

 

# # #

Mental Health First Aid Training

Just as CPR training helps someone without medical training assist an individual in a physical health crisis, Mental Health First Aid training can help you assist someone experiencing a mental health crisis. On January 12-13, t3 (Think. Teach. Transform.) is hosting a 12 hour training and certification course which will introduce participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems and help build understanding of their impact. t3 is an innovative training institute of The National Center on Family Homelessness and the Center for Social Innovation. Learn more about this training today!

 

Registration closes tomorrow.