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Monthly Archives: February 2012

Housing Landscape 2012

The National Housing Conference recently released an annual report – Housing Landscape 2012 – which explores the severe housing cost burden among working households in the U.S.   The report draws on the latest U.S. Census American Communities Survey data from 2008-2010 and finds that nearly one in four working households in the U.S. spends more than half of its income on housing and that this figure rose over the study period. Despite falling home values, housing affordability worsened significantly both for working owners and renters between 2008 and 2010.

 

Click here to access the full report.

 

Supportive Housing Legislative Update

Last week the House Ways and Means Chairman Dempsey recommended that CHAPA’s supportive housing legislation be reported favorably from the Committee and the Chairman is currently polling committee members to request their support.  The bill is expected to advance from House Ways and Means this week and could be acted on by the full House in the next week or two.

 

The two major components of the legislation are included in the Ways and Means draft: 1) A requirement for there to be an Interagency Action Plan among a host of state agencies to create a coordinated process to create permanent supportive housing and 2) a goal of 1,000 units of supportive housing within three years of the Interagency Agreement being signed.

 

 

Click here for more information about the bill.

 

CBS News: Mass. Doctor’s Prescription for Homelessness

Mass. doctor’s prescription for homelessness

By Seth Doane
(CBS News)

 

The recession has left many Americans without a job and still more without a home. But it’s getting better. The Labor Department said Thursday the number of Americans joining the line for unemployment benefits last week was the lowest in four years.

 

Homelessness is down as well. CBS News correspondent Seth Doane tells us how one doctor is helping to wipe it out.

 

Despite the troubled economy, the problem of long-term homelessness is actually decreasing — down nationally 39 percent since 2005. A handful of communities are making even bigger strides with eradicating homelessness like Quincy, Massachusetts. CBS News correspondent Seth Doane has more on a startlingly simple idea.

 

Fifty-one-year-old Gordon Costa once stood on the other side of this food line for the homeless.

 

Costa: “I come here to sleep better at night.”

Doane: “What do you mean by that?”

Costa: “Well, I try to give back what was given to me.”

 

Alcoholism cost him his marriage, job and kids. He ended up at Father Bill’s shelter in Quincy, Massachusetts.

 

“I took for granted having a wife,” he admitted. “I took for granted having two beautiful kids and a nice house. To have it all pulled away was a little tough. ‘How am I going to survive?’ ‘Where am I going to get my food from?’ I’m unfortunately a diabetic — ‘where am I going to get my health insurance from?’”

 

When he was homeless, Costa’s diabetes just got worse — no surprise to Dr. Jessie Gaeta.

 

Doane: “You started working as a doctor with homeless populations. What challenges were you seeing for your patients at the time?”

 

Gaeta: “I think that people have a really hard time prioritizing their health needs over things like figuring out where you’re going to sleep that night.”

 

Dr. Gaeta realized the Boston Medical Center ER had become a revolving door for homeless patients.

 

” It wasn’t until I had just a couple of patients housed,” said Gaeta, “that I saw this turnaround in their health. Basically I was seeing that if I could write a prescription for keys to an apartment that that was going to do more to improve the health of the patient sitting in front me than the prescription I can write for anything else.”

 

Click here to access the full story and watch the news clip.

Merrimack Valley Regional Network to End Homelessness – Regional Conference

Save the Date: Merrimack Valley Regional Network to End Homelessness – Regional Conference

The Merrimack Valley Regional Network to End Homelessness invites you to attend its Regional Conference.

Join the Network as we update elected officials, providers, and partners throughout the Merrimack Valley on the progress made through the Merrimack Valley Regional Network to End Homelessness

  • Thursday, March 15, 2012 9am to 10:30am
  • DiBurro’s Function Facility – 887 Boston Rd. Haverhill, MA

To RSVP please email Kristin Ross-Sitcawich

Webinar on Housing for Survivors of Domestic Violence

On Thursday, March 15 at 3 pm ET, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and Home Free, a program of Volunteers of America (VOA) in Oregon, are co-sponsoring a webinar detailing a recent study on the role stable housing plays in the lives of survivors of domestic violence. The webinar will also highlight the success the Home Free program in Portland, Oregon has had in providing stable housing through a rapid re-housing model to homeless survivors. This webinar, the first in a series on preventing and ending homelessness for survivors of domestic violence, will feature Chiquita Rollins, Ph.D., Domestic Violence and SHARE (Safe Housing Assistance with Rent Evaluation) Study Co-Principal Investigator, and Kris Billhardt, Director of the VOA Home Free program.

Register for the Webinar

FREE Training – Children and Trauma: Understanding Impact and Strengthening Resilience

The Campaign to End Child Homelessness presents a free training series on trauma and trauma-informed care: “Children and Trauma: Understanding Impact and Strengthening Resilience.” Join trainer Kathleen Guarino this spring for a four-part series on homelessness, trauma, trauma-informed care, and self-care for service providers. Each month from February – May, the Campaign will be offering opportunities to learn more about how trauma can impact all facets of a person’s life. Special focus will be given to kids and families who are experiencing homelessness and how organizations can provide trauma-informed services to these populations. Start this series today with the online, self-paced course and register for the “Understanding the Impact of Trauma on Children” webinar on March 14, 2012.

The National Association of Workforce Improvement Conference 2012

The National Association of Workforce Improvement (NAWI) is excited to announce its 2012 Conference, scheduled for May in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

  • 47th Annual NAWI Conference: Pathways to Prosperity: Innovation for the 21st Century Workforce
  • May 24-25, 2012
  • Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers  Boston, Massachusetts

 

NAWI is soliciting proposals for presentations now and hope you will consider submitting one for consideration. The deadline is February 29, 2012. Please complete the form and send it to NAWI Vice President Fenna Hanes.

 

 

 

 

Click here for more information about NAWI, the 2012 conference, and membership.

 

An Act Relative to Oversight of Private Occupational Schools

Policy Update from Crittenton Women’s Union

 

Governor Patrick’s bill, An Act Relative to Oversight of Private Occupational Schools (H3625), was passed by the house last week. The bill now moves on to the senate and we need your help to ensure its passage.  Click here for more info on the bill.

 

To help ensure that An Act Relative to Oversight of Private Occupational Schools (H3625) gets passed and signed before the end of the legislative session, please contact your Massachusetts state senator and ask them to urge the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and Senate President Murray to make H3625 a priority this session and report the bill out favorably. It will establish clear lines of authority over proprietary schools and create a more effective system to protect consumers. We thank you for all of your help with this. We know our advocacy has impacted the movement of this bill.

 

We also wanted to update you on a few other efforts of the Workers’ Pathways Coalition. The Coalition is currently focused on trying to get $1.5M in Educational Rewards Grant program funding in the FY13 budget.  Click here for more information on the Ed Rewards Grant.  If you are having meetings with HWM or SWM members please include this ask if you can.

 

 

President Proposes 17% Increase for McKinney and Budget Webinar Info

Update from the National Alliance to End Homelessness:

 

Yesterday, the President released his fiscal year (FY) 2013 Budget Proposal, which included a proposed funding level of $2.231 billion for HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants – 17 percent higher than the final FY 2012 level. This is a HUGE testament to the value that the Administration and HUD place on the great work that you do every day to prevent and end homelessness. Despite tight funding overall, the Administration has made a clear commitment to prioritize implementation of the HEARTH Act and the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Congratulations!!

 

For more information on the Budget Proposal, please join our webinar at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow, February 15. We will review the federal budget process and do a rundown of the President’s Budget Proposal as it relates to homeless assistance and key low-income programs. Despite the relatively good news for targeted homeless assistance programs, the Budget includes cuts and flat funding to many important programs that provide a safety net to keep people out of homelessness. During the webinar, we’ll review the Budget Proposal and mention key opportunities to get involved in advocacy this year.

 

What is the Administration Proposing?

HUD’s full explanation behind the proposed funding level for HUD’s McKinney-Vento programs is available here, but the President’s proposed funding level of $2.231 billion would include:

  • $286 million for the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program;
  • $5 million for the Rural Housing Stability Assistance program; and
  • $1.94 billion for the Continuum of Care program, including:
    • Renewing existing projects;
    • $8 million for HMIS; and
    • $22 million for new projects and CoC planning.

 

What Happens Next? How Can I Help?

The President’s Budget Proposal always kicks off the appropriations process, and soon Congress will hold hearings on the Budget Proposal and will begin drafting its own appropriations proposals. So, we’re ready to hit the ground running, and we hope you are, too! This year, we’ll kick the campaign off with a massive letter-writing effort to send as many letters as possible to our Members of Congress encouraging them to support the Administration’s request for funding HUD’s McKinney-Vento programs. These letters will help us to get maximum leverage out of the Administration’s proposal.  We also look forward to working with you to arrange site visits, engage the media, and otherwise educate your congressional delegations on the importance of these critical programs.

 

In the coming days, we will be officially launching the FY 2013 McKinney Appropriations Campaign, so please keep an eye out for more information. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

 

Once again, you should be very proud, as this budget clearly reflects the value that the Administration places on your incredible work to prevent and end homelessness in your communities and across the country. We look forward to working with you over the coming days and months on this important effort. Thank you so much for your commitment to ensuring that no man, woman, or child is homeless in the United States.