The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced the availability of approximately $90.6 million in Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities funding. Application deadline is November 16. The Section 811 program provides capital advances to private, nonprofit organizations for the development of independent living projects and group homes with the availability of supportive services for very low-income adults with disabilities who are at least 18 years old. Project rental assistance contract funds are also provided to cover the difference between the HUD-approved operating costs of the project and the tenants' contributions for rent. Access the Grants.gov announcement.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, has launched Servir.gov, a Spanish language companion to its website Serve.gov. As the nation celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, this new website will make it easier for Spanish-speakers to find or organize volunteer projects in their communities. The creation of the new website is part of President Obama's United We Serve Initiative. "The President has made a bold call to service at a time of great need and Americans are ready to respond," said Nicola Goren, the Corporation's Acting CEO. "Through the Servir.gov website, we hope more Americans will find ways to give back to their communities and help in our nation's recovery." Goren pointed to new research from the Corporation for National and Community Service that found more than 4.7 million Hispanic adults volunteered through a formal organization in 2008, an increase of 400,000 over the previous year. Hispanic volunteers donated approximately 532 million hours of service, worth more than $10.7 billion to America's communities. Read more about the work of the Corporation for National and Community Service, one of the 19 member agencies of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reports that in August 2009, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 22.2 compared with 71.2 for persons with no disability. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 16.9 percent, compared with 9.3 percent for persons with no disability, not seasonally adjusted. To assist employers in locating, hiring, and promoting employees with disabilities, DOL's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has two nationwide toll-free services: (1) The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) which can be accessed by phone or TTY at 1-800-526-7234 or 1-800-ADA-WORK or via its website; and (2) The Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN), a national toll-free telephone and electronic information referral service designed to assist employers in locating and recruiting qualified workers with disabilities. EARN can be reached at 1-866- EARN NOW (327-6669) or via its website. ODEP also funds START-UP / USA, a partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University and Griffin-Hammis and Associates, LLC to provide technical assistance and disseminate resources nationally to individuals with disabilities interested in pursuing self-employment. This week ODEP announced it has awarded cooperative agreements to The Workplace Inc. in Bridgeport, Conn., and the SkillSource Group Inc. in Vienna, Va., to lead consortia to develop innovative models of providing inclusive registered apprenticeship training to youth and young adults with disabilities. Read the release.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has published the 2009 edition of Rural America At A Glance. The report provides current indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas, and was prepared by USDA's Economic Research Service which analyzes ongoing changes in rural areas and assesses Federal, State, and local strategies to enhance economic opportunity and quality of life for rural Americans.

The U.S. Census Bureau has released a handbook, A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data: What Users of Data for Rural Areas Need to Know.The American Community Survey (ACS) is designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data every year. Click here for more information on available Compass handbooks.

The National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, with support from the the Walter S. Johnson Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, has published a new Municipal Action Guide on "Supporting Foster Youth Transitions to Adulthood. The Guide aims to "help city officials assume greater leadership roles in helping this uniquely vulnerable population of youth stay on track".

In carrying out its mission to coordinate the federal response to homelessness, the Council has sought to expand the dialogue among federal agencies in the field through the creation of Regional Interagency Councils on Homelessness, comprised of the senior federal agency executives in the regions. In Region 10 which covers the Pacific NW and Alaska, the Regional Interagency Council meetings are supplemented by bimonthly staff working group meetings facilitated by the Council's Regional Coordinator Paul Carlson.

Pictured above is Regional Coordinator Carlson conferring this week with federal regional staff from the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration, and the US Census Bureau. Also attending the meeting was Jeremy Hudgeons, staff to Washington State U.S. Senator Patty Murray.

Among the matters discussed was the status of 10 Year Plan efforts in Oregon. 16 counties across Oregon are implementing 10 Year Plans to End Homelessness. The U.S. Census staff helped create a visual state "map" (shown left) of the key elements and progress of each of the 10 Year Plan efforts that is particularly useful for outreach efforts and tracking results. Click here to view enlarged version of the map.

The International Downtown Association (IDA) has been a valued partner in the Council's work with communities to develop results oriented plans to prevent and end homelessness.

From including a discussion of Innovative Solutions to Homelessness at the IDA's 53rd Annual Conference and World Congress' "Big Idea" session in 2007 to the leadership role played by members of Downtown Associations and Business Improvement Districts in the development and implementation of many community 10 Year Plans to end homelessness, the IDA has recognized the importance of bringing the creativity, financial acumen, and resources of the downtown business community to bear in recognizing and promoting results oriented solutions to homelessness.

During the just concluded IDA 55th Annual Conference held this year in Milwaukee, Council National Team Leader Michael German had the opportunity to meet with IDA leadership including IDA Chair and President and CEO of 125th Street BID in Harlem Barbara Askins (pictured top); IDA President Kit Cramer (pictured below); and many individual IDA members.

One example of the role a downtown business improvement district can play in a community's effort to reduce homelessness was profiled in the Council's 2008 Innovation Series. Read the profiled innovation, DC Downtown Partnership: From the Streets and Long Term Homelessness to Housing First.

Following up a May meeting in Lincoln with Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, Council National Team Leader German returned to Nebraska recently as a featured speaker at the 2009 Continuum of Care Annual Meeting and Housing Training, an event jointly sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. During his visit, Mr. German also met with North Platte Mayor Marc Kaschke to discuss development of a 10 Year Plan. Mr. German is shown here (2nd from right) with, l-r, Ed Shada, of Bellevue University and organizer of Omaha's successful Project Homeless Connect who is working to extend the Connect events to other communities, North Platte Mayor Marc Kaschke, and Charles Coley, Nebraska Homeless Assistance Program Specialist with the DHHS Division of Children and Family Services.

In March, 500 homeless guests were greeted and assisted by over 400 volunteers - including Nebraska First Lady Sally Ganem - for Omaha's second Project Homeless Connect which was held at Creighton University. On October 23, Lincoln/Lancaster County will become the second Nebraska community to adopt the Project Homeless Connect best practice with an event to be held at the Center for People in Need.

This month marks the 20th annual observance of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Recovery Month is intended to create awareness of the benefits of treatment for affected individuals, their family, friends, workplace, and society, encourage acknowledgement of the contribution of treatment providers, and promote the message that recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders is possible. The 2009 Recovery Month theme is Join the Voices of Recovery: Together We Learn, Together We Heal. As the lead federal agency for Recovery Month, SAMHSA ( Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) maintains a Recovery Month website that includes a toolkit and many other resources. You can also connect through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RecoveryMonth.

SAMHSA's National Helpline offers information on substance use disorder issues and referral to treatment, in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day, 800-662-HELP (800-662-4357) (English and Spanish) 800-487-4889 (TDD),

SAMHSA's Treatment Facility Locator provides a comprehensive searchable listing of drug and alcohol treatment programs across the United States.

A Presidential Proclamation signed by President Obama on September 4 also denotes September as National Preparedness Month. This is the sixth year for this national campaign aimed at encouraging Americans to prepare for all types of emergencies in their homes, businesses, schools and communities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has developed a number of resources to help citizens, service providers, and state and local governments better prepare for responding to emergencies:

• Are You Ready? In-depth Citizens Guide
• Disabilities and Special Needs brochure. For a complete list of all available Ready publications, click here
• 2009 Disaster Housing Plan, an operational guide for working with Federal partners, States, territories, Tribes, local communities, and individual disaster survivors to meet disaster related sheltering and temporary housing needs

You may also wish to visit the FEMA YouTube channel.

Another available resource is the National Health Care for the Homeless March 2009 publication, Disaster Planning for People Experiencing Homelessness.

SEATTLE. Wearing a volunteer t-shirt, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire joined 300 volunteers from Microsoft, Nordstrom, Alaska Airlines, UPS, AT&T, Virginia Mason and Eagle River, Inc. and 100 service providers in connecting 1,227 people experiencing homelessness with services they needed at the United Way of King County Community Resource Exchange held at Qwest Field. The event (equivalent in practice to a Project Homeless Connect) was part of the United Way of King County's September 11 Day of Caring which engaged thousands of volunteers from 114 companies in service projects throughout the county. The annual Day of Caring is Washington State's largest single day mobilization of volunteers and also serves as the official kick-off of United Way of King County's fundraising campaign. This year the date was chosen to coincide with the First Annual 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. The Governor is shown here with, l-r, United Way Campaign Chair Scott Carson, United Way Executive Director Jon Fine, and King County 10 Year Plan Program Director Bill Block.

This summer, Snohomish County, Washington advanced implementation of its 10 Year Plan, Everyone At Home Now, with its first Project Homeless Connect that brought together nearly 500 homeless people with 150 community volunteers recruited and trained through the United Way of Snohomish County and more than 100 service providers from 40 agencies. This inaugural PHC was a collaborative effort of Snohomish County which provided funding and a project coordinator, the City of Everett which provided staff support and free bus transportation, and the Homeless Task Force. Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson greeted homeless guests, and kicked off the event with an address to staff and volunteers. Pictured are Event Coordinator Stephani Earling; June Robinson, Executive Director, Housing Consortium of Everett and Snohomish County; and Jackie Anderson, Snohomish County 10 Year Plan leader.

At a meeting with the Snohomish County 10 Year Plan Leadership Team this week, Council Regional Coordinator Paul Carlson reviewed outcomes from the event and noted that 28 people were housed following housing intake through Community Case Management, veterans service providers on site assisted 21 veterans, and 60 unaccompanied youth received youth advocacy services. Snohomish's Community Case Management is a central intake process involving all the community shelter providers in Snohomish County that was established in 2007 with a 3 year grant secured from the EverTrust Foundation by the Volunteers of America Western Washington.

Since the first PHC event in Region 10 three years ago in Portland, there have been forty-two separate Project Homeless Connects events sponsored by twenty communities, large and small, in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. A key factor in the acceptance and adoption of Project Homeless Connect in the region has been the Council's encouragement to communities to send teams to observe PHC events. "The strategy was one of attraction, - to see for yourself -" says Council Regional Coordinator Paul Carlson. "These visits have become virtual pilgrimages and have proved the best way of spreading this superb 10 Year Plan strategy from one community to another."

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has signed legislation authorizing counties that have completed and endorsed a plan to end homelessness to create a Homelessness Trust Fund for which they may also create a dedicated source of funding through a $3 document recording surcharge. Governor Corzine signed the County Homelessness Trust Fund legislation into law in a ceremony September 8 at the Cathedral Kitchen in Camden.

If an eligible county elects to create a Homelessness Trust Fund, grants may be made from the Trust Fund for:

• Acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of housing projects or units within housing projects that supply permanent affordable housing for the homeless or those at risk for homelessness
• Rental assistance vouchers, either tenant-based or project-based, for use at affordable housing projects that provide permanent affordable housing for the homeless or those at risk of homelessness;
• Supportive services to help people obtain and/or maintain permanent affordable housing;
• Prevention services for those at risk for homelessness so that they can obtain and maintain permanent affordable housing.

The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness, which helped lead the effort to secure passage of the legislation, this week held an implementation forum at the Statehouse where it was announced that the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders has already set a vote on establishing a trust fund for the state's second largest county for October 1.

The signing ceremony site, Cathedral Kitchen, has been providing meals to the poor and hungry of Camden for over 30 years, serving approximately 8,000 hot nutritious meals each month. A second bill signed by the Governor establishes the "Community Food Pantry Fund" in the state's Department of Treasury and will allow taxpayers to donate a portion of their income tax refunds, or to make other voluntary contributions to the fund.

email: usich@usich.gov

web: http://www.usich.gov