|
Reminder:
USICH Wants Your Input!
A Call for Promising Practices and Innovative Programs
Do you have an innovative program model or promising practice used within your community? If so, USICH wants to hear about it!
To be considered for inclusion...read more on our website
| | |
|
|
|
CABINET SECRETARIES ENGAGE WITH MAYORS AND GOVERNORS AT THE COUNCIL'S FIRST MEETING OF 2011
Yesterday, Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis chaired the Obama Administration's first Council meeting of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2011. The Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan hosted his Department's first ever Council meeting. The well attended meeting focused on a discussion with bi-partisan state and local leaders on the importance of collaboration among all levels of government if the United States is to meet the ambitious goals set forth in Opening Doors, the nation's first ever comprehensive plan to prevent and end homelessness. Secretary Solis was joined by two of her colleagues, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, along with Social Security Administration Commissioner Michael Astrue. 
The Cabinet Secretaries along with representatives from 14 other federal agencies had an active dialogue with Mayor Ashley Swearengin of Fresno, CA and Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, OH, who shared their successes, stressing the value of public and private partnerships. They also discussed the issues their communities face in preventing and ending homelessness, while noting the important steps the Federal government can take in supporting their efforts on the ground. The second half of the meeting focused on engaging a bi-partisan panel of governors and lieutenant governors on ways to improve federal programs and accessing mainstream benefits for people experiencing homelessness. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, Utah Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell, and California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted the critical nature of leadership at all levels of government, including State Interagency Councils modeled on the active leadership at the federal Council. The panel also discussed taking local best practices to scale across their states, the overall cost effectiveness of supportive housing and Housing First strategies, and the importance of funding to make Opening Doors a reality. There was agreement that states and cities should align their plans to the federal plan, and that mayors and governors are critical champions for achieving the goal of preventing and ending homelessness. The Council reiterated its commitment to an ongoing dialogue on what the Federal government can do to support states and cities in their work. Also in attendance were Council Labor Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration Jane Oates, and VA Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs Tammy Duckworth.
|
|
MEMBER AGENCY UPDATES
Department of Veterans Affairs
Nominations open for VA Secretary's Award for Outstanding Achievement in service for homeless Veterans
Each year the VA seeks nominations for an individual or organization to be recognized by the Secretary for their outstanding work for Veterans experiencing homelessness. Recognizing excellent work in the field is important in advancing USICH and VA's goal of ending homelessness among Veterans, as this is a chance to share best practices and successful interventions broadly.
Award nominations should be submitted no later than April 23. The complete nomination package may be submitted via email to homelessvets@va.gov.
- View the award criteria
- Download the nomination form
VA extends health care for post-incarceration Veterans in transitional housing
Through its Veterans Justice Outreach Initiative, the VA extended access to VA healthcare benefits to recently incarcerated Veterans living in halfway houses and other transitional housing. This extension reaches the roughly 100,000 Veterans each year who are exiting federal, state, and local prisons to other living facilities who were not previously eligible for benefits. The first months of transition back into community life is a critical time for successful supportive services, and adequate health care is key to reducing recidivism and regaining stability.
- Read the VA press release
|
|
WHITE HOUSE AFFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT TO REVITALIZING COMMUNITIES AT RISK
White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes spoke March 29 to the National Urban League about the Obama Administration's reaffirmed commitment to revitalizing neighborhoods in poverty. She spoke of the Administration's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, which targets areas of concentrated poverty for resource development and investment in community social services. Families and children living in concentrated poverty have high rates of housing instability and bouts of homelessness, which lead to increased school mobility detrimental to child academic outcomes and decreased health for the entire family. Targeting these communities for revitalization, with housing and school stability at the center, is one way the Administration is battling homelessness and poverty.
- Read the White House blog from Ms. Barnes
|
|
DIALOGUE AROUND THE NATION ON ENDING HOMELESSNESS
RHODE ISLAND REINSTATES STATE ICH AND HONORS ITS HOMELESS ADVOCATES
 Rhode Island is taking positive steps to prevent and end homelessness. A call to action to the state's leaders for homeless services was delivered this week by USICH Regional Coordinator Team Leader Laura Zeilinger at the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless' annual awards ceremony, where the most active advocates and service providers gathered to honor one another and affirm their commitment to ending homelessness in Rhode Island. Zeilinger cited the recent reinstatement of the Rhode Island State ICH as a positive development by Governor Chafee. USICH looks forward to a continued commitment from the state and its leaders.
- Learn more about the event
NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION'S ANNUAL HOUSING POLICY CONFERENCE GATHERS WIDE AUDIENCE FOR POLICY AND ADVOCACY INITIATIVES
 This year's NLIHC Annual Housing Policy Conference and Lobby Day from March 27 - 30 was attended by public housing residents, advocates, service providers, state and local officials, and federal officials. HUD Secretary Donovan spoke to the audience about the ways the Obama Administration is working to preserve and upgrade housing for low-income individuals and increase the number of permanent supportive housing units in FY 2012. USICH Executive Director Barbara Poppe and Labor Assistant Secretary William Spriggs presented on the progress made towards the goals in Opening Doors.
- Read Secretary Donovan's Remarks
|
|
INTERNATIONAL LEADERS CREATE ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS
The National Alliance to End Homelessness convened over 30 international and domestic experts on homelessness at their International Partnership Conference on March 15-17 in Washington, DC, to discuss challenges faced by each country, policies each country is enacting to end homelessness, and ways to work together on best practices. Representatives from the US, Canada, Australia and Europe gathered to share information on each country's homelessness trends and policies. As an international partnership, this group aims to examine this complex problem with a global lens, sharing emerging research, best practices, and effective public policies that ensure that all people can find stable, permanent housing.
- Explore each country's presentation
- Read the international research
|
|
|
NORWALK, CT UNVEILS PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS
In mid-March, local officials, the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, advocates, and USICH Regional Coordinator John O'Brien gathered to unveil the Greater Norwalk Ten-Year Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness at Norwalk City Hall. Modeled after Opening Doors Norwalk's plan is the latest of 12 such plans developed by municipalities in Connecticut.
- Read more about the plan and its release
|
|
USICH Mission
. . . to coordinate the federal response to homelessness and to create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to reduce and end homelessness in the nation while maximizing the effectiveness of the Federal Government in contributing to the end of homelessness.
|
|
|
