United States Interagency Council on Homelessness - No on should experience homelessness. No one should be without a safe, stable place to call home.
USICH March Newsletter
March 27, 2012
HUD-VASH Program News

VA and HUD Announce Funds to Provide Permanent Supportive Housing to More than 10,000 Veterans

 

Today, HUD and VA announced voucher allocations under HUD's Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH) for public housing agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since the program began, 32,000 Veterans have been housed through HUD-VASH. This new $72.6 million investment is part of the FY 2012 appropriation for this program and will provide housing for more than 10,000 additional Veterans. HUD and VA's joint press release details each state's voucher allocation.

 

Press release

 

List of awards and locations funded 

 

USICH Releases HUD-VASH Toolkit with Guidance and Actionable Advice for Service Providers

 

HUD-VASH is a critical element in our efforts to end homelessness among Veterans by 2015. In order to accelerate progress toward the goal of housing Veterans with the greatest need as quickly as possible, USICH has released a toolkit targeted to providers, local Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs), and others directly involved with placing Veterans in housing.

 

The toolkit offers guidance on several important topics:

 

 

USICH encourages all service providers, public housing agencies, and local VAMCs to take a look at this guidance to help maximize the use of HUD-VASH resources.

 

Access the USICH HUD-VASH Toolkit

 

Webinar: How Banks Can End Homelessness 

Wednesday, April 25 2:00 - 3:00pm EDT 

 

Building off the success of a recent e-zine produced by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on the role banks play in ending homelessness, OCC and 

USICH will co-host a discussion about bank financing of permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. OCC's Deputy Comptroller for Community Affairs Barry Wides and USICH Executive Director Barbara Poppe will be joined by Corporation for Supportive Housing's President and CEO Deborah De Santis and Managing Director at the Huntington National Bank, Joseph Molnar. We will address how banks can finance more permanent supportive housing by investing in low-income housing tax credits and investing in pre-development loan pools. Speakers will also address Community Reinvestment Act consideration for bankers providing financing to developers of permanent supportive housing.

 

Read the e-zine  

 

Register now

 

First-Ever Housing First Conference Takes Place in New Orleans 


Last week over 650 service providers from around the country participated in the first-ever national Housing First Conference. The conference was sponsored by Pathways to Housing and DESC. The Conference focused on the ways to integrate the Housing First model into every aspect of a community's plan to end homelessness and included workshops on identifying target populations, shifting service systems to Housing First models and integrated care models.

USICH Executive Director Barbara Poppe gave a keynote address at the conference, noting the importance of a Housing First model as a cornerstone of a community's plan to address chronic homelessness and the need for housing and health care integration to make supportive housing work.

  

New Orleans Times-Picayune reported on the success of the Housing First model    

 

Poppe's keynote address and watch Home for Good LA's PSA focused on a Housing First model


HUD's New Equal Access to Housing Rule Protects Rights for LGBT Individuals

Earlier this month, HUD published a final rule in the Federal Register entitled Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity. The rule creates a new regulatory provision that generally prohibits considering a person's marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity (a person's internal sense of being male or female) in making housing assistance available. Now lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are guaranteed equal access to all housing and shelters.  

 

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, "HUD is working to ensure that our housing programs are open to all" and that the rule states "clearly and unequivocally that LGBT individuals and couples have a right to live where they chose."

 

Read more from HUD on this new rule 

   

White House and HUD Host First-Ever LGBT Conference on Housing and Homelessness   


In early March, the White House hosted the first LGBT Conference on Housing and Homelessness. The conference was co-hosted by HUD and the Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit.

Representatives from the White House, the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice, USICH, and HUD joined national LGBT leaders, service providers, and advocates to discuss solutions to LGBT housing issues including a focus on the homelessness crisis faced by LGBT youth.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan gave the keynote address and highlighted HUD's commitment to ensuring that all Americans have access and shelter, regardless of sexual orientation: "We're working to ensure that HUD's housing programs are open. Not to some. Not to most. But open to all."  

Hughes and Nolan at LGBT Conference photo from windy city media group
Laura Hughes and Theresa Nolan Discuss LGBT Youth Homelessness

Leading service providers for LGBT youth from the Ruth Ellis Center, the Ali Forney Center, and Green Chimneys held a discussion on what can be done to serve LGBT youth better, including developing LGBT affirming environments.  

 

Read more from Laura Hughes, Executive Director of the Ruth Ellis Center on the Conference and LGBT Youth Homelessness 

 

Read more from the White House including keynote remarks from Secretary Donovan and videos from panel discussions

 

 

National Alliance to End Homelessness Releases New Coordinated Assessment/Entry Toolkit     


The National Alliance to End Homelessness' (NAEH) Center for Capacity Building has released a new toolkit on coordinated assessment (also known as coordinated intake or coordinated entry). The toolkit includes papers, planning templates, informational materials, sample assessment tools, and evaluation tools from NAEH and a range of communities across the country. The toolkit is designed to help communities advance their coordinated access efforts, no matter where they are in the process of developing a coordinated access system.

  

Last week, USICH hosted a webinar on Coordinated/Centralized Assessment. Many attendees indicated that the types of materials included in this new toolkit would be very helpful as they establish coordinated or centralized assessment in their communities.

Access NAEH's toolkit

 
Watch webinar on Coordinated/Centralized Assessment

 

New Research Shows, with the Right Supports, People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness Can Gain Stable Housing and Employment   


The Urban Institute recently released a report by leading homelessness researcher Martha Burt on the effectiveness of housing and employment supports among Los Angeles adults with serious mental illness experiencing chronic homelessness. Using data from LA's Housing and Opportunities Employment Program (HOPE), the paper concludes that, when given the right supports, individuals with even the highest barriers to success can achieve stable employment and housing outcomes.

 

Read the full report  

 

Table of Contents
 
HUD-VASH Updates
Webinar: Banks and Ending Homelessness
Housing First Conference in New Orleans
Equal Access to Housing Final Rule
LGBT Conference on Housing and Homelessness
New NAEH Toolkit on Coordinated Assessment/Entry
New Research on Housing and Employment Stability
HHS Secretary Visits Cincinnati to Discuss Youth Homelessness
 
HHS Secretary Sebelius Visits Cincinnati to Learn about Best Practices in Youth Homelessness

HHS Secretary and USICH Chair Kathleen Sebelius traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to visit Lighthouse Youth Services, a shelter and service provider for youth who have run away or are experiencing homelessness. Secretary Sebelius spent time touring the shelter for youth under 18 and also spoke with youth aged 18-24 about their experiences and the services that have helped.  

 

Secretary Sebelius also met with providers and USICH and HUD representatives to discuss the need for systems integration between service providers and the child welfare system, shelter needs for youth aged 18-24, and the need for better data and measurement on youth homelessness.


Upcoming Events
     
VA Conference Call

Learn about the recent Grant and Per Diem NOFA for Transition in Place Models and Special Populations

Thursday, March 29  
1:00 - 2:00 pm EDT
 

HUD Webinar   

Building the Bridge: Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program to Emergency Solutions Grants

Tuesday, April 10
3:30 - 5:00 pm EDT

Register 

DOL Grant Application Deadline for Programs Serving Young Adult Ex-Offenders

April 17

Learn more 

OCC and USICH Webinar  

Ending Homelessness: How Banks Can Finance Permanent Supportive Housing
 
 
Wednesday, April 25 
2:00 - 3:30 pm EDT
 
 
 
        

Check Out More Upcoming Events on our Online Calendar  

 

 

Facebook Twitter Vimeo Sign Up Now
  Funding & Programs   Resources   Opening Doors   Partners   Take Action   Media Center   About USICH

USICH | Washington DC | (202) 708-4663 | E-mail | Website

Copyright �2012 U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. All Rights Reserved.