| Home for Good LA Funders Announce $105 M Investment | |
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 On August 16, USICH celebrated the $105 million public and private investment in Home For Good, a collaborative initiative to end chronic homelessness in Los Angeles by 2016. Home for Good is an initiative of the United Way of LA, the LA Chamber of Commerce, and spearheaded in the philanthropic funding sector by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. This funding will now enable 1,000 residents experiencing chronic homelessness to have a place to call home with the supportive services they need to maintain stability in the years to come.
- Read more on this historic investment
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First strategic priority to put new crisis response system in place
On August 23rd, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel along with  representatives from the City, the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness, New Moms Inc., Catholic Charities and other agencies unveiled Chicago's new Plan 2.0: A Home for Everyone. This new plan is based on the vision that that ending homelessness is possible and that, in Chicago, everyone should have a home. The plan leverages the framework of Opening Doors while focusing on seven strategic priorities: the crisis response system, access to stable and affordable housing, youth homelessness, employment, advocacy and civic engagement, cross-systems integration, and capacity building.
- Learn more about strategies within the Plan from the USICH blog
- Read the Plan
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Supportive Housing a Priority in New York State Medicaid Waiver
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If Medicaid Waiver Approved, $150M Annually for Supportive Housing
Earlier this month, the state government of New York submitted an application for a Medicaid waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would allow New York to reinvest up to $10 billion in savings from Medicaid reform innovations to transform the state's health care system. The application includes a new Medicaid Supportive Housing Expansion program that would dedicate $150 million annually for five years to supportive housing and support services for those experiencing homelessness. This funding enables the construction of 600 supportive housing units annually as well as funding for comprehensive supportive services in these units and in other units across the state. Investing in housing for high-cost users of health care systems both stabilizes the lives of those most vulnerable and saves money for the state's Medicaid system. New York hopes to receive approval of this waiver from HHS by April 2013.
- Learn more about this waiver
- Read the waiver
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Houston Completes Charrette Week
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Houston/Harris County on Path to Revitalize their  Community Plan
The Coalition for the Homeless in Houston/Harris County recently completed their charrette week, co-sponsored by the Corporation for Supportive Housing, to revitalize their community plan to end homelessness. USICH National Field Director Laura Zeilinger served as an expert in the charrette, and stakeholders involved in all aspects of community planning and homeless services engaged in "fishbowl" discussions on pressing community issues. Charrettes enable communities like Houston/Harris County to accelerate their community plan revisions and begin strategic implementation of their plans.
USICH Regional Coordinator Beverley Ebersold shared her experience in the recent charrette in Lafayette, Indiana on the USICH Blog. Read more here
- Learn more about the charrette process from CSH
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100,000 Homes Campaign Celebrates its 20,000th Individual Housed
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 Last week, the 100,000 Homes Campaign marked a milestone by announcing that participating communities have now successfully housed more than 20,000 individuals. The 20,000th individual was housed by the 100,000 Homes team in Jacksonville, Florida. Through the work of over 150 Campaign Communities and 4,000 volunteers, this movement has been able to accelerate progress in ending homelessness, focusing specifically on those who are living unsheltered with life-threatening health conditions.
- Read more about this milestone
- Join the Campaign
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 Department of Health and Human Services
Call for Presenters at National Runaway and Homeless Youth FYSB Grantee Conference
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center invites direct care providers, program coordinators, youth care workers, administrators, counselors, or case managers who work with runaway and homeless youth to present at the National Runaway and Homeless Youth FYSB Grantee Conference. This event will be held November 13-15, 2012 in Indianapolis, IN.
- Learn more about presenting
Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD Launches "Innovation of the Day"
This month, HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research launched a new online platform and crowdsourcing tool, Innovation of the Day. Innovation of the Day (IOD) is a hub for collecting and disseminating innovative housing, community development, built environment, and urban practices. HUD invites you to share your innovations or search the database for emerging practices in your own community and around the world.
- Read the press release from HUD
- Submit your innovation
Research Update from the Family Options Study
The study of The Impact of Housing and Services Interventions on Homeless Families, also referred to as the Family Options Study, is an experimental study of family homelessness performed by Abt Associates with a grant from HUD. Between September 2010 and January 2012, 2,307 homeless families across twelve sites enrolled into the study. The overall goal of the study is to determine which interventions work best to promote housing stability, family preservation, child well-being, adult well-being, and self-sufficiency for homeless families. In July, researchers provided an update on the study. The study's findings asserted that TANF is underserving families and 80 percent of the families the researchers referred to a project-based transitional housing were denied admittance to that program. - Learn more about the study CityScape Journal Publishes Article by USICH Analyst on PHA Waiting Lists and Targeting Resources
CityScape journal published an article "The Housing Needs of Rental Assistance Applicants" by USICH analyst, Joshua Leopold. The article examines the characteristics and experiences of households on waiting lists for rental assistance, pointing to ways that communities can better target federal resources to those who are doubled-up or experiencing homelessness. The findings show that more than one-half of rental assistance applicants are not rent burdened because they are either doubled-up with family or friends or receiving some form of housing assistance. However, these applicants may experience a variety of other housing-related hardships, including homelessness, substandard housing, and a lack of independence. - Read the article D epartment of Labor DOL Announces Veterans Workforce Investment Funds The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded grants totaling $11.53 million through the Veterans' Workforce Investment Program to provide an estimated 5,500 Veterans with job training and skills development services. Grants will be given to eleven organizations in ten states to implement training programs for Veterans in fields such as computer services, construction, hospitality management, and more. - Learn more about the grant and grantees New Employment Initiative for Veterans - the Gold Card The Gold Card provides unemployed post-9/11 era Veterans with the intensive and follow-up services they need to succeed in today's job market. The Gold Card initiative is a joint effort of the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS). An eligible Veteran can present the Gold Card at a local One-Stop Career Center to receive enhanced intensive services including up to six months of follow-up. - Read more  Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Calls for Letters of Intent for SSVF Funding in FY 2013 Department of Veterans Affairs posted a notice in the Federal Register calling for letters of intent for FY 2013 funding for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program. Organizations are encouraged to submit a non-binding letter of intent to apply for either initial or renewal funding for supportive services grants. The FY 2013 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) will be published after the beginning of the fiscal year and will include information about the SSVF program, application procedures, and the amount of funding available. Deadline for submission is September 28, 2012. - Download a copy of the letter of intent format - Go to the Federal Register announcement
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On the USICH Blog...
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Solution-Focused Thinking Across the Entire Service Delivery System - Making the Vision a Reality
Iain DeJong of OrgCode Consulting discusses the insights he's gained while working with communities across the country retooling their community plans. In this two-part blog post, he provides twelve insights he has gained on how best to move from a declaration to action on ending homelessness in your community.
Read part 1 and part 2 on the blog
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Training Opportunity Registration Deadline: Family Critical Time Intervention
New HUD HEARTH Continuum of Care Rule Now in Effect
Thursday, August 30
Learn more
Event at National Press Club: Policy Options to Improve Health for Vulnerable Populations
Wednesday, September 12
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