Greetings!
October has been a busy month for us here at VCEH! We completed our Virginia Statewide Permanent Supportive Housing Tour, welcomed Martinsville as our sixth participating 1,000 Homes community, organized an effort to obtain letters of support for a Virginia Housing Trust Fund to be presented to Governor McDonnell, and had a great turn out at the 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians Statewide Meeting! Let's keep up the great work in November! Sincerely,
Phyllis Chamberlain and Robin Gahan
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians Statewide Meeting|
On November 3, over 60 individuals from across the state came together in Richmond for a day of networking, workshops, and an opportunity to share lessons learned on organizing a local 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians initiative! All six participating 1,000 Homes communities, Richmond, Arlington, Roanoke, Norfolk, Peninsula, and Martinsville sent representatives. In addition, communities that are interested in participating in the 1,000 Homes statewide initiative attended which included representatives of Lynchburg, Fairfax, Harrisonburg, Alexandria, Fredericksburg, and Loudon.
Participants learned about the findings of both the Richmond and Arlington County Registry Weeks to better understand what we know so far about vulnerability in Virginia. . In addition, Kathy Sibert and Tony Turnage (100 Homes Arlington) and Alice Tousignant and Heather Orrock (1,000 Homes Richmond) shared lessons learned in organizing their local campaigns and conducting Registry Weeks with participating communities that are actively planning their own campaigns. Linda Kaufman, the Eastern US Field Organizer for the 100,000 Homes Campaign provided an update on the national campaign as well as sage advice to communities developing plans to join the 1,000 Homes statewide initiative.
Laura Zeilinger, the Lead Regional Coordinator of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) served as the keynote speaker and presented USICH's strategic approach to preventing and ending homelessness in states and major metro areas including Virginia. VCEH presented the 2012 State Policy Agenda and discussed state policy opportunities to fund permanent supportive housing. Lastly, to increase knowledge of housing and services strategies to house the most vulnerable, two workshops were available including "Outreach and Engagement Strategies for the Most Vulnerable" presented by Amanda Harris Chief Operating Officer of Pathways to Housing DC and "Bringing SOAR to your Community"presented by Latasha Howlett Statewide SOAR Coordinator for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and Kristin Yavorsky Director of Supportive Services at Virginia Supportive Housing.
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1,000 HOMES FOR 1,000 VIRGINIANS UPDATES
Arlington|
 100 Homes Arlington conducted their registry week October 17th through October 19th. More than 150 community volunteers and Arlington County staff went out into the streets of Arlington to identify and survey the most vulnerable homeless individuals. 153 homeless individuals were surveyed, 37% (57) of whom were found to be vulnerable based upon health conditions are/or other indicators associated with a high mortality risk.
Richmond|
As a result of our 1,000 Homes for
Richmond has successfully housed 15 of the most vulnerable people identified in the Commonwealth of Virginia! These results have been made possible because of Virginia Supportive Housing's timely efforts to set aside newly developed units n for 45 of the most vulnerable individuals identified in Richmond. As a result, Virginia's housing placement is above the national 100,000 Homes housing placement average!
Roanoke|
The 1,000 Homes Roanoke team has announced that their
Registry Week will take place during their Point in Time Count during the month of January 2012. Stay tuned for updates on their local campaign.
Peninsula|
The 1,000 Homes Peninsula team has announced that their Registry Week will take place beginning March 26, 2012. To stay up to date, be sure to check out their new Facebook page and follow their campaign.
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RAPID REHOUSING
On Thursday November 17, 2011 at the Governor's Housing Conference, a new initiative to end the crisis of homelessness for Virginia's children and their families will be announced. This initiative is a public-private partnership between the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the National Alliance to End Homelessness (Alliance) and the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness (VCEH.) For more information, click here.
 Seven regional opening events have been scheduled across the Commonwealth to introduce the initiative to community partners. Anyone is welcome at the events. To register, please click here. Rapid re-housing is an outcome-oriented and housing-focused strategy that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness. It is based on the idea that individuals and families first need permanent housing in order to address any additional underlying issues. Rapid re-housing allows for families to achieve stability and is an alternative to a shelter-based model.
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PUBLIC POLICY
2012 Policy Priorities Agenda|
VCEH will soon release the 2012 Policy Agenda and Framework which provides policy priority recommendations in order to fulfill the various goals outlined in the Governor's plan to reduce homelessness by 15 percent by 2013. The state's leadership on this issue represents an unprecedented opportunity to make real and measurable progress in preventing and ending homelessness for the 45,000 Virginians who experience homelessness every year.
VCEH is aligning our work to partner with local communities and the Commonwealth of Virginia to reduce homelessness. VCEH's role is to support implementation of the strategies and recommendations included in the state plan and advocate for their enactment, as needed. Over the course of the year, we will consult with our members and local, state, and federal partners to develop additional and/or refine policy and program recommendations.
Virginia Housing Trust Fund Letter of Support Campaign|
As an organizational member of the campaign for a
Virginia Housing Trust Fund (VHTF), VCEH has organized an effort to obtain letters of support to be presented to Governor McDonnell and Senior Economic Advisor Bob Sledd. Community leaders from across the state including mayors, county boards, nonprofit providers, and respected business members have been asked to provide letters of support for a VHTF and demonstrate how a VHTF would address homelessness in their community. We'd like to express thanks to those VCEH members and/or partners who have worked hard to obtain letters of support from their community leaders! Already, a number of letters have come across the Governor's desk including:
Norfolk, Mayor Paul Fraim
Portsmouth, Mayor Kenneth Wright
Virginia Beach, Mayor William Sessoms, Jr.
Martinsville, Mayor Kim Adkins
Roanoke, Mayor David Bowers
John Shooshan, President and
CEO of The Shooshan Company, Arlington
To view any of the letters of support, see our What's New section on our website.
In addition, VCEH has created a sign-on letter and is seeking organizational and individual members to join in our letter of support by November 16th. For more information, contact Robin Gahan at robin@vceh.org or 804.938.1982
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WHERE WE'VE BEEN
VCEH gets around the state to visit with our partners, attend events, facilitate or host meetings, and more. Here's what we were up to in October!
Norfolk for the last stop on the Virginia Statewide
Permanent Supportive Housing Tour in which Bob Sledd, Senior Economic Advisor to the Governor and Norfolk Mayor, Paul Fraim spoke about the importance of a Virginia Housing Trust Fund in order to develop much needed permanent supportive housing.
Richmond for a meeting with Delegate Jennifer McClellan to discuss long-term solutions to ending homelessness, the local efforts of 1,000 Homes Richmond campaign, and the success of permanent supportive housing.
Portsmouth for a meeting with Senator Louise Lucas to discuss VCEH's work statewide and locally as well as the need for a Virginia Housing Trust Fund.
Richmond for the Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) 40th Anniversary dinner.
Arlington for the 100 Homes Arlington Community Briefing to learn of the week's registry results and present on the statewide
progress of 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians.
Richmond for the 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians Statewide Meeting in which over 60 individuals from across the state came together to network, share lessons learned, and develop a statewide housing goal.
On the phone for technical assistance to the West Piedmont Better Housing Coalition for their Continuum of Care application.
On the phone to talk to Laura Zeilinger from US Interagency Council on Homelessness to discuss the federal strategic plan, Opening Doors and statewide progress in Virginia on ending homelessness.
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RESOURCES
Crisis Indicator: Triangle Tool for Identifying Homeless Adults in Crisis|
Studies have shown that the cost to the public monthly is exponentially greater for individuals who are experiencing homelessness as compared to those living in permanent supportive housing.
The triangle tool is used as a second layer of screening for registries developed using the street based Vulnerability Index, which identifies why people are experiencing homelessness. It operates first under the proposition that individuals who experience continued crises in their lives (i.e. those which result in hospitals or jails) are of higher public costs and second that more permanent supportive housing is needed to house homeless individuals and lower public costs.
The Triangle Tool is a great resource for participating 1,000 Homes communities because it further helps to identify our community's most vulnerable individuals. This tool also prioritizes the needs of those who are experiencing homelessness and allows for participating communities to find housing for those who are most likely to die on the streets first. Read more.
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MEMBERSHIP
A BIG Thank You to Our Renewed Champion Organization:
Action in Community Through Service (ACTS), Dumfries
New Horizon Security Services, Haymarket
Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development
Also, thank you to our newest and renewed organizational and individual members:
Arlington County Department of Human Services
Council of Community Services, Roanoke
Helping Overcome Poverty's Existence, Wytheville
HomeAgain, Richmond
John Boylan
Pam Gannon
Courtney Gardner
Claudia Gooch
Sharon Schlerf (Beacon Institute)
Al Smuzynski
Alice Tousignant
Carol Tuning
Have you received your annual membership renewal letter? If so, please renew! If you are unsure whether or not your membership is due, email vceh@vceh.org
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ABOUT US
The Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness is the statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in the Commonwealth of Virginia through community collaboration, capacity building, education, and advocacy. www.vceh.org
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