INNOVATION . . . INFORMATION . . . INSPIRATION

 November 4, 2011                                             Issue XII  

 
 
IN THIS UPDATE:
CALIFORNIA JURISDICTIONAL LEADERS AND TEN YEAR PLAN PARTNERS CONVENE

 

S CA KEYS ROOM 

 

CALIFORNIA JURISDICTIONAL LEADERS AND TEN YEAR PLAN PARTNERS CONVENE TO FOCUS ON HOUSING FIRST, MEDICAID, COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS, SOCIAL IMPACT BONDS, BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP, AND OTHER INNOVATIONS

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. In partnership with Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and his Deputy on Mental Health and Homelessness Flora Gil Krisiloff, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Hollywood 4WRD, GettLove, PATH, Urban Initiatives, the American Round Table to Abolish Homelessness recently convened ten Southern California jurisdictions to focus on innovations for Ten Year Plan communities. American Round Table President and CEO Philip Mangano, who convened the public and private sector partners at the Los Angeles County government building, welcomed national innovators to the event.

 

S CA KEYS HEAD TABLE"Keys continues to be an expression of intent," said Mangano. "The work of the American Round Table is to ensure that communities have access to the best and next ideas. Our intent is the rapid dissemination of innovation, of ideas and initiatives which are field tested and evidence based. That gives us the assurance that we are no longer funding or expending, but that we are investing in results." Pictured here are (left to right): MHSA Executive Director Joe Finn, Philip Mangano, and Pathways' to Housing CEO Tsemberis.  

 

Dr. Dennis Culhane, University of Pennsylvania, provided the critical initial basis in data and gave partners an overview of national homelessness research, emphasizing the unprecedented results shown by cumulative data documenting decreases in chronic homelessness. Dr. Culhane, who is also Director of Research for the VA's National Center on Homelessness among Veterans, gave an update on research initiatives focused on Veterans.

 

S CA KEYS FINN 2Joseph Finn, President and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA), a statewide advocacy organization, described three technologies showing results and cost savings in Massachusetts using Medicaid resources. Finn described the successful eight-site Home and Healthy for Good (HHG) permanent supportive housing initiative. He focused on the Community Support Program for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness (CSPECH), a strategy providing Medicaid reimbursement for services for chronically homeless individuals placed in permanent housing.  Finn is shown here. 

 

Finn gave highlights of the new High Utilizers of Emergency Services (HUES) to Home, a MHSA initiative in partnership with Boston Medical Center, Boston Health Care for the Homeless, Boston Emergency Medical Services, Boston Police Department, and Citizens Bank Foundation. HUES to Home targets chronically homeless frequent users of the Boston Medical Center (BMC) emergency room for permanent supportive housing.  Finn also described work underway in Massachusetts to adopt Social Impact Bond financing.

 

S CA KEYS TSEMBERISDr. Sam Tsemberis, Founder and CEO, Pathways to Housing, now the internationally recognized antidote to chronic homelessness, focused on the evolution of Pathways' Housing First strategy with its focus on consumer preference and access to permanent housing. "The model is simple: provide housing first, and then combine that housing with supportive treatment services in the areas of mental and physical health, substance abuse, education, and employment," said Tsemberis. "The scattered site housing model fosters a sense of home and self-determination, and it helps speed the reintegration of Pathways' clients into the community." Pathways' housing retention rate is 85%. Tsemberis is shown here. 

 

Supervisor Yaroslavsky, who briefed attendees on work in the County, affirmed the results of the convening, noting the important role of the Round Table's President, "He is my role model of how it should be done. As both a presidential appointee and private citizen, his commitment to the challenge of ending homelessness has been passionate, sincere and unrelenting. I applaud the comparable dedication of the participants in our recent Southern California Keys Meeting, and as always, I look forward to further collaboration and partnership with the American Round Table to Abolish Homelessness."   

 

S CA KEYS MORRISONOther partners to the Los Angeles convening addressed key topics for jurisdictional and private sector partners. Christine Marge, Director, Housing and Financial Stability, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, discussed Civic Will. Kerry Morrison, Hollywood 4WRD and Executive Director, Hollywood Property Owners Alliance (pictured here) reported on Community Partnerships involving business. Dr. Joe Colletti of Urban Initiatives, who brings his broad experience to numerous Ten Year Plan communities in California, invited partners to join a conversation about the local use of data. Robert Hess, CEO of the new Housing Solutions USA, and formerly the jurisdictional lead for homelessness initiatives in both New York City and Philadelphia, and more recently of The Doe Fund, gave details of his new venture.  

 

S CA KEYS FLORAIn addition to Supervisor Yaroslavsky, elected officials represented Santa Monica (Council Member and former Mayor Bobby Shriver), Ventura County (Council Member Neal Andrews), San Bernardino County (Supervisor Josie Gonzales), and partners came from Orange County, Santa Barbara County, Riverside County, Long Beach, and Pasadena. California Keys, which meets as northern and southern partnerships, was conceived by 10-Year Plan Community Champions Angela Alioto and Dene Oliver from San Francisco and San Diego, respectively. Mr. Mangano and Flora Gil Krisiloff are shown here. 

 

With the same experts and innovators, Northern California Keys partners, with the sponsorship of the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Homelessness Policy and Urban Initiatives also convened jurisdictional partners at San Francisco City Hall. Dariush Kayhan, Director of Homeless Policy, Office of Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Angela Alioto, Chair, Ten Year Plan Implementation Council and Co-Founder of California Keys welcomed and briefed partners from the Bay Area and other jurisdictions. Angela Alioto spoke to attendees and commended the Round Table for sustaining the Keys meetings and urged other jurisdictions to focus on housing strategies.    

 

Thanks to Sofia Herrera, Ph.D., Urban Initiatives, for the photos.

THE FIRST CHAMPION 

 

Champions is a new column which will call attention to people in the country in both the public and private sectors who are working to reduce and abolish homelessness.

 S CA KEYS ZEV  

+ Who - Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky 
(Good to start at the end of the alphabet - the last shall be first!)

 

+ Where - Our nation's largest jurisdiction.  No, not New York City.  Los Angeles County.  One County, 88 Jurisdictions, 10.4 million plus citizens, $23.3 billion budget.  

 

+ What (is his role) - County Supervisor, Third District which includes Hollywood and the western part of Los Angeles County and a constituency of two million people. 

  

+ Why - Zev's evolution as a Champion is part heart and much mind.  He has embraced the issue in a most difficult environment and has championed a number of initiatives in Los Angeles including Project 50 aimed at the streets, Project 60 aimed at veterans, a more responsive mental health system, service funds, and more. 

 

 His evolving articulation of the issue moves beyond the tired clich�s to creative solutions and is supported by his outstanding Deputy for Mental Health and Homelessness, Flora Gil Krisiloff.  On Zev's behalf she has focused their office and resources on housing for homeless people.  

  

Quote(s):  Supervisor Yaroslavsky has said that the direction of the Los Angeles Home For Good plan to end homelessness from business leaders and government "sets the record straight" that permanent supportive housing is the most effective approach to helping individuals who've been identified as the most likely to die on the streets. 

 

[Housing First] "improves housing stability and reduces the use of high cost public services . . . in hospitalizations, incarcerations, and subsequent use of shelters, emergency rooms, psychiatric, and detoxification programs. At the end of the day, this saves the public taxpayer a lot of money."    

 

RISING CHAMPION - JOSIE GONZALES, SUPERVISOR FOR SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY'S 5TH DISTRICT

 

S CA KEYS GONZALESJosie Gonzales serves as Supervisor for San Bernardino County's 5th District. She is currently serving her second term as County Supervisor. She has single-handedly led elected officials in the county in re-examining the issue of homelessness through a new lens. Her indomitable spirit and commitment to the right thing for homeless people makes her a County executive to watch. She recently convened a special community meeting with faith based and community partners to focus on the current "realignment" of California's prison system, which will result in many prisoners coming under county jurisdiction. Pictured here (left to right): Joe Colletti of Urban Initiatives, Mr. Mangano, and Supervisor Gonzales.      

 

INNOVATIONS ENDING HOMELESSNESS: COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS (CSPECH)

 

The Community Support Program for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness (CSPECH) in Massachusetts provides Medicaid reimbursement for community-based support services for chronically homeless individuals who are placed in permanent housing. CSPECH, having served 372 tenants [2005-2011], estimates that this intervention results in a net Medicaid savings of more than $3 million. CSPECH is a unique innovation of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA) in partnership with the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP), the state's for-profit Managed Care Organization (MCO) for behavioral health services for Medicaid recipients.

 

The link between Medicaid and community support services is beneficial to states in an era of health care reform because housing has been demonstrated to reduce the costs of "frequent users" of emergency and acute health care resources. Such savings can be captured when Medicaid helps finance the critical community supports necessary to support tenancies. CSPECH is a proven model of Medicaid reimbursement that can benefit the development of low-threshold housing opportunities for chronically homeless individuals. The state's Medicaid plan includes Community Support Services and allows payment on a per-day basis.  Ideally these services are accessed by members who are dually eligible. States are able to "opt-in" to Community Support Services under Medicaid.

 

CSPECH began in September 2005 when MBHP was asked by the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to develop a behavioral health model that could support individuals who were chronically homeless in a Housing First program as one of that year's Pay for Performance Outcome projects.  MHSA and the Massachusetts public welfare agency were partners with MBHP in this effort.

Housing First is the foundation for CSPECH, allowing new tenants to seek and retain treatment through the help of a Community Services Provider (CSP).  CSPECH includes eight strategic partnerships around the state that were facilitated by MBHP and MHSA. The partnerships involve behavioral health providers in the MBHP network and programs with housing vouchers from federal or state funds that can be used for individuals under MBHP coverage to create scattered-site or congregate low-threshold Housing First tenancies in a partnership between health and housing.  Currently, 372 individuals covered by MBHP participate.

 

CSPECH participants meet three entry criteria: 1) coverage under the MBHP insurance plan and 2) existing definition criteria of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for chronic homelessness; and 3) medical necessity criteria for CSP services. Additionally, participants must either be receiving intensive outreach prior to living in a Housing First model or must be currently living in a Housing First model.    

  

 

IN THE CITIES: LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS  WELCOMES TEN YEAR PLAN PARTNERS TO FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENING WITH FOCUS ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND REENTRY

 

LOWELL CONF"What's working" to address the challenges of prisoner reentry was the focus of the fifth annual Keys to Ending Homelessness Conference of partners in the Lowell, Massachusetts Ten Year Plan. American Round Table President Mangano keynoted last week's conference, joining state and local officials, including City Manager Bernard Lynch, Kenneth Lavallee, Superintendent, Lowell Police Department; Ronald Corbett, Probation Commissioner, MA Court System; and Peter Koutoujian, Sheriff of Middlesex County. Mr. Mangano is shown here. 

 

Mr. Mangano especially commended Linda King, City of Lowell Community Development Specialist "who has worked so hard on the Ten Year Plan and on this important implementation series of conferences. Lowell, through the involvement and commitment of their City Manager, new Sheriff, and Police Chief, have shown sustained commitment to the implementation of their plan and the identification of new ideas."  A number of state and city based innovative initiatives were presented including development of permanent housing for ex-offenders by Jim Cuddy of the South Middlesex Opportunity Council and the Hampden County Sheriff's; strategies for Veteran ex-offenders; CORI issues, and successful transition regarding medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and medication.

 

City Manager Lynch recommitted his city to the quest for innovation and cost effectiveness in reducing homelessness. Sheriff Koutoujian acknowledged the close relationship of failed reentry and homelessness and, in a continuation of his sensitivity to the two issues as a state legislator, pledged his authority and office to partnering with Lowell in realizing their Ten Year Plan goal of reducing and ending chronic homelessness.  Previous Lowell conferences have focused on SSI enrollment and employment strategies.    

 

IN THE COUNTIES: VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA SEEKS INNOVATIVE IDEAS FOR REENTRY AND TEN YEAR PLAN REALIGNMENT    

 

VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors Hearing Room was the site of the recent Ventura County Homeless & Housing Coalition event to host Round Table President Mangano as he supported partners in identifying innovative ideas in reentry and recalibration of their Ten Year Plan. Supervisors Kathy Long and Steve Bennett and Ventura City Councilman Neal Andrews took part, with Cathy Brudnicki of the Ventura Coalition.

 

"What's working to end homelessness and reducing recidivism through employment and housing innovations?" Mangano asked. "That's our work here. Our job is to find what works and what works better. What works best and what's next." Mangano also briefed attendees on the successful Ready, Willing & Able reentry program, an evidence based practice that is appropriate in response to state of California's new realignment strategy to devolve the care of more than 33,000 prisoners to local government.

 

Coalition Executive Director Brudnicki welcomed Mangano's remarks. "He helps us to understand our efforts in a wider context. It makes us see our work as part of the national effort to prevent and end homelessness. He is able to help us maintain - or rekindle - the mental and physical energy necessary to keep going, even when progress is slow."

 

TWO FORMER FEDERAL REGIONAL LEADS ON HOMELESSNESS MOVE TO NEW ROLES  

 

John O'Brien, one of the original Regional Coordinators named by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2003 when it was revitalized under the leadership of Philip Mangano, and Michael German, National Team Leader of the Regional Coordinators, have announced new positions that represent a loss to the federal effort to end homelessness but continue their individual commitments to communities and homelessness.  

 

Mr. German, named as 2009 Finalist for the Citizen Service Medal of the Partnership for Public Service, has moved from his long-time Atlanta base to become Birmingham, Alabama Field Office Director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Mr. German's work at the Council drew on his experience in making personal connections in his prior work with HUD and FEMA, as well as his roles in the offices of Representative John Lewis, former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, and at the Atlanta Housing Authority.  

 

"As the expression goes, Michael never met a stranger," said Mangano. "He was equally at ease on the street, with Governors and Mayors, and with business partners. John brought his awareness of advocacy and services to the work with jurisdictional leaders, and fostered dozens of plans and partnerships around the country. The personal connections made by these two committed individuals with elected officials and business leaders spurred political and civic will. Their work as part of a larger strategic vision illustrated clearly that homelessness cannot and will not be solved inside the Washington Beltway. That's been tried and found lacking."

 

"In my seven years at the Council we determined that local jurisdictional plans and business leadership were the vital missing pieces to forward an abolitionist agenda. Michael's charismatic capacity to initiate and sustain relationships with mayors, county and state officials, as well as civic leaders, breathed a personalism from Washington that fostered trust and action. Alabama has gained a savvy and spiritual leader; Washington has lost a skilled and sanguine relationship-builder."

 

John O'Brien has been named Senior Advisor to the President & CEO of Father Bill's and MainSpring, an agency dedicated to ending homelessness on the South Shore and in Southeastern Massachusetts. From 2003 to 2011 he served as the New England Regional Coordinator for the Interagency Council and its lead on Veterans issues. He was responsible for coordinating activities in the six New England states and conducting outreach around the country, helping create partnerships at all levels of government and with the private sector to prevent and end homelessness. Mr. O'Brien, who is a Vietnam Veteran, served as the Council's representative on the VA Secretary's Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. He will continue his Veterans focus at Father Bill's. Mr. O'Brien was previously Executive Director of the Shattuck Shelter-Center for the Homeless, a Massachusetts state program providing services to women and men and a past President of the Board of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance.  

 

 

2011 SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI AWARD PRESENTED TO AMERICAN ROUND TABLE FOUNDER

 

In celebration of the Feast of Saint Francis, the Arch-Confraternity of the Knights of Saint Francis of Assisi at the Porziuncola Nuova of the National Shrine of Saint Francis in San Francisco awarded the 2011 Saint Francis of Assist Award to Round Table Founder Philip Mangano and to Dr. Elisa Stephens, President of the Academy of Art University. Mr. Mangano also serves as a Knight. The award was previously presented to Father Louis Vitale, OFM.  

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 

 

Question of the Week is a new column in the ART eNews. Here's this week's.  

 

? Is it true, as a group of us in California were told recently by a HUD representative, that ONE person at HUD makes the complete and final decisions regarding distribution of all HUD-VASH vouchers everywhere in the country? 

 

 

 

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