INNOVATION . . . INFORMATION . . . INSPIRATION

 December 14, 2011                                             Issue XIII  

 
 
A Year of Opportunity
and Response

 

Dear Partner in Ending Homelessness,

 

At the Round Table we remain committed to the abolition of the long misery and human tragedy of homelessness. In the past year our efforts have forwarded that mission. And as we look at the year to come, more opportunities will be available to accomplish our objective - whether prevention of homelessness for those exiting prisons and jails or aging out of foster care, or intervention strategies through Social Impact Bonds to create more housing targeted to our poorest neighbors.

 

This past year has been filled with opportunity and response. We take seriously our commitment to "innovation, information, and inspiration." In Florida, California, Massachusetts, Texas, Minnesota, and a number of cities and counties these themes have resonated.

 

Much of our work in the past year has focused on:  

 

1. Advocacy on behalf of those exiting prisons and jails. With the assistance of The Doe Fund's Ready, Willing & Able program we have criss-crossed the country reminding public officials and faith communities that 98% of all who go into incarceration are released. And when they get out they aspire to a place to live and a job. A new awareness of these aspirations is driving policymakers to innovative, results oriented efforts. Whether in Lowell, Massachusetts, or Los Angeles, California, new action is being taken to create housing and jobs.      

 

2. Enhancing business planning to end homelessness. In meeting with cities and counties Ten Year Plans have been enhanced and recalibrated and created. The most recent is in central California, where a new Ten Year Plan in Merced has focused the community on solutions. In Fort Collins, Colorado the great work of the community continues in creating the housing needed to offer solutions. 


3. Supporting local, innovative initiatives that target the most vulnerable.
Consulting with and advising agencies that are creating housing has been a focus of the work throughout the country. Last year I was privileged to represent Step Up on Second, a Southern California organization, at the Clinton Global Initiative. Step Up has long served our neighbors who have mental illness and in recent years has committed its vision to the creation of housing. In a continuing role with Step Up, we are reconfiguring the Board to maximize the agency's impact and increase housing opportunities.  

 

4. Rapid dissemination of innovation. Whether the work of Step Up, Ready, Willing & Able, or the exciting innovations of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance in using cost benefit analysis to motivate a for-profit managed care entity and Medicaid to invest in the stabilization resources homeless people need in housing, we are at work across the country. The innovations are out there. Our job is to ensure that there is an immediate knowledge and subsequent replication of what is field tested and evidence based.

 

We need your support to continue our very specific and valued work around the country. As you know, we limit our "ask" to one appeal a year. We try to follow the business model we championed in Washington in the current work of the Round Table. We earn most of our budget through our dissemination activities on behalf of innovative partners. 

 

Initiatives that are proven and results oriented require a relentless voice in our country. That's the mission of The American Round Table to Abolish Homelessness (ART).

 

ART is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Your investment in our work is tax deductible. More importantly, you are investing in the abolition of the long misery of homelessness for our most vulnerable neighbors. Our business model ensures that performance is valued over process, outcomes over inputs, research over conjecture, and results over the status quo.

 

Thank you for your support.

 

 

Yours in abolition,

Philip F. Mangano, President and CEO

 

 

P.S. As you know, my Mom passed away earlier this year. Thank you so much for your support, notes, and prayers over the past two years. She was such a great supporter of my efforts and other efforts for 30 years. She is missed. 

 

 


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