| Moving Forward Together: A Message from USICH Executive Director Barbara Poppe | |
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Last week, Americans reelected President Barack Obama  to lead our nation for another four years. During his first term we launched Opening Doors and began the tough but necessary work of making our nation's response to homelessness more strategic, more responsive, and more collaborative across all levels of government and the non-profit and private sectors. Since the launch of Opening Doors, the nation has made progress toward preventing and ending homelessness despite the economic downturn and continued recovery.
As a nation, we've reduced Veteran homelessness by 20 percent, thanks in large part to the commitment and collaboration of HUD and VA, working in partnership with local communities. We also prevented and ended homelessness for over 1.3 million Americans through the Recovery Act's Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program, and building on that incredible success, HUD has incorporated those same winning practices into the new Emergency Solutions Grant. A path has been cleared to end chronic homelessness as communities across the country are achieving real results by targeting those who are most high-need and connecting them to resources and permanent supportive housing. And the strategies and actions needed to end homelessness among families, children, and youth are becoming clearer. Together, we're moving forward.
However, while the ambitious goal to prevent and end homelessness is achievable, it will only be done if we can step up and finish what we've started together.The road ahead is hard and will be more challenging than what we've seen before. But if you're an able partner, if you're willing to do your share, to do what's needed at the state and local level then we'll be successful. The work ahead will require not only new investments, but smart investments. Finishing the job will mean seriously evaluating the needs in your community and looking for areas where repurposing or retargeting resources can be more effective. Now, more than ever, it is critically important that smart, strategic decisions are made about how limited resources are spent and how working with mainstream partners is coordinated. To end homelessness resources must be pushed to only the most successful and cost effective interventions, and the collaboration among all systems that touch those experiencing or at risk of homelessness must be strengthened.
Together we've learned these five things that are the foundation of our forward movement...
Read the rest of this important message on our blog
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases its FY2012 Continuum of Care Competition NOFA
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$1.61 billion of funding available to CoCs 
On Friday, November 9 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the Notice of Funding Availability for $1.61 billion for homeless service providers, the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program.
The FY2012 CoC Program Competition is the first funding competition to be administered under the CoC Program interim rule. While the process is similar to past Homeless Assistance Grants competitions, the content and steps differ in some key ways, including the ability to reallocate funding from renewals to a new project application, prioritizing funding for chronic homelessness, and more.
USICH released a newsletter alert that goes into further detail on some of the important new items in the NOFA.
Applicants should review and follow the steps as outlined in the NOFA to ensure that applications are complete and submitted timely. Read the full NOFA here.
The deadline for submitting applications to HUD is 7:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, January 18, 2013. Applicants will be required to complete and submit their applications in e-snaps.
Access HUD guidance about changes made to the application process, training modules, and additional resources here.
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VA's HPACT Program Collaborates to Meet Healthcare, Housing Needs
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Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team plays pivotal role in helping most medically vulnerable Veterans get housed, stay housed
As the nation is nearing the halfway point toward our goal of ending Veteran homelessness by 2015, USICH along with our partners at the Department of Veterans Affairs is focusing on innovations to accelerate that progress. In May 2012, USICH released a newsletter that detailed the many programs beyond HUD-VASH that work together to assist Veterans experiencing homelessness. Today, USICH's Special Advisor to the Executive Director, Dr. Josh Bamberger, details another innovation at VA: the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (HPACT).
HPACTs focus on the primary healthcare needs of homeless Veterans in coordination with housing programs. Now up and running in over 30 sites with another eight sites in development or planning, the HPACT is built at the intersection between two successful healthcare models, the Healthcare for the Homeless Primary Care Clinics and the Patient-Centered Medical Home. This model is tailored to the needs of homeless Veterans by creating a hub in primary care facilities so that Veterans can access housing and stabilization services that have recently been developed and expanded across the VA system. Connecting these two interventions makes it possible for Veterans in need to access services that will both help them get housed and experience successful outcomes in supportive housing.
Learn more about how HPACTs are improving healthcare delivery for Veterans
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New University of Minnesota Study on Homeless and Highly Mobile Students
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Study details academic gaps and resiliency of homeless and highly mobile students
Recently, the University of Minnesota released a new  study on the academic achievement of homeless and highly mobile students, one of the first longitudinal studies of its kind. The analysis examined academic achievement data across third through eighth grades, comparing students identified as homeless or highly mobile with other students in the federal free meal program, reduced price meals, or neither.
Achievement gaps appeared stable or widened between homeless and highly mobile students and lower risk groups. Math and reading achievement were lower, and growth in math was slower in years of homeless and/or highly mobile identification, suggesting acute consequences of residential instability.
"This is the first time we've been able to see a growth over time in the achievement gap for the same students flagged by their homeless liaisons as experiencing homelessness or high mobility (HHM). There is a definite slowdown for HHM students in math, as well as reading," explained Ann Masten from the University of Minnesota. Nonetheless, 45% of homeless and/or highly mobile students scored within or above the average range. Masten added, "the results from this study tell a story of both risk and resilience." Results underscore the need for research on risk and resilience processes among homeless and/or highly mobile students to address achievement disparities.
Read the study
Access the large database of homelessness research on the USICH website.
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Community Spotlight: Bethesda Cares' work with the 100,000 Homes Campaign
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USICH's Community Spotlight comes from the experience in the field of our Regional Coordinators, who work with communities across the country in their efforts to end homelessness. We look forward to sharing more great work from organizations and partners in upcoming newsletters.
A year ago, Bethesda, MD was the 100th community to  join the 100,000 Homes Campaign. Since then, Bethesda Cares, Inc. along with other community partners have been conducting regular outreach to people experiencing chronic homelessness and surveys to understand the vulnerabilities of the people they meet. Their most recent count had volunteers that included over 30 doctoral students and medical staff from the Uniformed Services University at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. These volunteers lent a high level of medical expertise to outreach and will now bring back a deeper understanding of the need for housing as they work with clients at the hospital. Based on much of the data and need identified by the surveys Bethesda Cares, Inc. has been conducting, Montgomery County dedicated 25 permanent, supportive housing vouchers that can be used for people who are extremely medically vulnerable and have been homeless for years. This effort requires partnership and collaboration across different sectors, organizations, and people. Bethesda Cares, Inc. has assisted multiple homeless veterans with HUD-VASH housing referrals in partnership with the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, and has assisted those experiencing chronic homelessness in partnership with the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless. Support from public officials has been a critical component of the successful outcomes produced by Bethesda Cares. Congressman Chris Van Hollen has been instrumental in advocating and securing HUD-VASH vouchers for homeless veterans in Montgomery County and County Councilmember George Leventhal has joined the street outreach effort and medical vulnerability assessment teams. Find out more about the great work of Bethesda Cares, Inc. here.
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Department of Housing and Urban Development
Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts
In response to Hurricane Sandy, HUD is coordinating with  Continuums of Care (CoC) that were not impacted and that are in reasonable proximity to the New York City region to determine where there may be capacity to intake persons that are homeless-both those that were homeless prior to and those that are homeless as a result of the storm. Sandy-impacted areas currently have thousands (over 5,000 in New York City alone) of persons in evacuation shelters, many of whom have special needs. These temporary shelter accommodations are not viable long term and do not offer the types of supportive services that many of the persons being sheltered may need.
HUD is requesting that CoCs in a reasonable proximity to the New York City/New Jersey region inventory their providers to determine if there is capacity that can be offered to assist in relocating New York City residents. CoCs that identify capacity can notify HUD by sending an e-mail to Marcy.L.Thompson@hud.gov. HUD will be in contact with those CoCs to follow up.
Department of Labor
DOL new "Innovation Fund" to test employment and  housing services collaborations
One of the challenges in providing employment services to homeless families is a lack of coordination across systems and across funding streams. Three projects recently funded through the Department of Labor's Workforce Innovation Fund ("the Innovation Fund") are directly addressing this coordination challenge.
The Innovation Fund is one of several new federal grant programs, including the Department of Education's Investing in Education Fund (I3) and the Corporation for National and Community Service's Social Innovation Fund, in which grantor agencies fund projects that seek to use evidence to design program strategies. All Innovation Fund grantees are conducting third-party evaluations of their interventions as part of their grants. As a result, the housing cohort of Innovation Fund projects will contribute a great deal to the field and help target future investments in employment services for homeless families.
Department of Veterans Affairs
Reminder: Department of Veterans Affairs  SSVF Program Notice of Funding Availability Open
The application period for the Department of Veterans Affairs' Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) Program is still open, and we encourage applicants to take advantage of resources available on VA's website during preparation of the application. Grantees will be expected to leverage supportive services grant funds to enhance the housing stability of very low-income Veteran families who are occupying permanent housing. There is also a new rocus on expanding the rapid re-housing components of SSVF programs. In all program components, grantees are required to establish relationships with local community resources.
Applications will be due to the SSVF Program office by February 1, 2013.
Learn more and read the full NOFA
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On the USICH Blog
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On November 5, USICH Executive Director Barbara Poppe took to our blog and encouraged a more productive public discourse on homeless children and youth.
In the blog, she takes us through an example illustrating the importance of using language that more accurately describes the impact of homelessness on children, regardless if your lens is through the Education or the HUD statutory definitions.
She closes with her call to action, a commitment to better articulate the extent of children's needs and the real solutions (i.e. housing, services, healthcare, and education) that meet those needs.
Read the full blog here
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Deadline: Public Comment Period on CoC Interim Rule Ends
National League of Cities: Congress of Cities and Exposition
Wednesday, November 28 - Saturday, December 1
Learn more
LGBT Leaders 2012: International LGBT Leadership Conference
Thursday, November 27 - Sunday, December 2
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