ENDING HOMELESSNESS

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ENDING HOMELESSNESS

• Felicity Reynolds

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The Mercy Foundation

• Philanthropic Foundation established by the North
  Sydney Sisters of Mercy in 1990
• Now - focus on homelessness more specifically
  ending homelessness
• Special interest in women who are homeless
• We advocate, educate, develop through partnership
  and make grants.
• We are not a direct service provider

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Common Ground Sydney

• This is the key partnership project for the Mercy
  Foundation at the moment. Partners are
• Mercy Foundation, City of Sydney, Housing NSW,
  BCS Lifecare, KPMG, Perception Partners.
• Creates permanent supportive housing for people
  who are chronically homeless as well as people on
  low incomes.
• We have NGO, government and business involved.
  Many resource commitments.
• Grocon have made a commitment to build at cost.

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More about CG later meanwhile back to ending
homelessness

• I am specifically referring to chronic
  homelessness an experience of homelessness can
  happen to all of us (crisis/emergency etc).
• Chronic homelessness is a bit different. 6 months
  or longer or multiple episodes of 12 months or
  longer.
• Most commonly effects people with dual
  diagnosis mental illness drug/alcohol
  dependence history of trauma cognitive problems.

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Can we end chronic homelessness?

• Yes, there is good evidence that we can. (UK
  Canada USA)
• Different ways to do it, but all have these
  elements in common
• There is a vision and a plan to end homelessness
• There is a redirection of resources using
  evidence and what works
• Systems change
• Housing first WITH ongoing support
• Community connectedness and social inclusion for
  people and for services no one service can do
  this on its own lots of partnerships
• More about all this a bit later

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• But, first ..
• another more important question

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Should we end chronic homelessness?

• Dont people choose to be homeless? No
• Shouldnt mentally ill people all be placed back
  in institutions anyway? No
• Wouldnt it cost too much to end homelessness? No

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Ending chronic homelessness

• The costs argument
• The moral argument
• The results argument

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The costs argument

• Costs the same, if not more, to continue to
  service homelessness than to solve it.
• Numerous studies have shown this (eg. Culhane -
  US 31,000 per year).
• 65 costs studies done by cities in the USA
  results are counter intuitive (Million Dollar
  Murray).
• People who have to get their needs met through
  crisis based and emergency services (ambulances,
  EDs, acute units, IPUs, interaction with courts,
  police etc) can cost more than people who are
  permanently housed and provided ongoing support
  services.

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The moral argument

• A very significant proportion of the chronically
  homeless population have one or more of the
  following conditions
• Mental illness
• Substance dependence
• Dual diagnosis
• History of trauma and PTSD
• Brain injury cognitive problems behavioural
  disturbances
• Literacy problems

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• Is it really ok for a civil society to discard
  people with these problems?
• Many are without family connections is it right
  for us as a socially inclusive community to
  discard people without family?
• Homelessness is unsafe for everyone especially
  women.
• And perhaps we need to acknowledge that people
  with multiple problems will need our extra help
  to sustain housing (and some may not!)

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The results argument

• Although chronic homelessness represents a small
  share of the overall homeless population,
  chronically homeless people use up more than 50
  percent of the services (for single homeless
  adults). The most successful model for housing
  people who experience chronic homelessness is
  permanent supportive housing using a Housing
  First approach.
• (National Alliance to End Homelessness,
  Washington DC).

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Can you believe that?

• They have discovered a solution to homelessness
  and it is called permanent supportive housing.
• This is not a complex model to grasp.
• If you dont believe me, check with people who
  are homeless Toronto survey.
• Housing First means exactly what it says. Housing
  first provides a level of stability to deal with
  problems. Lots of evidence (Tsemberis).

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Yes we can!

• Planning to end homelessness now more than 340
  city plans in US Canada also now doing 10 year
  plans. UK rough sleepers initiative also had
  success.
• US plans focus on local areas and have public
  and private partnerships the whole community
  owns the plan. US reported in May 20 reduction
  nationwide.

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NAEH successful strategies include

• Plan (envision and plan to end chronic
  homelessness)
• Data (measure outcomes be accountable for your
  services and actions)
• Emergency prevention (close the front door)
• Systems prevention (close the front door eg.
  Prisons..Public Housing 3 months)
• Outreach (open the back door)
• Shorten homelessness (open the back door)
• Rapid re-housing (open the back door)
• Services (sustain)
• Permanent housing (sustain)
• Income (sustain eg. training, education, work)

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11 key elements of success

• HUD notes 11 key elements to successfully reduce
  chronic homelessness. The first five of these are
  considered essential elements for success. They
  are
• Paradigm shift
• Clear goal set
• Community wide approach
• Organisational structure and leadership
  specifically for reducing chronic street
  homelessness
• Mainstream agency involvement
• Trigger event
• Private sector involvement
• Local elected official commitment
• Progress tracking mechanism
• New approaches to services
• Strategy to combat NIMBY (Not in my back yard)

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Results oriented activities

• Use of enumeration methodologies (counts) in
  order to measure success.
• Increased research and use of evidence based
  interventions (eg. Now clear evidence that the
  same outcomes are achieved for families who go
  straight to permanent housing, as opposed to
  transitional housing first).
• Consumer focus what do people want? (not, what
  is it we can we provide?)
• Focus on most vulnerable and complex (chronically
  homeless). Cant do everything at once help the
  hardest first and the rest looks a bit easier.
• But also ensure all other parts of system working
  (eg. Prevention help for families etc).

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Key components of the Common Ground model

• Permanent supportive housing
• High quality housing and close to services
• Safe for vulnerable people
• Connected to community
• Landlord is not the support provider

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Further information

• Felicity Reynolds
• www.mercyfoundation.com.au
• Phone [phone]
• Mercy Foundations Grants to end homelessness
  close 31st December.
• Social Justice Award nominations close the same
  date.
• Small grants program no closing date.