Presentation for National Association of Counties

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Regional Community Response to Homelessness

• Presentation for National Association of Counties
• Kelly King Horne, Executive Director
• Homeward, PO Box 5347, Richmond VA 23220
• [phone] x19 kkhorne_at_homewardva.org

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Am I one illnessone lost paycheckone car
breakdownone sick childone prescriptionone
tornadoone too many drinksone convictionone
missed paymentone elder care responsibilityone
bad relationshipone poor life decision away
from a housing crisis?
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• Homeward is
• The regional voice on homelessness and related
  human services for the Richmond region
• The planning and coordinating agency for regional
  homeless services
• A 501(c)(3)

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Homeward Our mission is to prevent, reduce and
end homelessness by facilitating creative
solutions through the collaboration, coordination
and cooperation of regional resources and
services.
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The Birth of Homeward
Richmonds Regional Response to
Homelessness Founded in 1998 by recommendation
of the Richmond Task Force on Homelessness
(1995-1998) with support of then Richmond Mayor
Tim Kaine Started through a two-year ACCESS
Demonstration Grant from the Richmond Behavioral
Health Authority through the U. S. Department of
Health and Human Services Housed and supported
by United Way (1998-2006)
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On any given day, there are nearly 1,150
sheltered and unsheltered men, women and children
living and working in our community. This
means that over the course of one year 4,600
6,900 people experience a crisis that results in
homelessness.Many more are earn between 0 and
30 of AMI and are at risk of homelessness.
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138 Agencies of the Greater Richmond Continuum
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138 Agencies of the Greater Richmond Continuum
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HomewardHistory 1998 - 2006

• Richmonds Regional Response to Homelessness
• Mission to reduce homelessness by initiating
  creative solutions and coordinating regional
  resources and services.
• Key Stakeholders
• Non-profit homeless service providers in the
  region
• Business community
• Initial regional partnerships Homeward did not
  fully engage public sector service providers or
  local governments
• Interactions focused on fulfilling federal
  requirements for U.S. Department of Housing
  Urban Development
• Some consumer involvement through focus groups
  and non-profit board members

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Homeward 2001-2006The Five Year Plan

• Year 1 Launch the vision comprehensive
  assessment of current system including money,
  services, staffing and asset mapping address
  immediate priorities of 24/7 access, lack of case
  managers and stable funding for Homeward
• Year 2 The Healing Place and expanded mental
  health programs.
• Year 3 Centralized access process and a homeless
  management information system at every site
• Year 4 Service partner reorganization,
  aftercare, follow-up, mobile outreach
• Year 5 Integrate systems and mainstream programs
  and services

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The Homeward ProcessConvened to address
community issue - Solution focused - Diverse
stakeholder representation
Workgroups Taskforces Networks
Central Intake Taskforce Congregations
Workgroup Creativity And Awareness Workgroup
Evaluation And Linkage Workgroup Family
Services Workgroup Fund Development Partners
Housing Workgroup Meals Program Workgroup
Medical Respite Taskforce Executive Directors
Network Mental Health Workgroup Prevention And
Support Workgroup Single Adult/Outreach
Workgroup Substance Abuse Workgroup
Technology And Data Taskforce The Healing Place
Taskforce Transitional Housing Workgroup
Veterans Taskforce Volunteer Coordinators
Workgroup
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A Legacy of Service
Substance Abuse (2005) At full capacity The
Healing Place of Greater Richmond serves 165
people on any given day Homeward Central Intake
(2004) served 2,938, providing 7,005 referrals
in a 12-month period Community Standards (2003)
Standard evaluation process for service
providers (organization/management, program
administration, facilities) completed by 6
agencies, 5 on track Respite Program (2002)
helped 819 people recover from illness or injury
over the last 4 years Community Voice Mail (2002)
507 mailboxes at 15 agencies Executive
Directors Network (2001) 37 agencies convene
monthly
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A Range of Stakeholders
Our Board
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Our Organization
Homeward Board of Directors
Executive Director
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Our System
Homeward Board of Directors
Finance Committee
Program Evaluation Committee
Public Corporate Engagement
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Homewards Budget and Funding Sources

• FY08 Annual Budget 788, 780
• FY07 Revenue sources
• Corporate 40
• United Way 14
• Individual/ major donors 14
• Government (federal and regional) 10
• Board staff 9
• Misc. 1

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Homewards Core Linesof Business

• Community Programs
• Technical Assistance for private and public
  sector providers
• Public education and trainings
• Community collaborations needs gaps assessment
• Partnership development

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Homewards Core Linesof Business

• Homeward Community Information System
• HMIS required by HUD
• Client, program, and system level data on client
  demographics, service usage, and unmet service
  needs
• Coordinated case management
• Research and Evaluation
• Annual census of persons experiencing
  homelessness (winter and summer)
• Comparative studies
• Broadening definition of homelessness to fully
  understand the issue across the region (urban,
  suburban, semi-rural)

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Our Community Moving ForwardA Regional 10 Year
Plan
10-Year Plan Focus Prevent and End
Homelessness Multi-Jurisdictional and Regional
Input State and National Best Practices Collabor
ative Initiatives
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Community Needs

• HOUSING
• Housing stability for most vulnerable residents
• Services that will help people to maintain
  housing
• Cost-effective prevention programs that target
  those at highest risk of homelessness
• Increased public awareness of complexity of
  issues especially for board members of service
  agencies and other community leaders
• Case managers who are informed and knowledgeable
  about best practices and challenges of working
  with population
• Innovative programs that work to prevent and end
  homelessness learning from other communities
  experiences
• Coordinated regional funding of priorities
• Enhanced data on demographics, service needs,
  gaps in service, and cost-benefit analysis

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10 Year Plan Goals

• 1 Transforming the Prevention, Housing
  Service Delivery System
• 2 Ensuring Access to Permanent Housing
• 3 Educating and Advocating for Change
• 4 Providing Research and Data Management
• 5 Strengthen and Restructure Homeward as a
  Regional Enterprise

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10 Year Plan Mission

• The Richmond Region works together to change
  lives, to cultivate human dignity, and to offer
  hope for the future for those who cannot afford
  stable housing.

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Current Community Initiatives

• Trends and Innovations Dinner
• Case Management Certification Program
• Regional Best Practices Conference
• Board of Advocates
• Outreach to the Under-Served (Project Homeless
  Connect)
• Communications tools implementation tips for
  practitioners and issues-based newsletter for
  community leaders and general public
• Strengthening relationship with 4 local
  governments (determining Homewards role in
  regional funding issues)

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Homeward Websitewww.homewardva.org
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Moving forward
Homeward Our mission is to prevent, reduce and
end homelessness by facilitating creative
solutions through the collaboration, coordination
and cooperation of regional resources and
services.
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The prevention and end of homelessness is our
priority.408 West Franklin StreetPost Office
Box 5347Richmond, VA 23220(804)
343-2045www.homewardva.org