Framework of Services to prevent and Eliminate Homelessness in Brevard Housing First: Brevard 2015-2018 Strategic Plan The Brevard Homeless Coalition s strategic planning statement was modeled on the 2010 U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness adopted plan, Opening Doors. This federal plan established four national goals: Finish the job of ending chronic homelessness; Prevent and end homelessness among our veterans; Prevent and end homelessness for families, youth and children; Set a path to end all types of homelessness. In developing the Brevard Homeless Coalition s action plan, the Coalition relied on its work in 2013 and 2014 to create its governance, performance measures, and coordinated assessment process. In addition, the Opening Doors: Florida plan incorporates critical actions recommended in the Florida Plan to End Child Homelessness, released in 2010. INCREASE LEADERSHIP, COLLABORATION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Objective 1: Provide and promote collaborative leadership at all levels of government and across all sectors to inspire and energize Brevardians to commit to preventing and ending homelessness. Partner with local agencies to solve and eliminate homelessness through participation in the Brevard Homeless Coalition, Inc. Recognize the interconnectedness of state and private services needed to address homelessness and to implement a system that would deliver a more cohesive and comprehensive resolution to ending homelessness on both an individual and systemic level. Develop and implement the Coordinated Assessment Process, targeting selected intake specialists and housing opportunities organizations. Develop and implement a Coordinated Assessment Team (CAT) and Housing Opportunities Team (HOT) in partnership with select partners. Build a community partnership to significantly expand strategies designed to reduce veteran and chronic homelessness in Brevard County. Research and develop a rapid rehousing plan to enhance family housing programs and initiatives. Provide opportunities to be flexible in using available funding and resources to prevent homelessness and assist those who are homeless. 1 P age
Redesign and streamline current funding processes for improved efficiency and effectiveness along with incorporating HEARTH Act objectives into funding determination. Develop and implement strategies and policies to increase funding beyond traditional government sources. Develop and implement new approval and accountability process to fund internal and external BHC, Inc. initiatives. Explore grants and other partnerships to increase our capacity to impact veteran, chronic, and family homelessness in Brevard. Provide opportunities for families, BHC members, homeless shelter staff, domestic violence shelter staff, homeless education liaisons, 211 Brevard staff, child welfare workers, youth and veterans agency staff, and others in related organizations to network, coordinate, and collaborate to improve services for homeless children, youth, and families. Objective 2: Strengthen the capacity of public and private organizations by increasing knowledge about collaboration, homelessness, and successful interventions to prevent and end homelessness. Revise the composition of the Coalition to increase leadership, collaboration and civic engagement. Work with the BHC Executive Board to determine the appropriate balance between maintaining representation of homeless services and representation of community volunteers as members. Develop and implement a plan to prepare and guide traditional partner agencies through this priority shift. Increase BHC membership to bring business and corporate executives onto the Coalition to facilitate public/private partnerships, and add the Brevard association of public housing authorities. Collaborate more effectively to utilize existing resources. Research and provide metrics regarding the cost of homelessness in Brevard as a cost/benefit driver for BHC programs. Public and private agencies need to raise awareness of the problem of child, youth, and family homelessness in Brevard by becoming intentional with integrating promotional strategies into our BHC, Inc. planning wherever possible. Share information on the: Scope, causes, and costs of child, youth, and family homeless in Brevard County. Solutions to child, youth, and family homelessness as well as how to get involved and take action. Available resources to help those experiencing homelessness. 2 P age
Designate a local college or university to document the cost of homelessness on law enforcement, courts, jails, Medicaid, hospitals, schools and child welfare, to best determine how to allocate limited public funds for preventing and ending homelessness. Identify policy changes to better utilize existing resources and alleviate homelessness. Provide training and technical assistance to people who work and volunteer in emergency shelters, schools personnel, health and mental health care staff, police, firefighters, veterans services workers, youth organization personnel, rural organization staff, and other people who provide services to children, youth, and families who are homeless. Offer a series of training opportunities on trauma, its impact on those who have experienced homelessness, and how to provide trauma-informed care. Build skills, enhance organizational capacity, and facilitate important collaboration and information exchange by including training on topics such as: developmental needs of homeless children, case management, motivational interviewing, self-care, consumer involvement, leadership development, organizational and program development, and community engagement. DEVELOP AND MONITOR PERFORMANCE MEASURES Objective 3: Reduce the number of persons experiencing homelessness in Brevard. Reduce the length of time persons remain homeless; dependent on timely and complete data entry of project Entry and Exit records by agency intake staff. The performance target is to reduce the length of time a person is homeless and residing in transitional housing from 24 months to 6 months and emergency shelter to no more than 30 days. Reduce the extent to which persons who exit homelessness to permanent housing destinations return to homelessness; dependent on long term post project follow-up and recording results in the HMIS/SPDAT for report data population. Measurable goals will be set once a baseline has been established. Reduce the number of homeless persons; dependent on accurate and consistent PIC surveys along with timely, accurate and complete data intake in the HMIS. The performance target is to establish policies and procedures for an accurate count to reduce the Point in Time Count by 20% overall. Provide jobs and income growth for homeless individuals in CoC Program-funded projects. This is dependent on the recording of income records at project Entry and project Exit. The performance target is to increase income of assisted households by 10%. 3 P age
Reduce the number of individuals who become homeless for the first time. This will require recording BHC results of outreach efforts in the HMIS/SPDAT (Date of engagement, prevention actions and follow-up). The performance target is to decrease the number of persons who become homeless for the first time by 40%. Provide homelessness prevention and housing placement of persons defined by Category 3 of HUD s homeless definition in CoC Program-funded projects; measuring results of BHC, Inc. outreach efforts and recording results in the HMIS/SPDAT. Measureable goals will be set once a baseline has been established. Provide successful housing placement; the performance target is to increase the percentage of homeless that exit to permanent housing by 40%. Expand the evaluation of outcomes by establishing mechanisms for system-wide monitoring of the quality of service. INCREASE ACCESS TO STABLE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING Objective 4: Provide affordable housing to people experiencing or most at risk of homelessness. In partnership with the member agencies of the Brevard Homeless Coalition, research programs/initiatives focusing on addressing challenges in transitioning homeless persons to permanent housing with supportive services. Provide short-term rental or utility assistance to help renters stay housed and prevent homelessness. Prevention intervention is less costly to the community in both the short and long term. Increase the supply of rental housing affordable to extremely low income Brevardians. Address the need for decent and safe housing affordable to minimum wage earners and those living on fixed and limited incomes. Acquire, rehabilitate and preserve rental housing to serve households who have extremely low incomes. Explore rental assistance strategies proven successful in other states, such as the rapid re-housing model for moving the homeless back to permanent housing. Develop viable strategies to utilize foreclosed and vacant housing. Objective 5: Provide permanent supportive housing to prevent and end chronic homelessness. Increase the supply of rental housing affordable to lowest income Brevardians; including housing linked with support services for persons requiring such supports. Provide supportive housing for youth leaving the foster care system. 4 P age
Dedicate community resources to preserve existing housing opportunities with rent subsidies. Explore rent assistance strategies proven successful in other communities. Develop viable strategies to utilize foreclosed housing. Objective 6: Provide permanent supportive housing to prevent and end veteran homelessness. Integrate VA Homeless Outreach assistance with the Brevard Homeless Coalition coordinated assessment process to determine: Look at how Veterans who present for shelter are screened and linked to the VA Homeless Outreach to asses for eligibility and link to services such as SSVF, HUD VASH, or GPD. Look at how Veterans that are literally homeless are screened and triaged by VA Homeless Outreach for SSVF Rapid re-housing, GPD or HUD VASH for assistance with housing and looking at best options to resolve their homelessness. Provide Emergency shelter when needed so no Veteran is forced to live on the streets: Outreach will link Veteran with available GPD or other transitional housing as currently Brevard has no emergency shelter. Outreach will link Veteran with SSVF for emergency shelter assistance through grant funds to pay for hotel until Veteran is linked with RRH through SSVF or HUD VASH. Divert Veterans when possible from Emergency Shelters: Establish screening and referral process through VA Homeless Outreach for SSVF RRH, GPD, and HUD VASH. Prioritize unsheltered Veterans for all the VA funded homeless programs (SSVF, GPD and HUD VASH). Reduce the amount of time a Veteran is homeless: Assure CoC wide coordinate with VA Homeless Outreach to triage for appropriate services. Assure that all VA funded assistance (GPD, SSVF, HUD VASH) is used appropriately to best help the most vulnerable homeless Veterans. SSVF and HUD VASH specifically are designed to assist Veterans without pre condition of treatment or abstinence from substance use. HUD VASH is based on Housing First model. Increase percent of homeless Veterans that obtain permanent housing: Through the use of the appropriate VA funded resource (GPD, SSVF, HUD VASH) we are not only able to assist more Veterans to end homelessness but also will improve their long term success. 5 P age
For Veterans with long term or intensive Case management needs to end their homelessness and prevent the return to homelessness we will utilize the HUD VASH program. For Veteran with short term need of financial assistance and rapid rehousing the SSVF program would be most appropriate. Some particularly difficult cases may require the use of both SSVF and HUD VASH to enable them to get out of homelessness and get established into their own permanent housing with ongoing subsidy and case management. GPD is used for Veterans that do not have intensive case management needs but need time to increase their income for long term sustainability. Decrease the number of Veterans that return to homelessness: Insure that Veterans are connected with VA, Veterans Service Organizations and community resources to improved sustainability and have a plan to deal with future crises. Assist Veterans with low incomes to get on low income housing lists as needed. Integrate VA assistance with the Brevard Homeless coalition coordinated assessment process: Determine how Veterans that present to VA Homeless Outreach are screened and referred to various VA funded programs (GPD, SSVF, and HUD VASH) Establish a rapid screening and referral process to and from all VA funded programs. Engage and immediately link unsheltered Veterans to services and housing. VA and their GPD providers work on moving Veterans through GPD towards permanent housing more rapidly while also insuring sustainability. Increase the number of homeless Veterans that exit GPD Transitional housing to permanent housing INCREASE ECONOMIC SECURITY Objective 7: Increase meaningful and sustainable employment for people experiencing or most at risk of homelessness. Support jobs and living wages that assure that working people can afford available housing. Provide accessibility to unemployment compensation benefits to help prevent loss of housing and homelessness because of a temporary job loss. Collaborate with Career Source Brevard and Goodwill Industries to: Adopt performance goals to increase employment among the homeless; Place homeless specialists in One Stop Centers; Link essential childcare and transportation services to increase access to employment. 6 P age
Objective 8: Improve access to mainstream programs and services to reduce people s financial vulnerability to homelessness. Develop incentives for the private sector to hire homeless persons, including tax credits. IMPROVE HEALTH AND STABILITY Provide accessibility to SSI/SSDI, TANF, SNAP, and other benefits, to help increase income to enable homeless individuals to afford housing. Waive fees for state identification card and/or drivers license for homeless persons. Waive fees for securing birth certificates for homeless persons. Objective 9: Integrate primary and behavioral health care services with homeless assistance programs and housing to reduce people s vulnerability to and the impacts of homelessness. Research, develop and implement health care strategies including improving access to health care, mental health, and substance abuse services. Implement the Basic Principles of Care for Families and Children Experiencing Homelessness, outlined by The National Center on Family Homelessness, within all programs serving families, youth, and children who are homeless. Ensure that all programs serving homeless children, youth, and families are trauma informed and recovery-oriented. Support and partner with the Brevard Public Schools in increasing the number of homeless children and youth identified and receiving services under the education section of McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act by school districts. Continue to provide information and technical assistance about the education provisions of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to school personnel, parents, homeless service providers, domestic violence programs, Head Start programs, colleges and universities, the public, and others working and volunteering with children, youth, and families who are homeless. Ensure that housing and service programs serving homeless children and youth have access to age-appropriate child development resources, activities, curricula, counseling, and tutoring. Encourage community mental health centers to conduct outreach and provide prioritized, targeted prevention and early intervention services to homeless children, youth, and families who are at increased risk for mental health issues due to residential instability. 7 P age
Prioritize the use of childcare vouchers by families experiencing homelessness and survivors of domestic violence. Objective 10: Advance health and housing stability for youth between the ages of 18 and 21 aging out of systems such as foster care and juvenile justice to prevent them from becoming homeless. Educate Child Welfare staff regarding rights of families and continue to avoid placing children in foster care based solely on their parents or guardians housing status. Allow youth 18 or older the option of re-entering foster care after exit. Claim federal funds until age 21 through the Title IV-E state plan for the following categories of youth: those exiting foster care at 16 to guardianship or adoption and/or the youth who remain in foster care at ages 18-21. Maintain extended foster care, adoption assistance, independent living services, and kinship guardianship assistance to all youth up to the age of 21. Continue to develop comprehensive, individualized, client-focused plans for children and youth exiting foster care that will promote age appropriate development in safe and supportive communities. Continue to invest in supportive housing for youth exiting the foster care system. Develop a comprehensive, data collection and analysis system to improve the identification of homeless youth. Objective 11: Advance education, health, and housing stability for unaccompanied homeless youth, including minors not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. Remove barriers that prevent homeless unaccompanied youth, including minors, from: Obtaining official documents such as a social security card, driver s license, and state identification card; Obtaining consent for or accessing medical/health services; Establishing a bank account; and Applying for food stamps and other benefits through the Department of Children and Families ACCESS Florida online system. Objective 12: Advance health and housing stability for people experiencing homelessness that have frequent contact with hospitals and criminal justice. Emphasize mental health services for homeless persons. 8 P age
Use Medicaid, VA and other federal resources to provide trauma informed care models. Use the Assertive Community Treatment approach to integrate housing and supportive services. Make services provided in permanent supportive housing eligible under Medicaid coverage. RETOOL THE HOMELESS CRISIS RESPONSE SYSTEM Objective 13: Transform homeless services to crisis response systems that prevent homelessness and rapidly return people who experience homelessness to stable housing. Establish more productive and cost effective use of limited public money than the presently overused and extremely expensive measures such as hospitalization, arrest, and jailing of homeless persons. Increase emergency shelter capacity, by supporting the expansion of current providers, creating a database of hotel providers, etc. Refocus overreliance on local ordinances targeting poor and homeless persons and the criminalization of activities they engage in because of their homelessness, by Coalition action to educate and train local government officials on: Comprehensive and seamless systems of care that combine housing and behavioral health and social services supports. Collaboration between law enforcement and behavioral health, and social service providers that results in tailored interventions to connect people with housing and services while meeting the community goal to reduce number of persons inhabiting public space. Implementation of alternative justice system strategies to reduce homeless involvement with the criminal justice system, decrease recidivism and improve linkage with other systems of care. Greater emphasis must be placed on the fact that providing housing could eliminate more costly and temporary intervention. As housing will always be necessary, adopt a Housing First model that will avoid other unnecessary and more costly options, especially when homelessness is a result of a family s economic crisis Provide short-term financial aid to persons at risk of homelessness; including families to ensure housing stability is not a factor in placing children in the state s care. Assist Brevard s at-risk veterans by enhancing incentives to hire veterans, providing 9 P age
caseworkers to link veterans with benefits and utilize case manager salaries as match for federal grants. Commit resources to ensure no federal resources are un-utilized and ensure Brevard veterans receive all the benefits to which they are eligible. 10 P age