Neighborhood Stabilization Program-Funding Resource for Continuums of Care

In early October HUD annouced $3.92 billion in community allocations for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Foundations that are involved with their communities efforts to end homelessness are encouraged to pass the following information on to local developers and homeless service organizations.

According to HUD, their community based allocations for the NSP are worth taking advantage of:

"Because most communities' special needs housing resources are tied up in renewals of existing projects, NSP offers an unparalleled opportunity to fund new projects. For NSP grantees, funding special needs housing projects that provide permanent supportive housing will help them meet the 25/50 targeting requirement. There are many possible models that communities could use. For example, an NSP grantee could acquire and rehabilitate a single-family or multi- family home and 'dispose' the property to a nonprofit. Alternately, vacant property could be redeveloped into permanent supportive housing units for persons with special needs."

25% of the funding must be used to house persons at or below 50% of the area median income (AMI). Projects are encouraged to include individuals and families who are homeless, those living with HIV/AIDS and low income veterans. Community plans (submitted in the form of an amendment to the local Community Development Block Grant Action Plan) are due to HUD on December 1 - therefore it is important to get involved quickly.

HUD will provide additional information via the NSP website as it becomes available.

Housing is the Key

Promote housing-based solutions, with access to appropriate services, that are integrated in to our communities as the primary investment for ending homelessness.

Examples of Housing Solutions:

Logan Place - Portland, Maine - serving chronically homeless individuals

1811 Eastlake - Seattle, Washington - serving chronically homeless alcoholics

Solid Ground Supportive Housing Program - Chicago, Illinois - serving homeless youth

Legion Woods - New Haven, Connecticut - serving homeless veterans and chronically homeless individuals

Examples of Housing Developers Who Are Part of the Solution

Avesta Housing - Portland, Maine

East Liberty Development - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation - Boston, Massachusetts

Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation - San Francisco, California

Questions for Discussion:

Do you have other examples of housing solutions that are working in your community?

What are your thoughts on what works to integrate affordable housing into a community?

Recruit partners and make deals

Initiate and engage in collaboration and strategic partnerships among funders, local policy makers, business leaders, and government, as well as advocacy, housing, and service providers.

Do you have an example of an effective collaboration that you've been part of that has resulted in a reduction of homelessness in your community?

In what ways have you engaged in collaboration with the communities that you fund?

Think Upstream

Support effective prevention programs and strategies, such as effective discharge planning, employment training, substance abuse counseling, and family reunification efforts.


Examples of programs with effective prevention strategies

Victory Programs - Boston, Massachusetts

Central City Concern - Portland, Oregon

Downtown Emergency Service Center - Seattle, Washington

Housing Works - New York City, New York

Share the Vision

Raise awareness of homelessness and existing local ten year plans to end homelessness, while building public will for long-term strategies locally and nationally.

Examples of Effective 10 Year Plans:

Asheville and Buncomb County, NC

Bridgeport, CT

Cambridge, MA

Clark County, WA

Denver, CO

Hartford, CT

Discussion Questions:

Does your community have a 10 year plan that is working?

What are some of the components of a 10 year plan that are the most important?

How have you raised awareness in your community about homelessness?

Build a Bank of Knowledge

Encourage and support research, demonstration projects, and data collection to identify and confirm effective approaches for serving key segments of the homeless population.

Examples of demonstration projects:

Logan Place - Portland, ME

Moving to Opportunity - Expanding Housing Choices for HUD Assisted Families

Mercer Housing First Initiative - Seattle, WA

Organizations that are researching ways to end homelessness

The National Alliance to End Homelessness

The Technical Assistance Collaborative

Corporation for Supportive Housing

Discussion Questions:

What types of research do you think is needed to help end homelessness?

Have you funded a demonstration project that was effective at reducing homelessness in your community?

Be an Agent for Change

Promote needed systems change, including increased coordination across government departments and agencies and efforts to transition providers from shelter-based to housing first models.

Examples of Systems Change

System Change Efforts and Their Results: Los Angeles 2005 - 2006

Systems Change Resources from the Corporation for Supportive Housing

Blueprint for Change: Ending Chronic Homelessness for persons with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders

Discussion Questions:


Are there examples of systems change occurring in your community?

Do you know of shelter providers who have adopted a more housing first approach? Is it working to reduce homelessness?

Follow the Money

Work actively to leverage national policy and financial support for these efforts.

Background Information: 10 Year Plans

ROLE OF 10 YEAR PLANS TO END HOMELESSNESS

The National Alliance to End Homelessness’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness calls on America to change its thinking and pursue steps that seek not just to manage but to permanently end the problem within ten years. Communities across America have created 10 Year Plans and many are several years into the process with numerous successes.

The 10 Year Plan process has been adopted by the Interagency Council on Homelessness as the effective method to end homelessness. There are currently over 350 10 Year Plans in place. These plans are an outstanding way to gain a better understanding of your local community’s needs.

This document lays out potential funding strategies for helping implement your community’s ten year plan, and to play a role in national efforts to end homelessness.

Background Information: Disabled Homeless

Photo Credit: Colorado Coalition for the Homeless


Individuals with Disabilities

Homeless people suffer from higher rates of mental and physical health problems which are then exacerbated by living on the streets and in shelters. The lack of residential stability makes healthcare delivery more complicated. Health conditions that require ongoing treatment—such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, addiction, and mental illness—are difficult to treat when people are living in shelter or on the streets.

Approximately half of homeless people suffer from mental health issues; and about 25 percent of the homelessness population have a serious mental illness, including chronic depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and severe personality disorders. Many people who could benefit from mental health services could also benefit from stable affordable housing. A service strategy that helps people get and keep housing is both clinically and cost effective.

Background Information: Homeless Veterans

Photo Credit: The Connection Fund

Veterans account for up to 40 percent of the homeless population. The U.S. Department of Veterans estimates that as many as 200,000 homeless people are veterans and that over the course of the year, approximately 337,000 veterans experience homelessness. Recent media accounts highlight the frightening trend of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan showing up in shelters.

Background Information: Rural Homelessness

Photo Credit: Max Breiteneicher

The number of people who experience rural homelessness is unknown, but the last national count of homeless people found that 9 percent of homeless people live in rural areas. Moreover, 19 percent of rural children live in poverty (compared with a national rate of 17 percent). Rural areas are defined as a parish or county having 20,000 people or fewer.

Core Assumptions for Ending Rural Homelessness

1. In addition to substandard housing, insufficient income, high rates of poverty, and unemployment are the leading causes of rural homelessness.

2. Rural homelessness is most dramatic in areas that experience high economic growth, thus driving up housing costs.

3. The existing infrastructure of homeless service providers is limited in rural areas as opposed to urban areas.

4. Homeless people in rural areas tend to be homeless for shorter periods of time but are less likely to have health insurance and access to medical care than their urban cohorts.

5. There are numerous barriers to serving rural homeless people, including a negligible amount of available affordable housing, limited transportation methods, and the Federal Government’s priority on urban areas.

Background Information: Homeless Youth

Youth Homelessness

The prevalence of youth homelessness is difficult to measure; researchers estimate that about 5 to 7.7 percent of youth experience homelessness. With at least one million youth on the streets and in shelter—and thousands more leaving juvenile justice and foster care —the problem of youth homelessness continues to grow.

Core Assumptions for Ending Youth Homelessness

1. For many youth, independence at 18 is unrealistic.

2. Homeless youth need self-sufficiency and independent living skills training.

3. Homeless youth have special service needs, including mental and physical health issues.

4. Relationships and connections to trusted adults, family, and social networks are important.

5. Stable housing linked with services is critical to helping homeless youth transition to adulthood.

Background Information: Chronically Homeless

Photo Credit: Liz Lance - Salt Achieves

Chronic homelessness is defined as either long-term or repeated homelessness among individuals accompanied by a disability. Many chronically homeless people have a serious mental illness like schizophrenia and/or a substance use history. Research reveals that between 10 to 20 percent of homeless single adults are chronically homeless. This translates into between 150,000 to 200,000 people who are chronically homelessness. Permanent supportive housing—housing linked with supportive services—is an effective strategy for ending chronic homelessness and it is the most cost effective.

Core Assumptions for Ending Chronic Homelessness

1. Supportive housing is the central solution to chronic homelessness: at least 150,000 units of permanent supportive housing are needed nationally for people who are experiencing chronic homelessness.

2. Chronically homeless individuals have needs that often result in the greatest costs because of frequent, and inefficient use of public systems (such as shelters, hospitals, treatment facilities, and jails).

3. We must end the practice of discharging people into homelessness from hospitals, mental health and chemical dependency treatment facilities, jails, and prisons.

4. We must secure investments in additional affordable and supportive housing alternatives from mainstream systems, so that supportive housing is available to those who are homeless, or would likely be homeless without it.

Background Information: Homeless Families

Photo Credit: Max Breiteneicher

Most Americans underestimate how the problem of homelessness affects families. About 600,000 families and 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States, making up almost half of the annual homeless population. Additionally, families with children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. Homelessness has major impacts on children’s learning for example homeless children are almost twice as likely as their stably housed cohorts to repeat a grade.

Core Assumptions for Ending Family Homelessness

1. A sufficient supply of affordable housing is the central solution to family homelessness.
2. Many of the nation’s poorest families require access to supportive services and the means to improve their happiness and well being.
3. The desires of families must drive the interventions that are designed to help them.
4. The health and well being of children is closely linked to both the health and well being of their parents and to having a stable living environment.
5. The central strategy for ending family homelessness is to advocate for policies that incentive the development of affordable housing, and that increase affordable housing resources from local and federal government.