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DUPAGE HOMELESS CONTINUUM HOMELESS PREVENTION SERVICES Introduction and Background The mission of the DuPage County, IL Homeless Continuum is to eliminate homelessness in DuPage County by providing a comprehensive, seamless array of services that begin by preventing homelessness whenever possible and end with ensuring that every resident of this county has their basic needs of food, clothing, and housing met along with achieving their maximum level of self-sufficiency. The above mission statement recognizes the importance of preventing homelessness as a primary strategy in the elimination of homelessness. The DuPage County Homeless Continuum ("Continuum") also recognizes that prevention is the first strategic step in addressing homelessness and is well documented as the most cost effective strategy for ending homelessness. Therefore, a coordinated system for distribution of homeless prevention funding to qualifying households, using a small network of agencies throughout DuPage County, has developed over time. History of the Homeless Prevention Partnership Starting in 1983, during an economic recession, Congress appropriated emergency food and shelter funding, to help people in temporary crisis. Local jurisdictions received funds based on their rates of poverty and unemployment. The local United Way organized a committee to oversee applications for these funds, and the People's Resource Center agreed to coordinate the homeless prevention providers in the DuPage Homeless Prevention Partnership (HPP). Every year since, Congress has appropriated the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) funds, with applications handled through West Suburban United Way. Agencies include: Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, DuPage County Community Services, Outreach Community Ministries, Hinsdale Community Service and People's Resource Center. In 2000, the General Assembly of the State of Illinois voted to provide homeless prevention funding to people in danger of eviction due to a temporary crisis. Initially, $1 million was administered through the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). The DuPage Homeless Continuum of Care served as the conduit for local applications and funding allocations were made to the organizations that had historically provided rent, mortgage, and utility assistance through the EFSP. In 2003, the Continuum created a strategic plan to end homelessness, with homeless prevention as one of the key components. The State homeless prevention allocations have increased each year, with the current level of funding at $10 million, along with another $1 million for administrative expenses. 2007 Homeless Prevention Process for Fund Allocation In May 2006, a group of Executive Directors and key homeless prevention staff that are part of the HPP (the "Working Group") began meeting to examine the homeless prevention system in DuPage and the network through which it works. The agencies involved in this Working Group included Catholic Charities, The People's Resource Center, Outreach Community Ministries, and the DuPage County Department of Community Services. The group agreed that the system was working adequately well but further agreed that improvements could be made, and there is value in re-assessing the system. In addition, recent increases in the available funds from State sources presented an excellent opportunity for possible changes. There was also an acknowledgement that, if this increased funding continues in 2007, the Continuum needs to be prepared to submit an alternative funding plan to the State within the State's time frame for submittal (which is traditionally very short). The DuPage Homeless Prevention Partnership completed an analysis of the geographic distribution of homeless prevention dollars and compared it to the geographic distribution of persons with incomes below the poverty level. The number of persons below poverty was considered as an indicator of the population that could be at-risk of homelessness. The data showed that there are areas of the county that appear to be significantly underserved. In particular, these underserved areas seemed to coincide with areas known to contain concentrations of Latino and other immigrant populations (most notably the West Chicago and Addison areas). The Working Group also discussed two other important issues. First, they wanted to establish guiding principles as well as a statement of best practices for agencies that were administering homeless prevention funding. Second, the Working Group noted that there was significant overlap in the geographic territories covered by each of the partnering agencies in the network. Neither of these issues (i.e., best practices or the possibility of duplication) were a cause of grave concern because of the level of openness and collaboration among the agencies. However, there were some differences in practices that needed addressing to assure consistency throughout the county, and any new system of distribution will need to address the issue of avoiding duplication. Based on research and discussion, the Working Group decided to prepare a Request for Proposal in 2007 to solicit interest in participating in the Continuum's homeless prevention system. The Working Group also felt that an RFP process would be a useful method for refining the system, improving consistency, and assuring access to homeless prevention services in underserved areas. They developed a description of guiding principles that all respondents should become familiar with. The Guiding Principles are a separate document. History of Homeless Prevention Utilization in DuPage County The risk of becoming homeless affects a high number of DuPage residents.
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