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JANUARY 2003 UPDATE
FULL MEMBERSHIP MEETING Please mark your calendars! The next full membership meeting date will be February 27, 2003 from 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Family Services in Wheaton, IL . We are requesting the participation of the major agency decision-makers! The meeting will focus on the DuPage Homeless Continuum's Plan to End Homelessness. The work of all Continuum members over the next few years will involve streamlining, shifting priorities and resources and redefining the service paradigm. We need your feedback. Look for a meeting notice and full agenda to be mailed soon. HUD 2002 SUPERNOFA HOMELESS AWARDS ANNOUNCED ! On December 18, 2002 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the Supernofa awards for DuPage County! DuPage received a total of $1,799,328. (The estimated amount of HUD funds to be awarded at the time of application was $1,609,000.)
The Needs Assessment Committee is starting the application and selection process for HUD's 2003 Continuum of Care funding. The programs covered include the Supportive Housing, Shelter Plus Care, and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy for Homeless Individuals (SRO) programs. The estimated amount of HUD funds available to the DuPage County Homeless Continuum is $1.1 million plus a possible incentive amount of an additional $500,000 for a new Permanent Supportive Housing project for persons with disabilities. There are significant renewals in 2003 that will impact the ability to fund new activities. The only anticipated new project funding will be for a Permanent Supportive Housing project. Applicants are encouraged to submit new Permanent Supportive Housing projects for consideration by the Needs Assessment Committee for the upcoming HUD 2003 Continuum of Care application. Initial verbal presentations of proposed projects will be held at the Needs Assessment Committee meeting on February 13, 2003 1:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Family Services in Wheaton. All potential applicants must attend that meeting and all members of the Continuum are encouraged to attend! At this time, a detailed timetable for the Supernofa Continuum of Care application process and the New Projects Policy forms will be distributed to all applicants. Written proposals of new projects will be reviewed by the Needs Assessment Committee at their meeting on March 20, 2003 1:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Family Services in Wheaton. Again, all members of the Continuum are encouraged to attend, not just the applicants. You may contact Peg White Lijewski, Continuum Technical Consultant, 630-357-9595 if you have questions regarding project eligibility and HUD funding requirements. Technical assistance is available to potential applicants in developing projects. You may view last year's application information at http://www.HUD.gov/grants For the first time ever, we have an accurate picture of homelessness in northeastern Illinois and the organization and report that made this possible should set an example to the nation on how to assess the complex issues of homelessness. The Regional Roundtable on Homelessness, published a report on 12/20/02 titled Facing Homelessness: a Study of Homelessness in Chicago and the Suburbs. Both the organization and the report represent the first time there has ever been regional collaboration with each participant representing a large number of homeless shelter and service providers in their respective city or county. Now the question is will our policy makers, legislators, local planners, funders and providers incorporate this information into their decision making processes in the future. Every day, thousands of people in the Chicago region fall through the cracks and find themselves without a permanent and decent place to live. Some people claim that compassion fatigue has made it a less popular issue than in the past, and others feel that the continued existence of this societal problem is discouraging even those who are working to find solutions. However, the hundreds of organizations dedicated to finding a decent place for homeless individuals and families, and to helping them find the personal resources to end their homelessness, are not discouraged. The Facing Homelessness report makes it clear that homelessness is a regional issue and not just a Chicago problem. There is no simple or "one-size-fits-all" solution. There are different patterns and causes of homelessness that when evaluated eliminate the misconceptions surrounding this problem. For example, the persistently homeless (the pattern we probably see most as we go about our daily lives) is only 28% of the homeless. Solutions for this group are important, but solutions for other patterns (crisis and episodic homeless) will be different. Likewise, the causes of homelessness are many and varied and may include economic hardship, health issues, or precariousness of prior living arrangements. Any combination of these causes may contribute to a homeless individual's or family's situation. The study also found that the homeless are geographically stable and do not come from "someplace else." Over 40 percent of adult homeless have children, although the children may not be with them. Twenty percent of the homeless that do have children with them are the victims of domestic violence. Over 39% of the homeless are employed, and nearly two-thirds do not receive government assistance. The information in the Facing Homelessness report brings the picture of homelessness into focus, and this information should be used. Citizens, legislators, and even homeless service providers will all find information that provides a clearer picture of homelessness, on which better programming and funding decisions can be based. It is important to note that the report was primarily funded by private dollars from foundations and organizations that also wanted a better understand this complex issue. Knowledge is power. There is hope for solutions to homelessness, and this hope comes from a common understanding of homelessness, devoid of myths and preconceptions. This understanding will help us find those solutions. NOTE: An Executive Summary of this report
has been mailed to all members of the Continuum. The full report is
available as a PDF file and can be requested from Peg White Lijewski
or Phil Smith. The Regional Roundtable on Homelessness (Regional Roundtable)
is a forum that works to improve strategies for understanding and addressing
homelessness throughout northeastern Illinois. Specifically, the Regional
Roundtable discusses best practices, funding opportunities, strategies,
and undertakes projects to improve the Continuum of Care process within
each jurisdiction and across the region. The Regional Roundtable consists
of at least one representative from each jurisdiction's Continuum of
Care in the greater Chicago area. In the six-county Chicago region,
there are eight different jurisdictions with a Continuum of Care in
place: the cities of Chicago and Evanston, Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake,
McHenry, and Will counties.
The DuPage Client Management Information System (CMIS) has been "live" since December 2, 2002! Twelve agencies are now up and running. As of January 2, 2003 three agencies began entering new client information on a real time basis - Catholic Charities, The People's Resource Center, and Prairie State Legal Services. Sixteen agencies have completed the training to implement the system and will be going online in the next few months: Access DuPage, Addison Township, DuPage PADS, Inc., Bridge Communities, NAMI DuPage, Serenity House, NCO Youth & Family Services, Wheaton Youth Outreach, DuPage County Human Services, DuPage County Veterans Assistance Commission, Naperville Cares, and DuPage Housing Authority. On December 2-6, 2002 approximately 100 end users from these agencies received training in ServicePoint Bowman. Each agency has designated a Agency System Administrator who will be the primary contact person and work with the County System Administrator. The System Administrator is Leslie Grevoy from DuPage County Human Services. Tasks for the next few months are evaluating hardware needs for the agencies, installing DSL lines, virus and firewall protection, and installing area networks. The CMIS system has three major modules: Service Point, Client Point, and Shelter Point. Service Point is the database for referrals, Client Point is the database for demographic and case management information, and Shelter Point is the database for housing availability. Clients only have to provide their required information one time before accessing any services from participating agencies.
The 2002 GAPS analysis for the DuPage Homeless Continuum was presented in August 2002 based on the results of the Homeless Provider Survey completed by Kathleen Kelly-Frank of the DuPage Federation on February 21, 2002. The process of collecting and analyzing the data highlighted the fact that it is difficult for agencies to know about all the needs of the clients they serve or the results of all the referrals they make. It is even more difficult to project the needs of clients they do not serve - which is the "gap" on which the analysis is focused. It is hoped to improve this information when the CMIS system is fully operational. For a copy of the current Gaps Analysis, you may contact Phil Smith or Peg White Lijewski.
As of 2002, HUD is emphasizing the use of mainstream assistance programs to meet the income and support service needs of homeless persons. Congress appropriates several hundred billion dollars each year for mainstream assistance programs such as Medicaid, TANF, Food Stamps, and SSI. Homeless persons are typically eligible for these programs, but these resources are not fully accessed. HUD is requiring homeless providers to assist homeless persons in identifying and accessing these mainstream programs in order to allow HUD funds to be increasingly used to develop needed housing. Conditions of homelessness often make it difficult for the homeless to access mainstream programs. The DuPage Homeless Continuum is striving to increase access and use of these programs by encouraging homeless service providers to develop new strategies. In order to recognize its importance, "Mainstream Resources" was added to the Funding Selection/Ranking Criteria for both CDBG and HUD Continuum of Care funding applications. To assist agencies, the Community Outreach Committee hosted a meeting with representatives of the mainstream programs on 11/8/02. It included representatives from the Illinois Department of Human Services, Social Security, the Veterans Assistance Programs, and the DuPage Workforce Development office. The purpose of the meeting was to create a greater understanding of program access and eligibility in order to build for the future. There is a need to create greater access for people seeking shelter and support services to mainstream programs. Each panelist gave an overview of their programs to the attendees, discussed how better to identify clients at intake for potential eligibility, and talked about whether or not we can expedite the application processes. Over 40 staff from DuPage social service providers attended. Participants expressed the need to meet again with mainstream representatives to continue dialogue regarding how we can better work together. The goal is to develop a plan to establish systems to facilitate enrollment with each office. The Community Outreach committee will be planning a follow-up meeting with the mainstream program representatives. All Continuum members will be informed. Another valuable resource for accessing mainstream programs is the "Guide to Selected Health Care Resources in DuPage County" which has been developed by the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform. You may access this report at their website - dupagefederation.org
The Community Outreach Committee completed a new brochure
for the DuPage Homeless Continuum. The target audience for this brochure
is potential new members and members of the community who have heard
of the Continuum and would like more information. The new brochure highlights
members of the continuum, the committee structure, the vision and mission,
statistics on homelessness and services provided, and the accomplishments
of the Continuum to date. If you would like additional copies, please
contact Roseann Deane, Continuum Coordinator.
Last Updated July 26, 2009 |
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