Ending Chronic Homelessness – Are we there yet? Ana Rausch, MA, Senior Research Project Manager, Coalition for the Homeless

Coalition for the Homeless Mission: To provide leadership in the development, advocacy, and coordination of community strategies to prevent and end homelessness. Role: Coordinate the community response to homelessness Lead agency for the TX-700 Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) lead.

Key Concepts: Overview of the Coordinated Access System Review the Coordinated Access Refinement Process used to revamp vulnerability tools and housing placements Overview of Navigation Workgroups and “surges” Review data used and how it’s used

Cities that Fit into Houston TX-700 CoC = 3,739 sq miles From: Knudson,LP www.knudsonlp.com

Just for Fun! Houstonia Feb 2016

Homeless in Houston - 2018 PIT Unsheltered number in 2011 was 50% but was 32% in 2017 Increase due to Hurricane Harvey

2018 PIT - Breakdown 12% increase compared to 2017 51% decrease since 2011 18% unsheltered reported being homeless due to Hurricane Increase in number in PSH 162% since 2011 Approximately 1 in 4 identified as chronically homeless Zero unsheltered & 9 sheltered chronically homeless family identified 1 in 2 had mental health & substance abuse problems 1 in 7 was a veteran Veteran numbers at steady state level – 2/3 are in shelters

Chronic Homelessness PIT Increase in sheltered count due to significant outreach and engagement efforts. Shelters designated bridge beds and allowed longer stays for clients in navigation Again the unsheltered increase due to Harvey

Coordinated Access (CA) Rolled out January 1, 2014 PSH Only Centralized Waitlist VI Prioritization

CA Expansion Rolled out January 15, 2015 Added RRH (youth & families) Centralized Waitlist RRH Next-Step Assessments (sub-pops)

Coordinated Access Houston Highlights Access Points 13 Hubs Shelters, drop-in centers, ministries Outreach Teams dedicated to CA Call-in option Assessments Match to PSH, RRH, Income, SOAR Consent is electronic Vulnerability tools prioritize populations 20+ Navigators HMIS All matching Bed availability PSH, RRH, Income, & SOAR Waitlist prioritization Referral outcomes CA part of NOFA Scoring

RRH – families not rolling off CA Refinement Lab – July 2016 VI – no longer working RRH – families not rolling off Hubs – needed better access

Vulnerability factors for single adults Housing Prioritization Tools 12/16/16 Vulnerability factors for single adults Vulnerability factors for families Vulnerability factors for youth The 3 Housing Prioritization Tools that were developed addressed the needs of the 3 subpops that we were prioritizing. For single adults we looked at severe and untreated physical & mental health problems For families we looked at risk of child removal and inability to maintain a lease For youth we looked at what factors contributed to becoming chronically homeless Once people were reassessed it was obvious right away that the tools were working

Mayor’s Housing Challenge March 2017 Community Concerns encampments City of Houston Mayor deadline Meeting with partner agency leadership CEOs & Executives Staff commitment PSH case managers Navigators Outreach Meetings scheduled Waitlist was hovering at around 400-500 and not changing so we saw the end in site Using technology with the PIT helped us identify “hot spots” so we could target outreach/navigation

Mayor’s Challenge – reports used Referrals that have no response Initial data clean-up Goal is 7 days All Open Referrals There were over 1000 open referrals in the system. Most of those had been housed. Providers were not used to acknowledging referrals in the beginning. The initial data clean-up and understanding took almost a month of meetings.

Mayor’s Challenge – reports used (cont.) Accepted referral no bed check-in Troubleshoot with housing authority & navigators Accepted Not Housed There were a lot of clients that had been accepted but had not moved in. Often these were clients going to programs with a housing authority voucher. Sometimes it was just errors.

Mayor’s Challenge – reports used (cont.) Units available for all of CoC Compare units to referrals All Vacant Units Often units are showing as empty however there’s a client enrolled in that program. Open units are compared to referrals that are out to ensure no clients fall through the cracks.

Mayor’s Challenge – Results

Mayor’s Challenge – Results (cont.) Goal met in August 461 HHs, 548 Individuals Waitlist at 291 down from 511 Avg housing rate at 95 down from 167 Goal was met ahead of the September deadline. This was despite the voucher freeze. City kicked in with HOME dollars to supplement.

Hurricane Harvey – August 2017 Source: NOAA

Tidwell St Before Tidwell St After Source: Houston Chronicle

Source: Houston Chronicle

After Harvey Effects Increase in unsheltered count 18% reported being homeless due to Harvey Thousands of affordable housing units destroyed Houston Housing Authority estimated 1000 in its inventory 122,000 homes damaged, 1000 destroyed Staff resources re-routed to house over 900 individuals out of Red Cross shelters Decline in the number of people housed monthly

Change Needed By January 2018, PSH waitlist was over 600 Average number of individuals housed decreased from 66 to 35 No since of urgency Mayor’s Housing Challenge shifted to Ending Chronic Homelessness The weekly Navigation Workgroup meetings started back up again in April 2018. New goal was set. It became obvious that without a structured approach providers would go back to old ways.

What’s happening with inflow? Look at the Data What’s happening with inflow? How many are “aging” into chronicity and what can we do about it Those who were turned away and reassessed at another point in time Those who were assessed for the first time and self-reported being chronic Inflow, who is being assessed and placed on the waitlist. What can we do to prevent Assessors from placing ANYONE on the waitlist?

Timing into chronicity What the Data Showed Newly Assessed We were assessing 80-110 new people per month Avg 80% had less than 20 service dates in HMIS Timing into chronicity 30-40 per month Previously on PSH waitlist & not housed Were removed due to 90 days no activity in HMIS

Strategies Implemented Newly Assessed Changed PSH waitlist placement procedure based on data collected Easily displayed on client’s dashboard so Assessors can see Timing into chronicity Open RRH for non-chronic singles HOME, TIRZ, ESG funds for “diversion” & quick assistance Previously on PSH waitlist & not housed Stopped removing from PSH waitlist Continuous engagement for this high-need group Encampment Initiative Intense effort towards closing encampments

Encampment Initiative Three major encampments: Wheeler 73 residents identified on 3/23/18 Chartres ~140 residents identified on 3/26/18, with the highest being 203; population greatly fluctuates in this area Pierce ~69 residents identified on 5/10/18, with the highest being 151 These encampments are located within the core of the city & very visible to the public. Residents and tourists (Minute Maid) have to walk through them. Extreme protest by constituents to the Mayor & City Council Reps.

Barriers to Engagement/Housing Substance Use Frequent Incarceration Unable to Locate This is the primary reason why some Wheeler Residents remain in Navigation Moving from one encampment to another Criminal Record Difficult finding a willing landlord Inconsistent Cooperation

New Client Dashboard Data from: Clients newly assessed Clients referred and not housed (no show or unable to contact) Clients timing into chronicity Clients placed on PSH waitlist multiple times Yes/No on the client dashboard 5 service months (or lack thereof) in the past year was the most common variable in the populations described above

Chronics Take-Down Calculator

Looking Ahead PSH Waitlist Dropped to 260 once assessment changes implemented Progress 413 households housed from April – September 2018 Navigation Workgroup Continues through the end of 2018 then re-evaluate Housing Prioritization Tools Revised and new tool will be implemented by the end of October Looking at true vulnerability not predictors of success

The Way Home is the collaborative model to prevent Thank You!! The Coalition for the Homeless leads in the development, advocacy, and coordination of community strategies to prevent and end homelessness. The Way Home is the collaborative model to prevent and end homelessness in Houston, Harris, Ft. Bend, & Montgomery Counties. For more information visit www.thewayhomehouston.org Ana Rausch, MA arausch@homelesshouston.org