Emily Kenney, LCSW WI Housing First Coalition Advocacy in the CoC Emily Kenney, LCSW WI Housing First Coalition

What is the landscape? “This is a critical time for our housing movement and our country, when we face both extraordinary challenges and exhilarating possibilities. Despite the challenges – maybe because of them - I’ve never felt so hopeful, or so certain that we will achieve big, positive change together. In fact, we already are.” – Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition

Landscape Decision-makers are interested in the topic of housing and homelessness There is a potential for funding If we’re not “in the room,” we won’t get a chance Increasing poverty

Political Landscape Push for doing more with less (more collaboration) Advocacy is harder- outside lobbies are very strong Advocacy presentation with Gary Goyke at the Home for Everyone Conference

Can I advocate? YES YES YES!!! In fact, it is your responsibility to It’s “education” until you are asking legislators to vote yes or no to specific legislation

Why advocate? In a village on the edge of a river, a person standing near the water notices a baby floating down the stream. The villager jumps into the river and saves the baby from drowning. The next day this same villager notices two babies in the river. She jumps in and rescues them from the swift waters. Each day, the number of babies found floating down the river seems to multiply! So, the villagers organized themselves to deal with this crisis – training teams of swimmers strong enough to keep jumping into the river to rescue the babies from drowning. The rescue squads were able to save most, but not all, of the babies. One day, however, someone raised the question, “But where are all these babies coming from? Let’s head upstream and find out how all of these babies are getting into the river in the first place!”

Can we end homelessness? Housing ends homelessness. Supports to keep people housed Sufficient access to quality behavioral health resources Flexible case management (that is funded) Decent pay for case managers Affordable rents Subsidies for those who are in poverty Controls on the market Living wages Rules/laws to protect tenants Standards for housing When landlords can and cannot evict Interventions prior to eviction Legal protections What legal history is/isn’t visible

WI Housing First Coalition The Housing First Coalition strives to end homelessness by advocating for and supporting effective, sound policies and practices that promote the Housing First philosophy. 

Why Housing First? Why not “End Homelessness”? Problem Statement: The way Wisconsin has tried to alleviate homelessness hasn't worked. In many communities, people continue to encounter barriers to housing, thus we are experiencing a significant drain in economic and community resources, amplifying public health and social welfare costs. Permanent housing ends homelessness and it is the foundation for a strong community.

What do we do? The Housing First Coalition brings together agencies that directly or indirectly support those who might experience homelessness. We bring in experts to encourage that agencies who provide services to those experiencing homelessness are doing so with the Housing First philosophy. We provide technical assistance to help agencies embrace Housing First. And we educate policy and decision makers on what is needed to use Housing First to end homelessness.

From our last Town Hall, our annual tasks: Regular Advocacy on increasing state dollars for flexible housing money Support the Medicaid Waiver Create a “blueprint” for implementing Housing First in the community

Advocacy Efforts March meeting with legislators Advocacy Day Budget asks Currently drafting a bill Conversations with the Governor’s office and the WI ICH Collaboration with the CoC Leads

Talking Points Housing is everybody’s responsibility Housing First works We’ve reduced homelessness in Wisconsin from over 6,000 to 4,900 since 2015 using Housing First Housing First is cheaper King County had a decrease in Medicaid costs by 53% Denver, CO had 34% fewer ER visits, 76% fewer jail stays Emergency Shelter can cost $23,000 more per year per person Services are key Medicaid waiver will allow us to recoup costs (and put those costs into housing dollars) for case management that is currently not covered

What would be helpful to you?

How can I get involved? Become a member (as an individual or an organization) https://www.wihousingfirstcoalition.org/membership Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wihousingfirstcoalition/ Talk to legislators, state and local Join a committee (stay tuned)