HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION - INTERVENTION Metro Detroit’s Community Summit To End Homelessness

 Broadly, it means that someone who is threatened with homelessness does not become homeless. ( National Alliance to End Homelessness) WHAT IS PREVENTION

Who Is the Target for Prevention  Those most at risk are those who:  Have been homeless before;  Have no support networks (family or friends) that can help them with housing or finances;

 Have an institutional history (prison, jail, hospitals, etc.);  Have been in foster care; or  Are victims of domestic violence. Target for Prevention Cont’d

 Amongst people who fall into any of the above categories, the people most likely to become homeless are:  Single men;  Female-headed households, particularly ones with no experience of independent living;  People with chronic mental illness;  People with substance or alcohol abuse illness; and  People with serious health problems.

Benefits of Prevention Programs  They can be cost effective.  They prevent people from entering the homelessness system.  Make it easier for people to maintain steady employment and self-sufficiency.  Avoids the human and social costs of homelessness.

Recommendations Implement preventive programs, ie, intervention, stabilization and infrastructure:  Intervention Programs  Rental assistance  Mortgage assistance  Tenant/landlord mediation  Domestic violence counseling  Family counseling

 Legal aid  Case management  Emergency utility payments Recommendations Cont’d

 Stabilization Programs  Institutional transition (prisons, hospitals, jails, etc.)  Drug/alcohol treatment  Domestic violence programs  Budgeting assistance  Tenant education

Recommendations Cont’d  Infrastructure Programs  Housing Assistance:  Section 8  Single Room Occupancy

 Housing and mortgage insurance  Public housing  Supported housing Infrastructure Programs Cont’d

 Income Assistance:  Veterans benefits  Family Independent Agency  Emergency assistance  General assistance  Food stamps

Infrastructure Programs Cont’d  Service Assistance:  Health care  Case management  Counseling  Job training and placement  Drug/alcohol treatment  Mental health care