Ending Family Homelessness: The Basics NAEH, February 2008 Betsy Lieberman Building Changes BuildingChanges.org

2 Causes of Family Homelessness o Lack of affordable housing o Economic or domestic crisis o Difficulty securing “living-wage” job o Multiple disabilities

3 Simple Typology o Approximately 80% of families need rental assistance/affordable housing and may need short term/transitional or emergency services o 15-20% of homeless families need subsidized housing and range of services o Complexity of issues: mental illness, substance abuse, criminal justice involvement, domestic violence and trauma

4 Historic Perspective: Community Responses to Homeless Families o Similarities with AIDS housing field -- Responding to urgent needs -- Visionaries who have been personally impacted -- Focus on short-term/emergency/ transitional housing o Not a continuum of care/supportive housing priority; lack of community approaches

5 Moving Forward o Willingness for providers to see themselves as part of a community solution with shared goals and objectives o Serving families effectively and appropriately o Using resources judiciously o Commitment to do business differently

6 Creating Resources for Homeless Families o Creating an assessment tool used for all families o Continuum of homeless and housing services that is data-driven --Homelessness prevention --Rapid housing; Housing First --Housing assistance: rent subsidies that are need-based and potentially tiered amounts

7 Creating and Linking Services that Work o Create needs-based service models o Use flexible and complementary benefits o Link with employment programs o Create a backdoor to open up units

8 Homelessness, Housing & Assistance Act (2005) o Funded by a $10 document recording fee on real estate transactions in all Washington State counties o Commitment from all sectors is necessary to end homelessness in Washington o Housing and services administered at the local level, with counties as the lead o Counties and State develop and implement plans to reduce homelessness by 50% by 2015

9 Funding: o Anticipates $ million per year for housing and homeless services o Counties keep 60% of revenue; 40% goes to the state housing agency for a statewide grant program o All funds go toward ending homelessness o Essentially any activity that leads to reducing homelessness is eligible, if it complies with the state and local plan priorities, including TA and capacity building Homelessness Housing & Assistance Act

10 Washington State Initiatives Sound Families (2001) The Sound Families Initiative: $40 million to increase transitional housing plus services 1,445 units built 2,700 children and 1,500 families served to date 67% found permanent housing School absenteeism down by 24% 60% increased their incomes Employment increased by 22%

11 Washington State Initiatives— Sound Families: Lessons learned Housing + Services WORKS Jobs + Education are critical levers o All families’ needs are not the same o Rapid re-housing and short-term supports vs. permanent supportive housing and ongoing, intensive services o Not enough being done to bring employment opportunities to wage earners in families

12 Washington Families Fund (2004) o Created as a public-private partnership o Purpose: to expand availability of supportive housing for homeless families by providing stable, 10-year services funding awards across Washington State o Building Changes ’ roles: fundraising, grant making, administration, technical assistance, advocacy, research and evaluation

13 Washington Families Fund o Washington State: $6 million in ($6 million in 2008) o 18 philanthropic partners: $6 million to date o $ 9.3 million committed to 28 partnerships statewide o 389 units of service-enriched housing o 5,000 families--12,000 individuals over lifetime of grants

14 o In 2007, a two-tiered funding model was introduced differentiating between families with high- and moderate- level service needs o Moderate-Level Service model builds on the classic WFF model and adds an employment component to help families transition into living wage and an expanded focus on children ’ s services o High-Level Service model assists people chronically homeless and facing multiple barriers to housing stability Structure of Washington Families Fund

15 Creating Results o Partnerships o Working with Public Housing Authorities o Expanding resources as well as using resources more appropriately o Serving more families o No family left in a car, under a bridge, on the streets