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Reviewing 10-Year Plans to End Homelessness. Asheville, NC. The 10-Year Plan. Adopted by the City of Asheville and Buncombe County in January 2005. First Plan Adopted in North Carolina.
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Reviewing 10-Year Plans to End Homelessness Asheville, NC
The 10-Year Plan • Adopted by the City of Asheville and Buncombe County in January 2005. • First Plan Adopted in North Carolina. • Mission: To end chronic homelessness and reduce all types of homelessness over the next decade by investing resources in a coordinated, sustained effort that addresses the underlying causes of homelessness.
The 10-Year Plan • Lead the Way • Develop a Steering Committee to oversee the 10-Year Plan. • Develop an Infrastructure • Develop and use the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). • Establish a “no wrong door” policy. • Establish a Coordinated Assessment System.
The 10-Year Plan • Prevention • Coordinate and expand housing resources for short- and medium- term support. • Increase supports for people leaving institutions. • Engage landlords, 211, other resources. • Access mainstream resources.
The 10-Year Plan • Housing First/Housing Plus • Create new permanent, supportive housing. • Make existing housing more accessible. • Use outreach and education to engage people. • Develop wrap-around services.
Guiding Principles • Everyone has a right to housing. • There are achievable solutions to homelessness, and actions should be based on those solutions. • People experiencing homelessness should inform planning and be informed of the plans. • Consistent, accurate data and measureable results should inform decisions.
Guiding Principles continued • Resources should be used responsibly and in a coordinated fashion. • People and the groups that support them have unique and diverse needs that require multiple solutions.
How has Asheville done?“Lead the Way” • 10-Year Plan Coordinator hired and Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee began meeting in 2007. • City of Asheville City Council and Buncombe County Commission make the Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee an official commission the city and county in 2009. • Provides guidance to city council and county commission on all homeless issues. • Has started making funding recommendations.
How has Asheville done?“Develop an Infrastructure” • 3 of 4 homeless service agencies use the Homeless Management Information System. • Participated fully in the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress in 2011, using HMIS data. • Recently started working with local 211 to create a Coordinated Assessment System.
How has Asheville done?“Prevention” • Implemented two ARRA-funded Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Programs. • City and state programs run through four agencies assisted over 400 households to stay in housing or end their homelessness through rapid re-housing. Average cost per household = $2500. • Two of those agencies have obtained funding from other sources to continue operating rapid re-housing for short- and medium-term assistance.
How has Asheville done?“Housing First/Housing Plus” • Creation of Homeward Bound’s Pathways to Permanent Housing supportive housing program in late 2006. • Has housed 422 individuals with a housing retention rate of 89%. • Expanded services to include not only permanent supportive housing but also rapid re-housing.
How has Asheville done?Housing First/Housing Plus • Homeward Bound received a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Cooperative Agreement in 2011. • Housing services grant, providing mental health and substance abuse services to individuals moving into permanent housing. • 36 individuals moved into housing in first 10 months with another 19 enrolled, waiting for placement.
How has Asheville done?Housing First/Housing Plus • Expanded use of HOME/CDBG funds for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance and Housing Case Management. • 20% of HOME funds used for TBRA vs. 3% nationally. • Expansion of Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-housing programs. • Pairing HOME funds with CDBG for intensive case management and housing stabilization services.
How has Asheville done?Housing First/Housing Plus • HUD-VASH began in Buncombe County in 2008. • Partnership between the VA and HUD. • The Charles George VA Medical Center has housed 141 veterans since 2008. • 87% of those veterans met the definition of chronic homelessness prior to housing. • Program has a 90% housing retention rate. • Success has allowed the program to expand to Polk, Rutherford, McDowell, Cleveland, and Haywood Counties.
How has Asheville done? • Overall homeless population: • 689 at plan implementation. • 523 counted in January 2012. • Reduction of nearly 25% • Chronically homeless population: • 293 at plan implementation. • 72 counted in January 2012. • Reduction of over 75%.
Partnership with Local Housing Authority • Why is this important in our communities? • How did it work in Asheville? • Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee endorsed subcommittee to look at chronic homelessness. • Asheville Housing Authority agreed to a special priority. • Homeward Bound agreed to shift existing resources to initiate a pilot. • Project funded by multiple community stakeholders.
Partnership with Local Housing Authority • Through July 2012, 116 individuals have moved into public housing or Housing Choice Vouchered units with a 90% retention rate. • Priority has been expanded to include households homeless 90 days or longer to help with rapid re-housing efforts. • Project has accelerated our decrease in chronic homelessness.
Looking Ahead . . . • Expand supportive housing concept to other agencies. • Develop Coordinated Assessment Process. • Understand the scope of the HEARTH regulations and develop method through HMIS to measure important outcomes. • Reduce the overall homeless population. • Reduce the number of newly homeless individuals. • Decrease the number of households returning to homelessness.
Looking Ahead . . . Boiling it down to one key measurement goal: NO ONE WILL BE HOMELESS LONGER THAN 30 DAYS!
Asheville-Buncombe 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness • Contact Information: Brian K. Alexander Executive Director Homeward Bound of Asheville, Inc. (828)258-1695 ext. 256 brian@hbofa.org