Stories of Hope – Giving Thanks

Posted on November 24, 2009

How do we know if our work is meaningful? There are statistics for achievement, notably that 90% of our clients do not return to homelessness, but what does that mean to the people we serve? There are faces behind the statistics—living, breathing individuals whose lives are changed by having a safe place to call home. It is in their stories that you learn why we do what we do. This is one of our Stories of Hope.

For years I was homeless, 8 to be exact. I have been hospitalized for mental illness as well as serving time for various non-violent crimes. One of my worst memories of being homeless is being cold. Because of frostbite and severe nerve damage to my feet I have a half a foot and can barely walk at times.

Most people don’t recognize what the homeless population goes through. Most people degrade you or think you are nothing when you are homeless or mentally or physically disabled. I felt so alone and helpless until Virginia Supportive Housing’s A Place To Start program came my way. A Place To Start is just that, a place to start, but with help.

At a time when I thought no one cared if I lived or died I met the A Place To Start team. I know I’m not just a number or name to them. They really care, the quality time that I get with my caseworkers has been a big help to me. I guess what I am trying to say is that everyone there considers and recognizes me as a real person. I thank God for them.

Since I have been in the program I have not been hospitalized or incarcerated. I have been able to stay on my medication which is something I’ve never been able to do on a consistent basis. And it feels good to have a nice clean place to live that is mine. My apartment rent is 30% of my monthly income and the rest is subsidized. So instead of paying $500 to $600 dollars for a room, I have my own apartment for less than $120 dollars a month.

So to sum it all up, if I hadn’t started A Place To Start when I did, I would be still be homeless or I’d be dead. It is hard to put it all in words. I can’t begin to explain to you the pain and agony that I have felt in my life. Now I am happy about all my accomplishments I have made and the people who help me get through it. I feel proud now. I know that I am somebody. I am very proud and have much love and respect for VSH and A Place To Start. Thank God I now have a place to start.

Thank you,

Jerome Roberts
A Place To Start Client

To learn more about the A Place To Start program click here.

Working Together to End Homelessness

Posted on November 17, 2009

For this week’s blog, I have asked Allison Bogdanovic, VSH’s Director of Housing Development, to write a few words about regionalism and homelessness.
Thanks, Alice

 

Virginia Supportive Housing (VSH) has been selected to present a workshop entitled “Regional Solutions to Housing Challenges” at the 2009 Governor’s Housing Conference scheduled for Nov. 18 through 20, in Norfolk.

Just as no individual should have to go it alone in the fight against homelessness, neither should one particular jurisdiction. Homelessness does not end at a city boundary. It hurts the social capital and economic growth opportunities for an entire region.

Regional collaboration is not a new concept. Local jurisdictions often work together to achieve efficiency in the global marketplace. Regions also take advantage of geograph¬ic proximity to unite around common interests, such as transportation or work force development.

All localities benefit from a reduction in homelessness.

VSH believes that regional collaboration is the key to addressing homelessness at a time of local and state budget limitations.

In late 2006, South Hampton Roads became home to the first regional supportive housing residence of its kind in the nation with the opening of Gosnold Apartments in Norfolk. The localities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Portsmouth provided funding and rental subsidies. Developed and operated by Virginia Supportive Housing, Gosnold houses 60 formerly homeless individuals in studio apartments.

In 2008, Virginia Supportive Housing created Cloverleaf Apartments in Virginia Beach, the second regional permanent supportive housing development for homeless single adults in the region. This successful model is being repeated in Portsmouth with the development of South Bay Apartments, expected to open in the fall of 2010. As with Cloverleaf, the four cities of South Hampton Roads are providing funding and rental subsidies.

VSH is also building an addition to South Richmond Apartments located on Hull Street Road. The addition will provide twenty-one new studio apartments with comprehensive supportive services for formerly homeless single adults from the Richmond area with regional support from the City of Richmond, Henrico County, and Chesterfield County.

With permanent housing and support services, formerly homeless individuals improve their health, incomes and housing stability. Virginia Supportive Housing has a 90 percent success rate in assuring that its tenants and program participants do not return to homelessness.

Portions of this blog were originally published on November 5, 2008 in the Op-Ed section of The Virginian-Pilot.

Veterans Day

Posted on November 10, 2009

I have asked Heather Orrock, Virginia Supportive Housing’s Development Director to be my first guest blogger. Other VSH staff and “friends” will be providing blog posts in the future. Thanks.

Alice

 

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. A day we honor those who have served in our military; who have risked, and for some given, their lives for our freedom. Working at Virginia Supportive Housing (VSH) I’m continually reminded of what these individuals have sacrificed for our country and for me.

Currently, VSH provides permanent supportive housing to 53 veterans through our programs and properties in both Richmond and South Hampton Roads. Today, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released an update to the veterans report: Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans. One of the reports’ recommendations is creating more permanent supportive housing options for veterans. To read more click here.

“What’s this voucher problem all about?”

Posted on November 3, 2009

Over the past few months, there have been stories in the newspapers and on TV about the housing authorities’ “freezing” of Housing Choice Vouchers. What does this mean and why should anyone be concerned?

Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), more commonly referred to as Section 8, are basically housing subsidies for low income families who do not have enough income to pay the Fair Market Rent. The voucher enables a family to pay 30% of their income for rent and utilities, while the remainder of the rent is subsidized by the voucher.

This 30% rule is standard in the housing industry to gauge housing affordability. If you are paying more than 30% of your income for housing expenses, you are most likely not going to have enough money left to pay for other necessities such as food, transportation, child care and health care expenses. For families whose incomes are very low because they are on disability or have minimum wage jobs, affordable rent is between $175 and $400 per month. There are few, if any, apartments in the market with rents this low. Therefore, families with this type of income typically need HCV to help subsidize the rent.

The problem is that we’re in a recession where one out of every ten people in the Richmond area is unemployed. So, like everyone else, current voucher holders have been impacted. As families either lose their jobs or their hours are cut, their income is reduced—and the amount of the rent subsidy they need increases. Unfortunately, the housing authority has run out of HCV funds for the approximately 2,500 families who currently hold them.

This is also a problem for any family who was approved for, but has not yet received a HCV, including the 12 families who live in VSH’s Family Apartments who had previously been homeless. Most of these families are paying much more than 30% of their monthly income for housing expenses and our rents are well below the market rent. On a monthly basis, these families have to decide “Do I pay my rent or my light bill, or do I feed my kids?”

There is a solution; Congress needs to appropriate additional funds for the HCV program. We either pay now or later. An increase in the homeless population has negative social and economic consequences. Additional funding for the HCV program will help keep families in their homes, preventing them from becoming homeless.

For More Information:
National Low Income Housing Coalition
Housing Vouchers Are Critical for Ending Family Homelessness

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