Posted on June 29, 2010
Last week, the federal government unveiled its very first strategic plan to confront the problem of homelessness in the US on an unprecedented scale. The new plan, called Opening Doors: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, identifies four key goals: ending chronic homelessness in five years; preventing and ending homelessness among veterans in five years; preventing and ending family homelessness in ten years; and setting a path to ending all types of homelessness.
Strategic collaboration is the key to the successful accomplishment of these goals. Spearheaded by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the federal plan outlines an ambitious interagency collaboration that involves the active participation of nineteen federal housing, health, education, and human services agencies.
According to the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness (VCEH), the federal plan “provides an excellent framework to guide Virginia’s efforts to align strategies and resources to bring us closer to the day when no Virginian will experience homelessness….The critical component to preventing and ending homelessness…is putting in place a system to prevent homelessness before it occurs and end homelessness as quickly as possible.”
Alice Tousignant, CEO of Virginia Supportive Housing, agrees. “While the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness seems a bit short on specifics, I am very encouraged by the overall effort and am particularly pleased with the Plan’s six Core Values which are right on target. I have made similar statements many times recently. They are:
- Homelessness is unacceptable.
- There are no homeless people; but rather people who have lost their homes and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
- Homelessness is expensive; it is better to invest in solutions.
- Homelessness is solvable; we have learned a lot about what works.
- Homelessness can be prevented.
- There is strength in collaboration; and USICH [the US Interagency Council on Homelessness] can make a difference.
“As VCEH emphasized, collaboration is critical…Here in the Greater Richmond area, we have Homeward and in South Hampton Roads, there are similar efforts being coordinated by The Planning Council. If all of us as a community embrace these six core values in our approach to prevent and end homelessness, we indeed can make a real difference.”
Posted on June 22, 2010
What would you do if you woke up one day with no clear memory of who you were or where you came from, no money, and no family? Fortunately, most of us don’t have to contemplate how we would function under those circumstances. But not too long ago, a young woman named Sarah Jones* found herself faced with these exact difficulties. Her situation could have ended tragically, but thanks to Virginia Supportive Housing’s A Place To Start program, Sarah’s story concludes with the ultimate happy ending.
Sarah was referred to the APTS team in the summer of 2008. At the age of 25, she had been living on the streets of Richmond for at least three years and had experienced multiple psychiatric hospitalizations due to symptoms of her schizophrenia.
In October of 2008, Sarah was permanently housed and the APTS team set about helping her to live more independently. They provided weekly cooking lessons, taught her how to make a grocery list, assisted her with grocery shopping, and connected her with community resources.
The next step in stabilizing Sarah was to file for disability on her behalf. However, she seemed to have no idea where she came from and had no birth certificate, no social security number, no picture ID, and no school records. Without these documents, the team was limited in what it could do for her. Eventually, it was the safety, security, and comfort that Sarah increasingly felt in her stabilized environment that unlocked the mystery of her past.
Soon after moving into her apartment, Sarah said something in French that the APTS peer clinician overheard. This led to a conversation in which Sarah was finally able to share that she had been born in Haiti, adopted by a family at a very young age, and relocated to Boston.
Attempts to track down Sarah’s adoptive family through the Haitian Consulate and Refugee & Immigration Services were unsuccessful. However, in December of 2009, Central Intake received a phone call from a woman identifying herself as Sarah’s sister. Arrangements were made immediately for the family to drive to Richmond, and Sarah was reunited with her siblings and niece for the first time in seven years.
Sarah spent the Christmas holiday with her family in Boston before deciding that she wanted to return permanently. The APTS team spent a great amount of time making sure that she and her family would have access to appropriate services in Boston. In March of 2010, she officially moved back with her sister and niece, but she has not forgotten the team that made this happy ending possible. Sarah calls once a week “just to say hi.”
*Not her real name
Posted on June 14, 2010
In December 2009, VSH received a generous grant from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation to install a community garden at our Cloverleaf property in Virginia Beach. This exciting project will serve as a pilot for gardens at other VSH properties and will be jointly maintained by Cloverleaf tenants and volunteers.
Community gardens provide a lot more than fresh produce. Here is just a sampling of what the garden has meant to the tenants…
“For me it touches my heart…To be in difficult life turmoil, and homeless…we at Cloverleaf share that common reality…the garden has been a bonding experience of all involved. We all face trials sometimes in life and knowing others truly care…gives each of us [a] new and healthier prospective on life…” – Nancy
“We now have the ability to produce our own flowers and vegetables. Which I feel is very rewarding and a blessing.” -Robin
“I learned a little more about planting seeds, plant[ing] different type[s] of flowers and vegetables. I learn[ed] to eat healthier where I lost 15 lbs and my diabetes is under control, what a great thing.” – Tyanna
“Community living can be difficult at times, but the garden is a tranquil and therapeutic place, and helps when I’m feeling down or overwhelmed. Each day I am excited to go out to my garden plot and I’m so amazed at how well the plants are thriving.” – Mary
To learn more about the Cloverleaf Community Garden, visit VSH’s Facebook page.
Posted on June 9, 2010
I have asked Alison Jones-Nassar, VSH’s volunteer program coordinator, to write this week’s blog. Thanks, Alice
This morning, as I waited for my mom to come out of surgery, I scanned the NY Times for items relating to homelessness, thinking I would surely find at least one brief mention of the issue. And sure enough, as soon as I turned to the Op-Ed page, my eyes fell upon the heading, “Still No Shelter.” But as I continued reading, I realized it did not refer to homelessness after all, or at least not as it concerns NYC or even the US. Instead this column bemoaned the lack of progress in Haiti, where it claimed, “More than a million people are displaced [from the earthquake]…and Haiti’s government has no clear strategy to get them…into more secure shelter any time soon.”
Needless to say, this is an urgent situation and there is no question that it needs to be a high priority for the entire region. Human suffering on this scale, regardless of where it is, should not be acceptable and cannot be ignored.
But meanwhile, homelessness has been on the agenda in this country for more than three decades. Since 1980 billions of dollars have been spent nationwide on the problem. And yet the number of individuals experiencing or at serious risk of experiencing homelessness only continues to climb. On any given night, almost 700,000 people in the US lack a safe place to sleep at night and have no secure access to food, clothing, or sanitation – never mind employment, transportation, or health care.
What is our government’s “clear strategy” for getting these suffering human beings “into secure shelter”? The good news is that, after three decades of merely managing the issue of homelessness, our nation is finally beginning to shift resources toward strategies that solve the problem. Permanent supportive housing is an evidence-based cost-effective model that works. With even the hardest-to-serve populations, the rate of success is around 90% and the expense to taxpayers is a fraction of what we have been spending.
If we are really serious about responding to human suffering at home and abroad, then we need to get serious about ending homelessness now. By implementing permanent supportive housing on a large scale to meet the large need confronting our society, we could achieve that goal within our lifetime. Only then will we be in a position to judge the response strategies of other countries. And only then will we be in a position to respond ourselves.
Posted on June 1, 2010
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, about one out of every five individuals experiencing homelessness – or approximately 107,000 individuals – is a veteran.
Why do soldiers who have served our country wind up on the streets, and what can be done to prevent this from happening?
Reintegration into civilian life after military service is difficult under the best of circumstances. The shortage of affordable housing and jobs only makes things worse. Without sufficient family and social support networks, this transition can be overwhelming. And when other co-occurring factors such as disabilities, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or incarceration are present, the result for many veterans is homelessness.
VSH client Sam Phillips* is one such veteran. Despite being a highly decorated paratrooper in Vietnam, Sam returned to the U.S. suffering from a variety of medical complications that led to drug abuse, lost jobs, and ultimately a three-month episode of homelessness.
According to NCHV, veterans who are struggling with multiple reintegration issues require a response that meets their needs for secure affordable housing, access to health care, mental health & substance abuse counseling, job training, and other services. In other words, they need the type of permanent supportive housing that Virginia Supportive Housing provides.
The VSH solution got Sam off the streets, and it can help other veterans as well. But we can’t do it without you.
This past weekend was about remembering those American men and women who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives in defense of our country. Honoring them is the right thing to do. But while Memorial Day only happens once a year, our nation’s returning veterans need support year-round. Remembering them – and responding to their needs – is also the right thing to do. To learn more about the VSH solution, click here.
*not his real name
