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A Paradigm Shift For The State Of Virginia

An amazing thing happened at the 2010 Governor’s Housing Conference in November.  Governor McDonnell and his senior economic advisor, Bob Sledd, announced an overall goal to reduce homelessness in the State by at least 15% by 2013, from 8,883 to 7,550.  Why is this so remarkable? Because the Commonwealth of Virginia has actually never established a goal to reduce homelessness before!

Bob Sledd chaired the Homeless Outcomes Advisory Committee that helped to create these objectives and craft this bold initiative. The Committee was comprised of Cabinet level State agency representatives as well as numerous providers. I was lucky enough to be a part of this group, which also sought input from stakeholders throughout the state.

Not only is there an overall goal, but there are specific objectives and strategies that were developed to help meet this goal.  The most ambitious objectives call for a 15% increase in the number of permanent supportive housing units for fiscal year 2012 and 20% for 2013 above the current inventory.  This is an acknowledgement of the importance and success of permanent supportive housing in solving the problem of homelessness for a large segment of the homeless population.

Another specific objective, related to homeless prevention and rapid rehousing, sets a target increase of 10% in the number of individuals and families placed in permanent housing. The fact that we are going to concentrate on prevention and permanent housing as opposed to emergency and short term shelter solutions is extremely exciting and novel. It’s a true paradigm shift for the State of Virginia. Instead of paying to keep our emergency shelter beds occupied, we will be paying to empty them out and keep them empty!

This is a very exciting time for the Commonwealth of Virginia. While there is no additional funding to accomplish this effort, new and existing resources will be prioritized in order to ensure that these objectives are accomplished. With Bob Sledd as the champion leading the charge, I have no doubt that we will accomplish this goal.

As we begin 2011, I am optimistic that the State will do everything in its power to shift its efforts from managing homelessness to preventing and ending it.  VSH is very happy to participate and help lead this effort. To support our proven permanent solutions in the new year, click here.

Happy Holidays From Virginia Supportive Housing!

This week’s blog was written by VSH’s Executive Director, Alice Tousignant.

I must be getting old because I’m not as stressed out as I usually am at this time of year.  It’s mid-December, the holiday craziness is in full swing, and there’s lots going on personally. It’s also the end of VSH’s fiscal year and the entire office is in an uproar, trying to wrap up reconciliations for our 2010 budget and finalize the budget for 2011. Yet, I’m still smiling and calm. Am I just completely out of touch or is this feeling really justified?

You decide.

Over the summer, we had the opportunity to transition 13 individuals out of South Richmond and into private housing in the community. One of these individuals, Joe Brightful, had been living at South Richmond for 14 years and is now feeling pretty happy. Once these folks had successfully moved on, we could then make their apartments available to 13 new clients who otherwise would be on the streets and in shelters.

We also had a groundbreaking at South Richmond to launch construction on 21 additional apartments that will be completed sometime next year, helping to reduce homelessness in the region. This is our first regional effort here in Central Virginia and we are extremely excited by the collaboration between Richmond City, Henrico and Chesterfield County to make this effort a success.

We have a brand new volunteer program which has given us 553 new friends who have performed 7421 hours of service helping us with a multitude of projects, saving us time and money in addition to spreading the word about VSH. You can see many pictures of these volunteers in action on our Facebook page and find out more by contacting our volunteer program coordinator at 804-836-1061 or [email protected].

We completed a 20-month evaluation of A Place to Start (APTS), demonstrating the incredible success of this program through two important measures: retention rate (98% for the first 50 people who enrolled in the program) and savings to the community (over $300,000 in hospital and incarceration costs alone)! In addition, we were able to enroll six new clients this year, one of whom had been homeless for over 10 years and in and out of psychiatric units many times.

We opened our third regional supportive studio apartment building in the South Hampton Roads area in late November. 33 people have already moved into South Bay, many of whom had been living on the streets and in shelters for a long time. Our property management staff services staff worked night and day to locate them and get them processed to move in. One staff member remarked “I’ve never seen people who had so few possessions.” Thanks to the generosity of many individuals and congregations, we were able to make sure that everyone had what they needed to feel “at home” in their new home.

I attended the holiday party for our clients in Richmond a couple of weeks ago, and lots of people showed up for great food and karaoke.  It gave me an opportunity to sit and talk with folks who are being housed and served by VSH, and it was very comfortable and normal. We didn’t talk about where they had been but about how they are doing now, and most are doing pretty well. With stable housing, they can focus on taking care of their health issues or getting their GEDs. They’re not homeless anymore. Many people simply told me, “Thank you.”

So, that’s why I’m still smiling.

I want to express my thanks to our amazing staff who perform miracles every day.  I also am deeply appreciative to our wonderful board, whose support and engagement are helping us grow to the next level. And finally, thank you to all of our friends and supporters in the community who help make this all possible. Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!

South Bay Story of Hope

December’s Story of Hope comes out of VSH’s newest supportive housing development, South Bay in Portsmouth. To read a recent article published in the Virginia Pilot about this new complex, click here.

Lisa White had worked most of her adult life. As a nursing assistant she had a steady employment history including more than 5 years at Maryview Hospital in Portsmouth, VA.

 In 1998, Lisa decided to enlist in the military as a Merchant Seaman.  Over the next five years, her travels took her to various places around the world including Italy, Dubai and Bahrain.  In 2000, she became a first time homeowner.  Life was good.

It was on one of her deployments to Dubai in 2004 when became ill.  She was sent stateside and for the next 4 months underwent various tests to determine the cause of her illness.  It was then that Lisa learned at the age of 39 that she had with colon cancer.

 Since receiving her diagnosis, Lisa has had five surgeries, chemotherapy treatments and dozens of return trips to the hospital for follow-up care and pain management.  “There have been times when I was so weak that I couldn’t stand up and nurses had to come to my home,” said White.

 As a result of her illness, Lisa has been unable to work and her only source of income is a disability pension of approximately $800 a month.  In June of 2010 she lost her home because she could no longer make the payments and still pay for her health insurance and medicines and buy food.

Lisa spent the next year and a half homeless and either sleeping in her car or at a temporary shelter for a few nights at a time.  “I was constantly moving around taking one day at a time.  Not only was I homeless, I was really sick and had a very weak immune system,” commented White. Recently, doctors  advised Lisa that her kidneys are starting to fail and that she will likely require dialysis treatments.

Fortunately she was accepted as one of the first resident to move into permanent housing at South Bay Supportive Apartments in early November. “I feel like I have had a heavy load lifted off of my shoulders.  I don’t have to worry anymore.  I am finally able to be content,” she said.

VSH Breaks Ground For New Studios At South Richmond!

The morning of Tuesday, December 7 was bitterly cold – perfect weather to celebrate the ground-breaking for a new construction project that, when completed, will get 21 chronically homeless individuals off the streets and into permanent housing! Virginia Supportive Housing was very proud to have The Honorable Dwight Jones, Mayor of the City of Richmond, and many other esteemed guests present at this ground-breaking event, which highlighted the collaborative efforts of the City of Richmond, Henrico County, and Chesterfield County to eliminate homelessness in Central Virginia.

In addition to Mayor Jones, VSH Executive Director Alice Tousignant proudly welcomed a number of other guest speakers including: Jay Stegmaier, Chesterfield County Administrator; Mark Strickler, Director of Henrico County Community Revitalization; Ronnie Legette, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Richmond CPD Field Office Director; Jim Chandler, Director of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program with the Virginia Housing Development Authority; Willie Fobbs, Associate Director of Affordable Housing Production and Preservation with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development; Graham Driver, Director of New Market Tax Credits & Project Development Advisor with Virginia Community Development Corporation; and Karl Bren, President of Green Visions Consulting and Founding Board Member of Virginia Supportive Housing.

South Richmond Apartments, which opened in 1996, currently provides permanent supportive housing for 39 very low-income formerly homeless individuals, many of whom have disabilities. The addition of 21 new units will bring the total to 6o units. Construction will add 13,856 square feet to the existing apartment complex. Eleven of the 21 units will be disability-accessible. In addition, The Studios at South Richmond will be EarthCraft Virginia-certified for green building and energy efficiency, and will incorporate a photovoltaic solar energy system designed to reduce the building’s energy load by 20%.

To view the photos of this exciting event, just click here!

There is value in painting walls and raking leaves!

This week’s blog was written by VSH’s volunteer program coordinator, Alison Jones-Nassar.

Watching School Pride last Friday night, I had an epiphany about the importance of our property projects. Environment matters. I’m not really a TV watcher and we don’t have cable, so I have never seen channels like HGTV and DIY that others rave about. In addition, we don’t own a home so I could care less about shows like Extreme Makeover. But even with the recent housing crash, home ownership is still at the heart of the American Dream, and entire industries have developed around the idea of transforming one’s house into The Dream Home. From books and magazines to tools and accessories to contractors and designers, we are ready to invest fortunes into our personal spaces. For some it’s merely irresistible but for others it’s downright addictive.

At the core of it all is a fundamental psychological truth: we need beauty, color, symmetry, light, harmony, and balance in our physical surroundings….It’s a fact. A wealth of research confirms our intuitive understanding that environment affects everything from mood and behavior to cognitive performance. Although Maslow’s hierarchy assigns the importance of shelter to the bottom of the pyramid, the importance of securing, personalizing, and decorating one’s shelter represents an act of self-actualization that fulfills our deepest needs for esteem, achievement, and belonging.

Environment really does matter.

And yet it somehow feels wrong, too self-absorbed, to fluff our personal nests in these days when so many are going through foreclosure and bankruptcy, when family homelessness is on the rise and personal wealth only underscores the widening gap in our country between the minority haves and the majority have nots.

School Pride comes along at a perfect time, combining two hardwired instincts – our selfish desire for beautiful spaces with our selfless need to help those around us who are less fortunate – to create a “reality” show that actually seems worthwhile. Public school systems are facing unprecedented budget crises and kids are suffering as a result. Enrichment classes are getting cut, buildings are crumbling, and teachers are struggling to make do with minimal resources.

But can we really change lives with a fresh paint job and new desks? The answer comes from the kids themselves: “It made me feel for the first time like somebody cared.” “I felt like I mattered.” “I felt like we weren’t so forgotten.” “It made me feel like we belonged.” Subjective statements are one thing. Objective measurements are another. The show ends by documenting the grade point increases and test score improvements that resulted from the cosmetic upgrades.

So what does this have to do with VSH’s volunteer program? We offer many opportunities for volunteers to paint and clean and landscape throughout the year. These are opportunities that virtually anyone can take part in, and they are really fun. More than that, they accomplish real work that needs to get done at properties that our formerly homeless clients call Home. But what I have realized is that the real value of these projects goes even beyond that, back to those feelings so well-expressed by the students.

It matters that our clients don’t feel forgotten.
It matters that they feel like someone cares.
It matters that they have a sense of belonging to our community.

For many VSH clients, the emotional support that volunteers provide simply by sprucing up one of our supportive housing properties is in fact a critical element of the healing, recovery, and reintegration process. And in case you’re wondering, our clients not only notice these acts of kindness, but they deeply appreciate them as well. So the next time you question the value of painting walls or raking leaves in the Big Picture scheme of things, just remember one thing: it really does matter!