CoC Strategic Work Plan Online Learning Clinic - Improve Access and Coordination of Services and Emergency Housing and Rapidly House Family Households with Children

Some of the most important systems change work in our Continuum of Care (CoC) is done on the committee level. The Family and Domestic Violence Services Committee’s work over the last few months is a great example of this. Back in August, the two committee co-chairs, Ellen Magnis, CEO of Family Gateway and Blake Fetterman, Executive Director of the Salvation Army Carr P. Collins Social Service Center, treated us, at the CoC General Assembly, to a fascinating progress report on how they are working through various elements of Goals III and IV of the CoC Strategic Work Plan.
 
In this installment of the CoC Strategic Work Plan Online Learning Clinic, we will zero in on specific points they discussed in this presentation. We encourage you to carefully review the entire PowerPoint presentation from Ellen and Blake’s progress report, as well as Goals III and IV, to understand the full context of the discussion.
 

Ellen Magnis

The first part of the presentation focuses on system mapping and alignment of rules and procedures of different shelters. Why is it important to map a system of care, especially to the level of specificity that Ellen and Blake exhibit on page 2 of their presentation? Why is it important to align the rules of different shelters? Simple: Without doing this work, there is no system; there is only an uncoordinated environment. That hurts those experiencing homelessness, and hampers the work of those trying to help them.

In an uncoordinated environment, the National Alliance to End Homelessness explains, “families with housing crises may end up going to multiple agencies that cannot serve them before they get to the one most appropriate for their needs.” And when each agency has different rules and procedures, this ends up, “slowing down families’ receipt of assistance.” Furthermore, “extra staff, time, and money are spent doing intake and assessment, taking time away from other, more housing-focused tasks, such as case management, housing location, and landlord negotiation.” This type of environment is detrimental to those who need our help the most, as, “research suggests that, in many systems, resources are being conferred on a small subset of families whose needs may primarily be economic, while those with more significant challenges (co-occurring disorders, complete lack of a social support system, etc.) are falling through the cracks.”

Laura Zeilinger

Indeed, as we have shared before, former Executive Director of USICH, Laura Zeilinger, argues that the essence of transforming homeless services into an effective homeless response system may be summed up in the right entity asking the right question: An effective homeless response system is one where individual programs no longer ask, "Will this person be successful in our program?" Rather, the system as a whole asks, “What solutions best match the needs of this person or household, and will end their homelessness quickly and permanently?"  
 
This focus on solutions rather than programs is what drives another important idea Ellen and Blake reiterate, the cardinal importance of diversion. As we explain in our playbook (pg. 8), “An effective homeless response system, counterintuitively perhaps, seeks to divert individuals from having to enter into or engage with the system. It recognizes that homelessness is not homogeneous, rather it is on a continuum. Many of those who seek our help have the capacity to self-resolve, with the help of mainstream resources, or ‘light touch’ one-time assistance.”
 
A recent excellent piece on the Austin Street Center website elaborates on this, and is worth quoting at length:
 
It’s easy to think that anyone who seeks services at a homeless shelter is actually homeless and in need of a safe place to stay for the night. However, according to Austin Street’s Executive Director, Daniel Roby, that’s not always the case, ‘Sometimes people come to us in shock, having just been kicked out of their apartment. They often haven’t had the time to think through what other options might be available to them. They are just thinking, ‘I need shelter tonight.’”
 
According to Director of Programs, Dustin Perkins, “Diversion allows us to have a comprehensive understanding of a person’s true needs. When you’re overwhelmed, when something traumatic has happened, sometimes it’s hard to see when you do really have options. We can help with that.”


Dustin Perkins

Diversion is better for the individual or family in crisis, and it is better for the system as a whole. After all, diverting an individual or family, who can self-resolve, eases the pressure on the limited resources of the system, allowing us to serve those who cannot self-resolve and cannot be diverted. This is why both Austin Street Center and Family Gateway have made significant investments in diversion.

By the end of this month, we will tackle the remaining two goals we have not covered yet in this Online Learning Clinic: End Chronic, Veteran and Elderly Homelessness and Drive Decision-making with HMIS Data. Stay tuned!