Homeless Response System Online Learning Clinic 2018 – Part III: Building Dallas’ Homeless Response System – 2015-2017 – Diversion and Coordinated Access

The linked infographic, developed by the equivalent to MDHA in Kansas City[i] a few years ago, is extremely useful in understanding how over the course of the last three years we built an effective unified homeless response system, here in Dallas. (It is helpful to consult it, while reading the next parts.) This system has four main attributes.

Diversion

It seeks to divert individuals from having to enter into or engage with the system. It recognizes that homelessness is not homogeneous; 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[ii]. In Dallas, Family Gateway[iii] and Austin Street Center[iv] stand out, as two partners, who over the course of 2017, put in place robust diversion protocols, to help clients end their homelessness, and avoid or shorten their stay in shelter. 

Coordinated Access
 
It assesses, prioritizes, and only then places individuals into housing. This is referred to by scholars and the Federal Government as Coordinated Assessment, or Coordinated Access. In the absence of such a system, homeless service providers each operate on their own, and when approached by an individual needing help, typically ask some version of this question, “Will this person be successful in our program?” This leads to those with lesser needs and lower vulnerability being served, while those with greater needs and vulnerability are turned away.[v]

In an effective coordinated system, the system as a whole asks, “What solutions best match the needs of this person, and will end their homelessness quickly and permanently?” The system has one (virtual) entry point only. No placements are made in any program without:
 

• Assessing – We objectively and uniformly assess each person, with an evidence-based tool[vi];
• Prioritizing – We prioritize each person for service, based on the level of their vulnerability and according to their specific needs. Each person is awarded a priority status or P number. The lower the number, the higher the priority.
• Placing – All clients go on to a unified Housing Priority List, and are housed based on their priority status and specific needs.

 
MDHA’s Housing Priority List (HPL) has been operational since early 2016. It represents the demand side of the housing equation. It is managed by the Documentation and Prioritization Status (DOPS) Coordinator, who ensures that the persons on it have not only been assessed and prioritized for service, but also have all necessary documents, so they may be housed without delay. Housing providers are expected to house those with a lower P number (indicating greater need and vulnerability) first. As of February 2018, there are about 750 individuals on the Housing Priority list, ready to be housed.
 
The Housing Inventory Chart (HIC) contains all beds funded through our Continuum of Care (CoC) program. It represents the supply side of the housing equation. It is managed by the Housing Resources Team, who ensure that when a unit becomes available, it is filled as soon as possible. The motto of the Housing Resources Team is “No Empty Bed”. All CoC program resources must be fully utilized, with every bed filled and every penny of federal housing dollars spent. The team also actively grows the supply of known housing, by finding housing units outside of the CoC program.
 
The CoC’s performance in this core area is constantly monitored by the CoC Performance Analyst, who produces the Housing Priority List Tracker, which aggregates all of the individuals on the Housing Priority List by priority status. The Analyst produces the quarterly[vii] Homeless Response System Community Dashboard[viii], through which MDHA tracks the community’s performance in housing individuals experiencing homelessness along five performance indicators on the demand side and five performance indicators on the supply side.
 

 

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[i] http://www.marc.org/Community/Homelessness-Task-Force/Assets/HTF-coordinated-intake-graphic-web.aspx

[ii] This idea is referred to as Progressive Engagement. See more on this concept, and its application to homelessness in A Prevention-Centered Approach to Homelessness Assistance: A Paradigm Shift? by Dennis Culhane, Stephen Metraux, and Thomas Byrne (2011), http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1105&context=dennis_culhane

[iii] http://www.mdhadallas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CoC-Family-and-DV-Services-Committee-Update-8-2017.pdf

[iv] http://www.austinstreet.org/ending-homelessness-through-prevention/

[v] See more at http://endinghomelessnessmdha.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-how-to-of-building-effective.html and http://endinghomelessnessmdha.blogspot.com/2016/03/coordinated-access-heart-of-effective.html

[vi] Our Continuum of Care, like many across the world, uses the VI-SPDAT and SPDAT from OrgCode Consulting – www.orgcode.com. 

[vii] See http://www.mdhadallas.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MDHA-Homeless-Response-System-Community-Dashboard-3Q-July-September-2017.pdf for the latest report.

[viii] http://www.mdhadallas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MDHA-HRS-Community-Dashboard.docx

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!

Who am I? Why am I here?

One of the most misunderstood moments of political history is the moment that Admiral James Stockdale opened his remarks at the 1992 vice presidential debate with these words. Arguably, of the three men on the stage, he had the most impressive resume, most of it in service and unimaginable sacrifice for his country. However, he had struggled to define himself, or at least make well known his definition of himself as a political actor.

This is why Stockdale opened with these words. He wanted to address just that issue. Unfortunately, all most people remember is the soundbite, which combined with our obsession with youth and looks, caused most people to only remember the question, and totally misunderstand the context of it.

If you think about the question itself, it is one that each individual and each organization must answer. It is a question that seems to fit this time of year, too. Spring (in the Northern Hemisphere) is all about rebirth and renewal, as the world awakes from the slumber of winter. Fittingly, the two Abrahamic traditions that use a solar or partially solar calendar, observe holidays that celebrate their origin stories, as these faiths answer Stockdale’s question.

This is why I love site visits. Now, if you work for a non-profit, you may have just fallen off your chair, and if you don’t, you could be forgiven for not knowing what on earth I am talking about. When a non-profit asks for funding, often funders will ask to come in for a site visit, to see what that non-profit does, rather than just reading a written grant request. It can be stressful, and in some cases, that might be an understatement.

So, why do I love site visits? Even the best organization, working in the service of the most important cause, can fall into the monotony of the day to day work. A site visit causes an organization, and individuals within that organization, to stop and reflect on why they do what they do. Ideally, we should always be ready to answer Stockdale’s question, but to borrow Dr. Samuel Johnson’s phrase, a site visit can concentrate the mind wonderfully.

Ian Redford (playing Dr. Samuel Johnson) in A Dish of Tea with Dr. Johnson

(Courtesy of Bob Workman)

Now, some funders are clearer and some funders are less clear, regarding what they are looking for on their site visit. United Way of Metropolitan Dallas stands out for their clarity in that sense, and serves as a model for others. Here is how a United Way volunteer cut to the chase, on what they are looking to learn when they pay you a visit, “Be on point about why you are requesting the funds, what you will do with the funds, and why you will be successful with those funds.” In other words, what is the need, what is the solution, and what evidence do you have that the solution will successfully address that need?

On Monday, we have the privilege of sitting down with our friends from United Way, and answering these questions regarding the MDHA Flex Fund. I have to admit, I think this is easier with the Flex Fund than with other programs, because of its beautiful simplicity.

Dallas’ homeless population faces a variety of minor but impactful needs, beyond housing and supportive services, that impede them from (making progress in) ending their homelessness. The Flex Fund pays for (solutions to) these needs. We have research and practice from other communities, not to mention the last 20 months in our community that shows the concrete impact of such a program, in the lives of hundreds of people.  

Marsha, Family Gateway

Sarah’s story, which we have told in this blog before, is a typical example. Sarah and her daughter Carol were homeless. With the help of their Family Gateway case manager, Marsha, they obtained a housing voucher, and found an apartment. The landlord required payment of an administrative fee of $149, prior to move in. Their only income being inconsistent child support and SSI, they couldn’t afford it. They were stuck.

Fortunately, their story has a happy ending. Marsha, put in a request to the Flex Fund, it paid the landlord the required administrative fee of $149, and Sarah and Carol moved in to their new apartment. Sarah loves having a place to call home, and it is much easier to care for Carol, who has a disability, in an apartment of their own. Their homelessness ended.

One component United Way added this grant cycle, which I was particularly excited about, was what they call a “visual client flow”. This useful exercise helps the service provider, get out of their organizational comfort zone and vantage point, and look at the program through the eyes of the client. (Click through to see what that looks like.) This is tremendously important, because at the end of the day, it reminds us of our ultimate answer to Stockdale’s question, “Who am I? Why am I here?” We are the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, and we are here to end homelessness for real people, just like we did for Sarah.

The MDHA Flex Fund - A Powerful Tool for Unsung Heroes Ending Homelessness

When our family moved into an apartment in 2007, the apartment complex was running a special, and so we did not have to pay a deposit or a move-in fee. That meant that we saved the whopping sum of $69! For us, and likely for most of the people reading this, paying those $69 would not have been an issue, much less a deal breaker. Not paying it was just a nice perk. Not so for many of our homeless neighbors.


Take Kisha*, a young single mother, with two boys, aged two and three, who was staying at Dallas Life. With the help of her City of Dallas case manager, Mirka, she found an apartment, and enrolled in a program, that would pay her rent and even her deposit. The apartment complex required two types of fees, before she could move in, an administrative fee and an application fee, totaling $95. Now, you might assume that if the City of Dallas is paying for her rent and her deposit, which are much greater sums, they could pay these fees for her. Not so. The rules of the grant that funds the City of Dallas program, does not allow it to pay these types of fees. Kisha would have been happy to pay the $95 herself, but her only income, child support, had not arrived on time. So, Kisha and her boys were stuck.

Marsha, of Family Gateway, an Unsung Hero

Or take Sarah and her daughter Carol, who were staying at Family Gateway. With the help of Marsha, their case manager, Sarah had obtained a housing voucher, and had found an apartment complex that would take it. Sarah was excited to have a place to call home, and it would be much easier to care for Carol, who has a disability, in an apartment of their own. However, the apartment complex required payment of an administrative fee of $149, before they could move in. With their only income being inconsistent child support, and SSI (Supplemental Security Income), there was no way they could afford this. Sarah and Carol too were stuck.

Or take Laura, an Austin Street Center guest. Working with her case manager, Niki, she too had received a voucher and found an apartment. Unlike Kisha or Sarah, Laura had only herself to worry about. Therefore, with her SSI and Social Security benefits, though it would be “tight”, she would be able to pay her portion of the rent and even her application fee. However, the apartment complex needed her to put down a $200 deposit, and that she could not afford. I think you can see the pattern here already. Laura too, you guessed it, was stuck.

Prior to September 2015, Kisha and her boys’ story, Sarah and Carol’s story and Laura’s story, would all have ended there. They would have been stuck, and unable to move on. They would have remained homeless because of $95, $149, and $200, respectively. And these three cases are just examples of countless others.

So, what happened in September 2015? With the help of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, MDHA launched the MDHA Flex Fund. It was designed as a fund of last resort, to pay for minor, but impactful expenditures, that can help folks, just like Kisha, Sarah and Laura, end their homelessness.

Niki, of Austin Street Center, an Unsung Hero

All Mirka, Marsha and Niki had to do was fill out a simple one page form. On the form, they each stated the need of the client, how fulfilling it would help that client end her homelessness, and why there was no other resource to pay for it. They and their supervisors signed the forms, and along with documentation to back them up, they each emailed their forms to Shavon, at MDHA.

Now, we have all filled out forms for various things in life, only to then have to wait, and wait and wait. That is not how Shavon operates. In each case, she carefully reviews each form, and if everything is in order she quickly approves the request. She then has Wayne, our CFO, cut a check to the vendor (in these cases the apartment complex), and notifies the case manager that the check is ready. The case manager swings by MDHA to pick the check up, and delivers it to the apartment complex. This whole process usually takes only 24-48 hours.

One of the most attractive aspects of the program is how it empowers the unsung heroes of our homeless response system, case managers. It gives them a powerful and readily accessible tool, with which they can end a client’s homelessness quickly and permanently. Since September 2015, using this tool, case managers like Mirka, Marsha and Niki have helped hundreds of clients, just like Kisha, Sarah and Laura, rebuild their lives. And you really can’t put a price on that…  

*All client names have been changed to protect their privacy.