New PSH Project for Women with Children

Check out this really great piece by Roy Appleton in the Dallas Morning News:

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/south-dallas/headlines/20150129-southern-dallas-apartments-for-the-formerly-homeless-draw-praise.ece

As a reader of this blog, you no doubt know already that permanent supportive housing (PSH) has been shown to be the best solution to end chronic homelessness. Most persons experiencing chronic homelessness are single men, so naturally most PSH projects focus on men. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has instructed communities not to lose sight of family chronic homelessness. Much of the latter cases involve single women with children.

MDHA was instrumental in pioneering PSH specifically for single women with children, when it brought together the Dallas Housing Authority and Lifenet Texas to form the Pebbles community a few years ago. The new community, discussed in the article by Appleton, would be the third such project that MDHA and specifically, MDHA Vice President of Programs, shepherded.

Not at all incidentally, ABC is headed up by Myrl Humphrey, outgoing Dallas area Continuum of Care Vice Chair and MDHA board member. Both Myrl and Charles are two of the most passionate and caring folks I know in the fight to end homelessness. Interestingly, one of the fascinating facts that Charles shared with me about this project is that it is part of a larger affordable housing development for folks who qualify as "low income." The idea is to integrate those in PSH units into the general community.

I love the Mayor's words that close the article:

“We cannot be a great city and just go make a bunch of money and leave the homeless, the mothers and children … on the side of the road,” he said. “That’s not the way the Good Samaritan does it, and we’re a Good Samaritan city.”

What Housing Authorities Can Do to Address Problems of Homeless People and Families

As promised, here is the handout with the main points, MaryAnn Russ, Dallas Housing Authority President and CEO, and MDHA board member, discussed during her breakout session at the annual HATS – Housing Authority Symposium Texas. Hopefully, many more housing authorities will follow her example!

1. Decide to address the problem of homelessness – this is an issue both for staff and Boards. Many homeless individuals have serious behavioral and physical health issues and PHA staff are not necessarily equipped to deal with these matters.

2. Work to build linkages with agencies that serve homeless people and people with disabilities – these alliances will be essential to succeed in this effort;

3. Understand that the issues of chronically homeless individuals and homeless families with children are often very different and respond to different solutions;

a. Homeless families with children often attempt to conceal their status because they do not want to lose their children to Child Protective Services;

b. Children “aging out of foster care” are in danger of becoming homeless;

c. A fairly high percentage of families with children become homeless due to domestic violence;

4. Consider “accrediting” agencies that work with homeless families and individuals – such accredited agencies can both verify homeless status and provide ongoing services to people the PHA houses. PHAs have something these agencies want and need – permanent housing for their clients;

5. Determine the role the PHA will play in assisting with the reduction of homelessness – is the PHA going to provide only permanent housing to people whose health issues are stabilized or is it going to provide the assistance for Permanent Supportive Housing? Both services are needed;

6. Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is housing that is linked with services so formerly homeless individuals and families can receive assistance with a range of issues in their housing;

7. Establish admissions preferences in both the public housing and housing choice voucher programs for homeless individuals and families

a. This requires amending both the ACOP and the Admin Plan as well as the Annual Plan;

b. The PHA must define what qualifies as “homelessness”. PHAs are not required to use the Hearth Act definitions;

 

c. Consider dialing back criminal history screening to cover just the Federally prohibited crimes (manufacturing methamphetamines in Federal housing, being subject to lifetime registration requirements as a sex offender);

8. Provide or obtain training and ongoing support to PHA staff so that the housing provided to homeless people can be preserved. Not much is accomplished by admitting homeless folks and then evicting them as soon as something goes wrong.

9. Assume that people who are working to recover from substance abuse will occasionally fall off the wagon and create safeguards so they can pick themselves back up.

Big Bang? That's What We Do!

Paul Quinn College:
Thursday I attended Big Bang, a day that celebrates social innovation in Dallas, at Paul Quinn College (PCQ). Before it started I was privileged to see the tail end of the men's basketball team practice, and visit with the men's basketball coach, my good friend, Chad Baruch, who is also a civil rights lawyer. (We both used to be assistant principals at Yavneh Academy.)

Dallas Mayor, Mike Rawlings, gave a wonderful opening speech. Here is a bold quote: "A great idea, if it's not scalable, it's nothing... We need capital to create more capital." Wow, that reminds me of a certain organization. It's on the tip of my tongue... Oh, yeah - MDHA! Why do I say that? Well, read on, and you'll see.

MDHA in a Nutshell:
The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) is an association of organizations devoted to ending homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties, by putting people into homes. In order to end homelessness, it facilitates over $16,750,000 of annual federal funding, coordinates services, and drives improvement in more than 45 different transitional housing (TH), rapid rehousing (RRH), and permanent supportive housing (PSH) programs.

Fulfilling Dallas’ Responsibilities:
Under U.S. Law, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) does not directly fund service providers, rather mandates that they be funded through local Continuum of Care (CoC) organizations, led by lead agencies, which coordinate all facets of the grant application process. U.S. Law also requires all federally funded service providers to report on their performance through a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), which tracks, grades and drives improvement across the CoC, and in each individual organization. MDHA is the federally designated CoC organization lead agency and HMIS operator for Dallas and Collin Counties.

Value for Money – MDHA’s ROI:
We forecast the cost of MDHA at about $1.1 million next year. This relatively small amount of money “propels” the more than $16,750,000 of annual federal funding. As each program must and does raise match and leverage funds, MDHA in effect “propels” another approximately $20,500,000 in non-federal annual funding. Furthermore, MDHA has also facilitated the Dallas Housing Authority’s housing of 3400 formerly homeless individuals and families at an ongoing annual value of over $28,000,000. In essence every $1 spent by MDHA, “propels” an additional $59! Not a bad return on investment…

Sustaining MDHA:
The federal government expects local communities to provide most of the funding for the operations of CoCs and HMIS. MDHA hopes to realize about $450,000 in earned income. The remaining costs must be raised through other means. MDHA is in the process of signing agreements with local governments that will result in $200,000-$300,000 of steady annual funding that will enable MDHA to improve services, as well as decrease its reliance on philanthropy. That said, for the foreseeable future, philanthropy will remain an essential source of income for MDHA.

Leader in the Fight to End Homelessness Set to Retire, As Agency Prepares to Build on His Legacy

Dallas, Texas – Michael M. Faenza, President and CEO of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), and a national leader in the area of mental health for the past 35 years, announced his retirement last week, effective January 1, 2015. He will remain with MDHA in a consulting role, as the agency searches for his successor. MDHA is an association of organizations devoted to ending homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties, by putting people into homes. In order to end homelessness, it facilitates over $16,750,000 of annual federal funding, coordinates services, and drives improvement in more than 45 different transitional housing (TH), rapid rehousing (RRH), and permanent supportive housing (PSH) programs. 

Faenza, a distinguished alumnus of the University of Texas at Arlington Graduate School of Social Work, was a fixture of the Dallas social service scene from 1979 to 1993. He was the first vocational coordinator for Dallas County Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR), Executive and Clinical Director of the Letot Center for runaway youth, within the Dallas County Juvenile Department, and Executive Director of the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Greater Dallas. He was then elevated to President and CEO of the National MHA in Washington, D.C., a position he served in for 14 years.

Faenza returned to Dallas in 2007 to serve as the President and CEO of MDHA. Under Faenza’s leadership, MDHA took The Bridge, Dallas’ state of the art, $28 million homeless intake and service center, from a mere idea on paper to a fully functioning institution, that today serves as a model for other cities around the country. The Bridge was spun off as a separate non-profit three years ago. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, then the Dallas “Homeless Czar”, reminisced fondly about that period, “Mike came to be my partner as we put together our long term vision to service the homeless many years ago. I enjoyed working with him and never have I met a man that has a bigger heart for those that don't have a voice.”

Larry James, President and CEO of CitySquare, and a MDHA board member emphasized Faenza’s decisive impact on Dallas, beyond The Bridge: “Working with the community to bring $17 million annually back to Dallas from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for use in providing permanent supportive housing, while creatively adding hundreds of units of housing for the homeless in partnership with the Dallas Housing Authority, Mike has distinguished himself as a fierce and innovative leader. MDHA wishes him only the best while acknowledging that he will be missed.” During his tenure at MDHA, Faenza oversaw an increase in PSH units of about 350%, from 600 to 2050, a continued drop in chronic homelessness to 65% below where it was in 2004, and an improvement of more than 30% in PSH services in just the last three years.

MaryAnn Russ, fellow board member of James, and President and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, echoed these sentiments earlier this year: “Due to our partnership with MDHA, we prioritized the housing of those experiencing homelessness, and have so far housed more than 3400 formerly homeless individuals and families. In monetary terms, with an average rent of $700 per month, our investment tops $28,000,000 annually. This would not be happening, if not for Faenza and MDHA’s forward thinking.”

Faenza has continuously emphasized that the fight against homelessness is just a piece of the puzzle, in the general fight against poverty. Earlier this year he stated, “Dallas still has some of the highest poverty rates in the country, affordable housing is scarce, and the mental health provider reimbursement system is dismally underfunded.” Indeed, throughout his tenure, it has been important to Faenza to remind the community that ending homelessness, will not make these larger problems go away.

Britton Banowsky, Commissioner of Conference USA, and Chair of the MDHA board, was effusive in his praise of Faenza, saying, “Mike's contribution to the homeless in our community cannot be overstated. His passion for the cause and years of dedicated service are a great example for all of us. MDHA and our many partners that support and provide service to the homeless are grateful for Mike's leadership. Our work is already underway to find his successor, who we expect to build on the great foundation in place and take the organization to an even higher level of service.”

Perhaps the most important indicator of Faenza’s success is how his staff feels upon his retirement. David Gruber, MDHA’s Development Manager, summed it up, saying, “I know I speak for all of us, when I say that Mike is not just a leader, but a true friend and a great inspiration to each one of us. His model of leadership is one, where the absolute focus is always on those who need help, giving a voice to the voiceless, without compromise. As a tribute to him, we will carry on his vision, and continue the fight to end homelessness in our community.”

Excellent Positive Piece on PSH on NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered

Sunday afternoon, NPR’s Weekend “All Things Considered” had a great piece about LA’s Skid Row (http://www.npr.org/2014/10/26/359112842/as-downtown-l-a-grows-so-does-urgency-to-fix-skid-row). About half of the piece was devoted to an extremely comprehensive and positive portrayal of a Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) project, the Star Apartments on Skid Row, developed by the non-profit Skid Row Housing Trust. The piece succinctly explained the idea behind PSH (and Housing First, though the latter is not mentioned by name), “The best way to tackle homelessness, as well as handle all the chronic health and mental health problems, is to get people housed first and then work on the other issues — issues which can seem extremely challenging.” It profiled a specific resident, Jude Burns, and vividly described how this project essentially saved his life. It quoted Dennis Culhane, a professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania, “The research is very robust. It shows that about 85 percent of the people who are placed in this housing remain there one year later. Even among the people who exit, many of them are exiting to other planned arrangements. Only a few percentage is actually returning to homelessness." Finally, the piece highlighted how much money is saved through PSH, as opposed to the other options out there.

The MDHA Model

If you follow this blog, you already know what MDHA does. It is an association of organizations devoted to ending homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties, by putting people into homes. In order to end homelessness, we facilitate over $16,750,000 of annual federal funding, coordinate services, and drive improvement in more than 45 different transitional housing (TH), rapid rehousing (RRH), and permanent supportive housing (PSH) programs. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) does not directly fund service providers, rather mandates that they be funded through local Continuum of Care (CoC)[1] organizations, which coordinate services for those experiencing homelessness. HUD requires all service providers it funds to report on their performance through a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)[2], which tracks, grades and drives improvement across the CoC, and in each individual organization. Increasingly, the federal government is requiring even service providers funded outside of the local CoC to report on their performance through HMIS. MDHA is the federally designated CoC organization and HMIS operator for Dallas and Collin Counties[3].

Interestingly, different communities build different models to fulfill the above CoC and HMIS functions, and these models can change in the same community with time. These functions may be fulfilled by the same organization, as in MDHA’s case today. They may also be fulfilled by two separate organizations, as it was in Dallas before 2010, when the Community Council of Greater Dallas was the HMIS operator. These functions may be fulfilled by a department of local government, as was the case with the CoC function in Dallas before 2004. Alternatively, as in Dallas today, these functions may be fulfilled by an independent non-profit organization, like MDHA. Finally, these functions may be fulfilled by an organization, that also provides some type of direct services, while in others, they are fulfilled by an organization that quite purposefully does not. Between 2007 and 2011, MDHA was an example of the former, The Bridge operating under MDHA, at the time. Now it is an example of the latter, having spun The Bridge off as a separate non-profit three years ago this month.

 
MDHA’s board and community leaders chose the current model very deliberately. MDHA serves as the lead agency for the CoC and as the HMIS operator. This enables the CoC and HMIS functions to work symbiotically, hand in hand. The CoC application process for federal funding is a competitive one, and the more MDHA can drive improvement of the service providers through the use of a high functioning HMIS, the better the odds of winning more funding. MDHA purposefully does not provide any direct services, and is an independent non-profit organization. This enables MDHA to be objective, with the exclusive needs of the consumer in mind, remaining nimble, efficient and responsive to those very needs.

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[1] See http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/hudprograms/continuumofcare

[2] See http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/homeless/hmis

[3] See https://www.onecpd.info/resources/documents/HEARTH_ESGInterimRule&ConPlanConformingAmendments.pdf,  http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/docs/SSVF_Data_Collection_Guide.pdf, https://www.onecpd.info/resources/documents/HDX_VAInitiatesParticipationinHMIS_12.30.10.pdf

So, Why Again Should I Give to MDHA on North Texas Giving Day?

Well, by law the only way our community can continue to get almost $17,000,000 of federal funding for housing programs for those experiencing homelessness, is if MDHA continues to exist, nay thrive. And, the federal government foots that very large $17,000,000 bill for those housing programs, but expects the community (that’s you and me!) to fund the much smaller cost of mechanism for getting it, MDHA. Beyond that, just look at what MDHA has accomplished with its partners, a 65% reduction in chronic homelessness, a 1200% increase in permanent supportive housing (PSH - 2000 units now!), and a public investment by DHA in housing 3400 formerly homeless individuals and families at an annual value of $28,000,000, and much much more. And, you know what? You ain’t seen nothing yet. We will add another 1800 units of PSH, and we will end chronic homelessness by the end of 2016; you just wait and see. That is why you should give to MDHA.

Just click here on September 18, 2014: https://northtexasgivingday.org/#npo/metro-dallas-homeless-alliance

or here the other 364 days of the year:
http://www.mdhadallas.org/donate/