Important Dallas Morning News Piece re Discharge of Persons Experiencing Homelessness from Hospitals

Check out this important piece in the Metro section:
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20141128-hospitals-grapple-with-challenge-in-caring-for-homeless.ece

This story, like many others, highlights the importance of all service providers operating in a system-like manner. The Dallas area Continuum of Care, and MDHA as its lead agency is actively developing a "coordinated access" system, that will enable providers to do just that.

One thing this type of system will do, is make sure that persons experiencing homelessness are never just discharged from a hospital, mental health institution, prison, jail, etc. to the street.

One of the things this article emphasizes is a point that comes up again and again in any discussion of homelessness. Obviously, we should do the right thing by our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness, because it is more humane. However, humanity aside, smarter approaches to the problem of homelessness not only don't cost more; they always end up saving tons of money!

So, why don't we do these things already? One reason is just habit and inertia. However, often, it is because the costs, benefits and savings are in different places across the system, rather than in one place.

Once again, this is the reasoning behind the legal requirement that each community have a CoC, with a lead agency, to bring all the different parties to the table. This, along with HUD requiring communities to form a coordinated access system, helps communities shake that inertia, and step up to the plate, change and operate like a system. This system not only serves end users better, but saves you and me money, as taxpayers.

Housing First-Duh!

This article from the Economist, highlights what all who work on the issue of homelessness already know. The best and most cost-effective way to end homelessness, is to put people into homes, and do so as quickly as possible. This undergirds rapid rehousing, and informs how permanent supportive housing should work. The research on this is so robust, that the federal government has basically said, that in order to continue to receive funding from Uncle Sam, communities must follow this Housing First approach.

To the academic press this is old news, as the research continues to pile up in favor of this approach. It is great to see the popular press catching up, especially a publication like the Economist, which is not a fringe liberal rag, to say the least:
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21632519-how-cut-number-street-dwellersand-save-money-too-one-home-time

(Hat tip to our former chair, George Ellis, for passing this along.)

DART-MDHA Operation Lifesaver Event

Gary Thomas

Friday morning DART and MDHA held an event highlighting Operation Lifesaver's "See Tracks, Think Train" campaign. Gary Thomas, DART President and Executive Director, spoke about the importance of safety, and DART's efforts and track record in this area. Mike Faenza, MDHA President and CEO, lauded DART's efforts in increasing train safety, specifically for those experiencing homelessness, in light of how pivotal public transportation is to those experiencing homelessness. Ricky Redd, who formerly experienced homelessness, spoke about how important individual choice and responsibility was in this area. He shared some moving personal experiences, and some stories he heard, that underscore the importance of "See Tracks, Think Train". Thomas, with tears in his eyes, closed the event, with the emphatic statement, that if they save but one life in this effort, it is worth it.

Check out DART's Transit Education Program at www.dart.org/transiteducation and Operation Lifesaver at www.oli.org

Delaware and Dallas

This last weekend I was in Dover, Delaware, and I took the opportunity to meet with Ted Garrison, who works for the Homeless Planning Council of Delaware (HPCD). We met at the Smyrna Diner, a legendary institution and landmark in Delaware. Ted comes from the world of business analytics, primarily in the area of banking. He has served as the leader of HPCD's HMIS team for about a year and a half now, and very ably led the agency as acting executive director this summer. His no-nonsense out of the box thinking has served HPCD really well.

As a reader of this blog, you already know that every community in the country must have a CoC lead agency and an HMIS operator. In the Dallas area, MDHA serves in both of these functions. Texas has another ten communities (one such "community" is all areas outside of the metropolitan areas grouped together as one), some where one body fulfills both of these functions, and some where these responsibilities are divided between two organizations. In both models the body fulfilling it may be a government agency, of may be an independent non-profit.

Of course, Delaware is a much smaller state, and so HPCD serves the entire state. Aside from that, it is very similar to MDHA, as it serves in both of the above needed functions, and is an independent non-profit agency. The main difference between MDHA and HPCD, aside from the fact that we serve two counties of a state, and they serve an entire state, is our funding models.

MDHA is funded through a small amount of federal funding, fees paid by the agencies it serves (usually a tiny percentage of their federal grants), and contributions. Very recently, local governments have begun to fund us too. Even with the latter, philanthropy remains an essential part of our income.

HPCD does not rely at all on contributed income, and charges the agencies it serves minimal flat fees. They are able to do this since, in addition to the small amount of federal funding they receive, they receive state government and local government funding that makes up the difference.

To learn more about HPCD, check out their website: www.hpcdelaware.org

See Me Now in Dallas and Collin Counties

This week being National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, there were two events focusing on teen homelessness. Yesterday, the MDHA Youth Task Force, along with Promise House and other partners held the Dallas See Me Now - Teens without Homes event. Today, the Collin County Homeless Coalition, along with City House and other partners held the Collin See Me Now - Teens without Homes event. Both events were tremendously informative, featuring expert panels, and the executive directors of Promise House, Dr. Harriet Boorhem, and City House, Teresa Keenan respectively. The most meaningful part of each event was hearing from teens served by both agencies.

The Dallas event featured a transgendered teen, and through that showcased something Keenan mentioned too, that some teens are forced out of their homes due to their sexual identity. The Collin event featured Colette Williams, of Traffick 911, who highlighted an issue touched upon at the Dallas event too, that teens experiencing homelessness are at a tremendous risk of being trafficked.

At both events speakers emphasized that at the end of the day, all of the important work we are all doing in the area of homelessness is no substitute for a meaningful affordable housing and anti-poverty policy.

Happily the media is covering these events, which hopefully will lead to more awareness. Check out, for instance, this KERA piece:
http://keranews.org/post/dallas-county-has-more-5000-homeless-students

You Are Invited to a Special Meeting of the Dallas/Collin County CoC TX-600

Under U.S. Law, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds most homeless services housing providers, through local Continuum of Care (CoC) organizations, which coordinate services for those experiencing homelessness. MDHA is the designated lead agency for the CoC organization for Dallas and Collin Counties. The CoC Assembly meets every month. November and December’s meetings are combined.

This year the November-December meeting will be on December 2^nd at 9am at the Center for Community Cooperation, 2900 Live Oak St., Dallas, Texas 75204. This meeting will be mostly devoted to celebrating the CoC’s achievements over the past year, thanking the outgoing CoC leadership, and installing the new CoC leadership. The CoC will also recognize Mike Faenza, MDHA President and CEO, as he prepares to retire. The proceedings will be followed by networking, and refreshments will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there!

Dallas County Commissioners Court Resolution Honoring Michael M. Faenza

This morning it was a wonderful pleasure to attend the meeting of the Dallas County Commissioners Court, where a resolution was adopted honoring our leader and friend, President and CEO of MDHA, Michael M. Faenza. You may view video of the proceedings, once they are posted, at http://www.dallascounty.org/department/comcrt/agenda/agenda.php.

Quite characteristically of Mike, when given the opportunity to speak, he spoke very little about what he did, instead highlighting the work each of the commissioners has done in areas of social justice, and thanking the staff of MDHA for their work. In the spirit of social justice, Mike mentioned that he had often been an “agitator”, to which Commissioner Price responded, to the hearty laughs of the assembled, that without an agitator the wash does not come out clean! Commissioner Price also mentioned the acceptance of the Dallas area Continuum of Care to the Zero: 2016 initiative, about which we posted last week on this blog.

Here is the text of the resolution, which Commissioner Price read aloud, and the court unanimously approved:

BE IT REMEMBERED, at a regular meeting of the Commissioners Court of Dallas County, Texas, held on the 11th day of November 2014 on motion made by John Wiley Price, Commissioner of District No. 3… the following Resolution was adopted:

Whereas 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, will retire from MDHA effective January 1, 2015; and

Whereas MDHA is an association of organizations devoted to ending homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties, by putting people into homes, facilitating over $16,750,000 of annual federal funding, coordinating services, and driving improvement in more than 45 different transitional programs; and

Whereas Mike 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) Center, 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; and

Whereas Mike 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; and

Whereas 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. 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; and

Whereas Through a partnership with the Dallas Housing Authority, MDHA prioritized the housing of those experiencing homelessness, and have housed more than 3400 formerly homeless individuals and families. In monetary terms, with an average rent of $700 per month, DHA’s investment tops $28,000,000 annually. This is a direct result of Mike Faenza and MDHA’s “forward thinking”; and

Whereas Mike 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; and

Whereas Mike Faenza will remain with MDHA in a consulting role as the agency searches for his successor and then move into a consulting practice; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Dallas County Commissioners Court does hereby extend sincere appreciation to Michael M. Faenza for his contribution to the homeless in our community with over 35 years of dedicated service and join MDHA and our many partners that support and provide services to the homeless, as we salute Mike’s leadership as he retires.

DONE IN OPEN COURT THIS 11th day of November 2014.