Introducing the Homeless Response System Online Learning Clinic 2018

The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) leads the development of an effective homeless response system that will make the experience of homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties rare, brief, and non-recurring. MDHA brings together more than 85 shelter, housing and supportive services programs in retooling homeless services into a crisis response system.

Over the course of 2015-2017, MDHA focused on building the necessary components of an effective unified homeless response system. Such a system helps those who can self-resolve do so, places those who cannot self-resolve into appropriate housing, is entirely oriented towards housing as the solution for homelessness, and practices full transparency, as a tool for learning and systems change.

In mid-2017, MDHA shifted its focus to utilizing the system to better house people quickly and permanently, while working with experts and innovators to continue to improve it. The system’s impact has been recognized by the local community, as well as lauded nationally.

This blog series, the Homeless Response System Online Learning Clinic 2018, is designed to walk the reader through our work, at MDHA, since 2015 to the present day, and as we move forward. It will follow this outline: 

Part I: From Managing to Ending Homelessness

Part II: The Need for a Homeless Response System
Part III: Building Dallas’ Homeless Response System – 2015-2017 – Diversion and Coordinated Access
Part IV: Building Dallas’ Homeless Response System – 2015-2017 – All Roads Lead to Housing
Part V: Building Dallas’ Homeless Response System – 2015-2017 – Data Transparency
Part VI: Dallas’ Homeless Response System in Action - 2017-2019

In Dallas Everybody Counts. OK, What Happens Next?

Wow. What can we say? Thursday night, you showed that, in Dallas, everybody counts.   

We had so many volunteers at our largest site, First United Methodist Church, Dallas, that the first floor of the sanctuary, which seats 800, could not fit everyone. Some of our volunteers had to go up to the balcony! Altogether, we broke the record we set last year, in what was, once again, the largest Homeless Count in Texas history, with over 1,500 volunteers.

 So many organizations and individuals helped us pull this off. There is no way we could thank everyone who helped us. We did want to highlight First United Methodist Church, Dallas, and Wilshire Baptist Church, who hosted our two Dallas sites. And, as usual, our friends at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas proved indispensable, in spreading the word about the need for volunteers, and in running a special campaign, Warm a Sole, to give a pair of socks to every person experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties.

 
Do you have pics, stories or impressions to share about that night, which you have yet to post? Please share them, using: #dallascounts2018.

If this is your first Homeless Count, and even if you have done a few before, you might be asking, OK, what happens now? Great question!

First of all, as we mentioned on our blog before, the use of the Counting Us app helped us and our partners immediately connect persons experiencing homelessness to services. Since the app automatically records the exact latitude and longitude of each person counted, we were able to supply outreach teams with this information. They were then able to go out the very next morning to assist individuals who might qualify for specific programs, specifically, youth, veterans, persons with HIV/AIDS, and pregnant women.

 The main thing we will do now, though, is compile all of the results we collected, of both sheltered and unsheltered counts, "clean" them up, correcting for duplicates and other errors, and "slice and dice" them by specific demographic groups. We will carefully analyze the results, and figure what they tell us about trends in homelessness, what is working in our homeless response system, and where our community needs to course correct.

On Wednesday, March 21, 2018, 9.30-11.30am, we will hold our annual State of the Homeless Address at Goodwill Industries of Dallas. Cindy J. Crain, MDHA President and CEO, will share the results of the 2018 Point-in-Time Homeless Count, and the progress of the Homeless Response System. Please save the date!

 

Finally, we will submit the results of the Count to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These results will go into a national report HUD will submit to the U.S. Congress in late 2018. You can check out the 2017 report by clicking here. 

Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance Recruits Record Number of Volunteers for 2018 Homeless Count

Dallas, Texas – This Thursday night, January 25, 2018, 7pm-Midnight, the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), and its partners in Dallas and Collin Counties will conduct the annual federally required Homeless Count, and for the third year in a row, the Dallas homeless response system’s backbone organization will be breaking records.

Volunteers prepare for the Homeless Count on the night of January 26, 2017

 

“We are still compiling final numbers, but as of Tuesday morning, we are looking at about 1,550 registered volunteers in Dallas and Collin Counties, who will fan out across over 250 different routes, to count our homeless friends,” said David Gruber, MDHA Development and Communications Director. In 2017, MDHA and its partners conducted the largest homeless count in Texas history, to date, with an estimated 1,300 volunteers in both counties. That year, volunteers found 1,087 unsheltered persons, out of a total of 3,789 persons experiencing homelessness that night. (The remaining 2,702 persons were in shelter, safe haven or transitional housing.) 

 

MDHA leveraged its relationship with its many service providers, funders and supporters, in a recruitment effort that began in late November, and ended Monday. Notably, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, an MDHA funder, lent their hand to the recruitment effort, and even launched a campaign to give every person experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties a new pair of socks the week of the count. “We are tremendously thankful to everyone who helped us spread the word, and organize this year’s count. We could not have done this alone,” said Rebecca Cox, MDHA’s Vice President, who is spearheading the Count, “It is quite humbling.” 

 
MDHA radically changed the way it counts the homeless in 2016. It began recruiting more volunteers than before, and utilizing them to count the unsheltered homeless, exclusively. Shelters, in turn, provide an accurate count of their guests, electronically. “By recruiting more volunteers, and focusing their efforts on counting the unsheltered, we can canvas more areas, and improve the accuracy of the count,” said MDHA President and CEO, Cindy J. Crain. Impressed with the record breaking recruitment in the 2016 and 2017 counts, the National Alliance to End Homelessness invited Crain to present about homeless count volunteer recruitment, at their recent annual conference in July 2017.
 
Technology plays a part in improving accuracy too, as well as making for a smoother volunteer experience. Since 2016, MDHA has utilized geographic information system (GIS) mapping software to plan volunteer routes, as well as tier them, according to the likelihood of the presence of homeless persons in any given area. And, beginning in 2017, in place of paper surveys printed out on double-sided legal-size pages, MDHA began using the Counting Us app from Simtech Solutions. The app eliminates the need for volunteers to return to their deployment sites to drop off completed surveys, as well as the need for more volunteers to transcribe hundreds of surveys in the weeks following the Count. Instead the app uploads each survey immediately. It also allows MDHA to gather data more accurately, and better analyze the results after the Count.

Counting Us app (Courtesy of Simtech Solutions)

Use of the app can also help MDHA and its partners connect persons experiencing homelessness to services. The app automatically records the exact latitude and longitude, of each person counted, using GPS. Then, the night of the count MDHA can supply outreach teams with this information, so they can go out the very next morning to assist individuals who may qualify for specific programs, including youth, veterans and persons with specific medical diagnoses.

Dallas Counting Us command center – January 26, 2017

 

Thursday night, volunteers will gather at First United Methodist Church Dallas and Wilshire Baptist Church, as well other sites throughout Dallas and Collin Counties to check in and receive their routes, as well as receive final training and instructions, before they fan out across the two counties. Meanwhile, MDHA will monitor the data as it is being gathered in real-time, in a virtual command center. MDHA will share the results of the Count, with the community, at its annual State of the Homeless Address, on March 21, 2018, at 9:30am, at Goodwill Industries of Dallas.

A Vision to End the Experience of Homelessness in the Greater Dallas Area - Response to City of Dallas Audit of Homeless Response System Effectiveness

The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) is committed to leading the development of an effective homeless response system that will make the experience of homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties rare, brief, and non-recurring. We strongly believe that a coordinated approach, across private, public and nonprofit sectors, is critical to addressing this important social issue. Therefore, we are encouraged that the City of Dallas is taking an active role in addressing our homeless response system.

MDHA, and the Continuum of Care, have embarked on a novel approach to addressing the experience of homelessness and enable transparent communications across a variety of agencies. In November of 2015, the MDHA Board of Directors, including representation from the City of Dallas and The Bridge, voted unanimously in an open forum to migrate to a ground-breaking, modern technology -- one that would go above and beyond traditional HMIS systems to holistically address barriers to care for vulnerable populations.

Launching an innovative information solution such as this is no easy task. “We chose to take this new HMIS implementation approach provided by the PIECES Tech IRIS information solution with long-term objectives in mind: Coordinating a data share across 38 homeless service providers, with the unique added value of building connections and resources with the broader Dallas area community based organizations outside the homeless system of care. We have nearly completed this transition.” said Cindy Crain, MDHA President and CEO.

In the past six months of being live on the new HMIS system, we have seen many successes, including full participation from the Veterans Affairs homeless programs and more complete reporting by shelters. In September of 2014, there was no documentation of individuals served by emergency shelters within the HMIS in our Annual Homeless Assessment Report submitted to HUD. By September of 2017, 57% of individuals served in shelters were documented within the new HMIS system. Tracking of this information allows us to better understand and serve persons experiencing homelessness.

“We embrace our service-focused relationship with all of our partner agencies and appreciate how forthcoming they have been in supporting this process, sharing their data and seeking even more improvements to the HMIS.” said Crain. “We are removing silos between homeless providers, connecting them to a larger network of resources which is enabling more robust reporting providing transparent accountability of our performance, identifying service gaps, and innovating future solutions to help the most vulnerable residents in the greater Dallas area.”

1,500 Needed for the 2018 Homeless Count!

When: Thursday night, January 25, 2018, 7:00pm–Midnight
 
What: The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance annual Homeless Count Night.
 
Why: It helps communities understand the extent of homelessness, changing trends, and the measure of their success in making homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.
 
Who: We need 1,500 volunteers, in teams of 3-5 persons. Please register your team, and help spread the word!

Where: Dallas and Collin Counties. Launch sites vary by city.

Register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PITCountDallas

 

Details: http://www.mdhadallas.org/2018-homeless-count/

 

Flyer: http://www.mdhadallas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PIT2018Flyer.pdf

 

Share: #dallascounts2018

What is it that you do, again?

It’s National Hunger and Homelessness Week, which is the perfect time to revisit a question we get every now and then, “What is it that you do, again?” So, here goes:
        

The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) leads the development of an effective homeless response system that will make the experience of homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties rare, brief, and non-recurring.

That language is very precise. It is based on Opening Doors, the national strategic plan to end homelessness, commissioned by Congress and the President under the 2009 Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. MDHA’s statutory authority and five main statutory roles are derived from the Act.

 

Opening Doors

the national strategic plan to end homelessness

We are often asked different variants of the question with which we began, the most common being:
 

• Do you do ______________ (fill in the blank)?
• Why don’t you ______________ (fill in the blank)?

We always answer the question with a question: Will ______________ (fill in the blank) enhance the development of an effective homeless response system that will make the experience of homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties rare, brief, and non-recurring? If so, count us in. If not, we will have to pass. Now, that doesn’t mean ______________ (fill in the blank) is not important or worthy or vital; often it is. It just means that it is not our role to do it.

Now, that does not mean we won’t discuss those issues. We don’t care how hard or controversial they are, either. We don’t call our ongoing popular learning series Hard Conversations for nothing. However, our angle, every time we pick up a pen or a microphone, always goes back to a variant of that original question: How does discussing and understanding ______________ (fill in the blank) enhance our ability to develop an effective homeless response system that will make the experience of homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties rare, brief, and non-recurring?

 

Sometimes the answer may be self-evident; that many of us have misconceptions about those experiencing homelessness being a prime example. Other times, we might think it is self-evident, and discover through discussion, that we need to look at the issue in an entirely different light; what really causes homelessness, being a prime example. And other times still, we might not even see the direct connection at first, but the discussion will reveal an important and vital connection; racism and homelessness being a prime example.

This is precisely why we continue to engage in ongoing study. As a learning organization, we are constantly looking at best practices, up to date research, and evidence based solutions. We view everything we come across with a critical eye, as we constantly ask ourselves:

 

• Should we do ______________ (fill in the blank)?
• Shouldn’t we do ______________ (fill in the blank)?

 



It would be easy to say yes every time we ask these questions. If we are to fulfill our mission, however, we must answer these questions with this question: If we take ______________ (fill in the blank) on, will that action enhance our ability to develop an effective homeless response system that will make the experience of homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties rare, brief, and non-recurring? We must be consistently and ruthlessly honest in our answer, and always act accordingly.

Does it Matter Where People Experiencing Homelessness in Dallas Come From?

Our mission statement at MDHA is very specifically worded: The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) leads the development of an effective homeless response system that will make the experience of homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties rare, brief, and non-recurring. That language is directly derived from the 2009 Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, and Opening Doors, the national strategic plan to end homelessness, established under the Act.

 

Perhaps one of the most important words in our mission statement is “system”. Housing is the only solution that can end homelessness. Effectively and efficiently delivering any resource, especially a scarce one, like housing for those experiencing homelessness, cannot be done without a well-oiled delivery system.
 
That is why systems thinking is so central to what we do. I was, personally, first introduced to systems thinking, when I was studying for my Texas school principal certification. Perhaps that is why I really like this concise straightforward explanation from the Waters Foundation: “Systems thinking utilizes habits, tools and concepts to develop an understanding of the interdependent structures of dynamic systems. When individuals have a better understanding of systems, they are better able to identify the leverage points that lead to desired outcomes.”
 
One of my favorite aspects of systems thinking is that it, a la Stephen Covey, begins with the end in mind. It first asks what the desired outcomes or outputs are. Once you have figured that out, it backs up, and asks what inputs are needed to deliver those outputs. Any suggested input, however attractive, must be rejected, if it does not lead to the desired output. Covey rightly points out that one must be ruthless in doing this, because, “If your ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step you take gets you to the wrong place faster.”


Stephen Covey

Courtesy of www.stephencovey.com

Recently, Cindy J. Crain, MDHA’s President and CEO addressed a question in a way that illustrates this idea very well. The question was, “Where do people experiencing homelessness in Dallas come from?” There is an honest misconception in many communities that those experiencing homelessness are not from that community. In fact, when this was measured in Dallas homeless counts, the numbers indicated that the vast majority of our homeless friends became homeless in Dallas. This number seems to be in line with other locales’ past homeless counts too.
 
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) actually conducted a long-term study on this very issue. Their findings not only back up what we knew already, but answer a question communities seldom wonder about: How many natives of our community are experiencing homelessness elsewhere? They arrived at this not surprising result: “In-migration roughly balanced out-migration. For most (communities) there was a small net impact of migration on homeless population size. In (communities) with larger numbers of homeless, the net impact of migration attenuated towards zero (emphasis mine-DSG).”

Now, Crain did mention this misconception and the facts on the ground in passing, but she did not dwell on them. Instead she explained that there is very little utility in answering this question on a macro level. The answer would not and should not cause MDHA and its partners to do anything differently in the effort to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring in our community. There are data points that are very important on the macro level, such as age, gender identity, veteran status, race and more, because they have utility in the systems thinking frame. This data point, on the other hand, simply does not, which is probably why the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development removed it from its guidelines regarding annual homeless counts.

What utility do these other data points have? Let’s take an issue we just blogged about, as an example, the overrepresentation of African Americans in the homeless population. The current output is that 60-70% of those experiencing homelessness in Dallas County are African American. Ideally, one would hope their percentage would roughly equal their percentage in Dallas County’s population at large, about 13%. So, what inputs do we need to change on the system level to get that desired output, is a very important question, which we seek to address.

Crain did explain that on the micro or individual level, the question of where the person comes from is tremendously important, and is a routine part of best practice case management. Why? Because, as we point out in our playbook (pg. 8), the first step in engaging an individual person seeking services in the homeless response system should be diversion. One of the easiest ways to divert, is to help the person reunite with family, if possible. This is true regardless of where the person is from. A great example of this is our story from about a year and a half ago, Solomon’s Ticket out of Homelessness. An incredible example of this, is the story of Gershon Campbell, who with the help of Austin Street Center returned to his home 5,600(!) miles away.

Gershon Campbell

(Courtesy of KHOU)

Once again, this goes back to systems thinking. Imagine, you are a case manager, and you are approached by an individual person experiencing homelessness. The desired output is that they be housed. Can their origin be a useful input? You don’t know yet, because you need to know more about them. If they are from Dallas, for instance, their family moved away to Rhode Island, has invited the individual to join them, and the individual so desires, then the fact that the individual is from Dallas is not a useful input at all. It would be a dereliction of duty to insist the person stay homeless in Dallas, and not join family and be housed in Rhode Island!

Conversely, in Leonard’s case, which we wrote about exactly a year ago, even though he had no intention of returning to Florida, where he was from, this data point was a very relevant input. Why? Because, Leonard wanted to self-resolve his homelessness. His plan was to return to his career as a truck driver, which would enable him to obtain housing, the desired output of our system. He had a Commercial Driver's License or CDL, but alas it was from Florida, not from Texas. The necessary additional input was to transfer the license from Florida to Texas, with the help of Austin Street Center and MDHA.

In summary, does it matter where people experiencing homelessness in Dallas come from? On the macro level, because it does not contribute to our desired output, housing, not really. (Parenthetically, the vast majority are from here, anyway, and in-migration vs. out-migration attenuate to zero.) On the micro level, when helping individuals experiencing homelessness, it depends on the client, so one should always ask. The answer should be factored as an input into the system, but only if it can help our desired output, the housing of that individual.

CoC Strategic Work Plan Online Learning Clinic - Increase Access to Affordable Housing - The MDHA Flex Fund

Read the first blog post in our CoC Strategic Work Plan Online Learning Clinic series, Rapidly House Youth, here. Each post drills down into another aspect of the plan, to encourage you to get involved, and help us make measurable progress in ending homelessness. To maximize your learning and your ability to make an impact, we recommend you carefully read the entire first page now. Then review the entire page or pages that the individual blog post pertains to, as you read each post.

This time we focus on Goal I on page 2: Increase Access to Affordable Housing. The only thing that truly ends homelessness is housing. However, like any other scarce resource, you need a delivery system to ensure that this resource is deployed in the most efficient manner. This delivery system is made up of all of the different entities who are working together in our community to end homelessness. Our role is to serve as the backbone organization that brings these partners together, and turns them into a unified homeless response system. This is systems thinking at its best.

Now, proper systems thinking entails, at its very basic level, figuring out what input is needed to arrive at the optimal output. Our homeless response system is a leader in recognizing that one of the most important inputs in such a system, is a flexible assistance fund, like the MDHA Flex Fund. This is why one of the action items under this goal is to raise money for this fund. Since its founding by MDHA and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas in late August 2015, it has proven to be one of the most powerful weapons we wield in the fight to end homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties.

The idea behind the MDHA Flex Fund is simple: A minor but impactful expenditure inhibits a person from ending his or her homelessness. The MDHA Flex Fund pays that expenditure, and the person can make progress in ending his or her homelessness, if not end it altogether, in short order.

Much of what we do is, well, complicated. I usually say that if you need our elevator speech, we better be going up to the top floor of a very tall building! This why we have a Strategic Work Plan and a Playbook. In that context, one of the most beautiful things about the MDHA Flex Fund is its simplicity. In fact, we can even tell stories about it backwards, starting from the end, and as long as we include a link, you not only understand what it’s all about, but probably need a tissue to dab your eyes:

• $103.53. $103.53 allowed Jonathan to reconnect his electricity, and avoid a return to homelessness (and a miserable Christmas).
• $120.75. $120.75 allowed Daniel and Karla to remain housed, Abraham to pursue a job, and Richard to become eligible for a housing voucher. No, not $120.75 each; $120.75 total.
• $95, $149, $200. $95, $149, $200, respectively, allowed Kisha, Sarah and Laura to move from shelter into housing.

Recently, as a requirement of our United Way funding, we were asked to submit a detailed report on the MDHA Flex Fund’s impact for July 1, 2016-June 30, 2017. A few months ago, I wrote about how I love site visits, and I equally love having to report on our performance. A report, when done well, forces you to take a step back, reflect on how you are doing, learn what is working well and what is not, and move forward with renewed vigor and purpose. This is why we actually chose, in the site visit and in our reporting, to go a few steps farther than what United Way requires, and report on the MDHA Flex Fund in a more granular manner. We broke down the solutions provided by the MDHA Flex Fund into 17 categories:

Even a cursory observation of these numbers tells you a number of interesting things. Most of us don’t realize how important critical documents are in escaping homelessness, yet this category is the top category in sheer numbers, while not being that high in cost.  If you took the statement we opened with, “The only thing that truly ends homelessness is housing,” too simplistically, you might not realize the importance of basic furniture in ending homelessness. This is the fifth highest category in sheer numbers and the fourth highest in cost. And, not surprisingly, almost $30,000 was spent on categories that have the word “rent” in them.

These numbers remind us, when we dig a little deeper, that this program is fully dependent on the folks we call our “unsung heroes,” case managers, whom we celebrate in just a few days. The MDHA Flex Fund is an important tool in their hands, and any tool is only as good as the person wielding it. They also remind us that our system is most powerful when partners join hands to work together, be it these case managers, utilizing the MDHA Flex Fund, be it the MDHA Flex Fund and the Dallas Furniture Bank, be it MDHA and DART.

Based on the numbers we reported, here is our current estimate for MDHA Flex Fund expenditures for July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018:

 

This is why it remains vital, as this action item states, to continue to raise funds for this important and vital tool: the MDHA Flex Fund. Through adept use of this tool, we can and will increase access to affordable housing for our homeless friends.