How Do We Know What We Know? - The Final Installment of the CoC Strategic Work Plan Online Learning Clinic

In this final installment of our Continuum of Care Strategic Work Plan, we touch on Goal V: Drive Decision-making with HMIS Data, zeroing in on Objective VIIII: Increase Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) participation rates to no less than 86% of all beds and housing types.
 
In a recent blog post we talked about the idea of ending veteran homelessness, and how more than fifty communities have achieved just that. Now, you might ask: Are you trying to say that there are no homeless veterans in any of those communities? Well, no, that is not what we are trying to say. Indeed, the quote from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) in that blog post talks about those communities bringing down the number of veterans experiencing homelessness not to zero, but as close as possible to zero. So, what is it? What do we mean by ending veteran homelessness?
 
USICH helpfully defines this for us in a document that is worth reading in full. Basically, it means that all veterans experiencing homelessness are and continue to be identified, that shelter is provided immediately to all who request it, that traditional transitional housing is rarely used, and instead all are offered and provided with permanent housing, as swiftly as possible. Most importantly, that community must not have done all of this on an ad hoc basis, but show that it, “has resources, plans, partnerships, and system capacity in place should any Veteran become homeless or be at risk of homelessness in the future.”


Governor Dan Malloy, of Connecticut,

discussing his state being the second to end veteran homelessness

(Courtesy of WNPR)

The importance of knowing that more than fifty communities have done this is, as we pointed out in that previous blog post, that this is doable. We often assume that what is, always was, and will always continue to be. Perhaps this is a result of our evolution, which before modern times granted us extremely short life spans. Indeed, the forty years of the modern homelessness crisis is longer than the life expectancy of our prehistorical ancestors roaming the African savannah. That is just it, though, this crisis is a new phenomenon in American Life.

What we aim to return to, through the development of effective homeless response systems across the country, is not full housing, with no one ever becoming homeless. What we aim to return to is a reality that existed in our country prior to the mid-seventies of the last century, when homelessness was rare, brief and nonrecurring. And so, when we speak of ending homelessness, what we really mean is bringing about an end to the modern homelessness crisis.

(Parenthetically, this is not to say that full housing is not a desirable outcome. As Dr. Barbara DiPietro pointed out in her visit mid-October, it is extremely desirable, and it too is very doable. However, this would require a realignment of resources, across our society on a much broader level. At the minimum, it would likely require that housing vouchers be made available to all who qualify for them, and that refusing to accept them as payment be outlawed across the land.)

But, how will we know when we get there? This might seem like a simple question. If only. In fact, one might ask a broader philosophical question, “How do we know what we know?” The study of how we know what we know, epistemology, has become extremely important, as our society further fractures and sources of information multiply. We are forced to ask ourselves, “What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge? What are its sources? What is its structure, and what are its limits?”

This is especially true regarding homelessness, where, “our failures are the most visible and our successes the most hidden." In this type of environment, it becomes difficult not to fall into the trap of assuming that data is just the plural of anecdote, and that the latest sensational headline negates evidence based practices.

The only hope for truly knowing what we know is the painstaking continuous and relentless collection and analysis of data in one shared open system, which everyone reports into. That word everyone is the crux of this proposition. As we mentioned in a previous post on this blog, “In early 2015, only 3%(!) of the shelter beds available to Dallas’ homeless population were reported into the (homeless management information) system… It was… analogous to Schrödinger’s Cat… the cat was 97% sealed within the box.”

 

We have come a long way since that 3% mark in 2015, partnering with PCCI and now Pieces Tech to develop and over the last few months implement, that single open state-of-the-art HMIS for Dallas, gradually and continuously increasing the number of beds in the system. We are determined under this plan to break that 86% mark, the minimum acceptable to the Federal Government, and keep on pushing until we get as close as possible to 100%. That alone is bringing us that much closer to achieving an end to not only veteran homelessness, but all types of homelessness, making this societal ill, once again, rare, brief and nonrecurring, and keeping it that way.

This is Why We Do What We Do...

Yesterday, we had the honor of helping our grantee and partner, Housing Crisis Center, move Mr. Coleman into his new home. Mr. Coleman, a veteran of our armed forces has experienced years of unsheltered homelessness.

Rebecca Cox, Vice President, and Shavon Moore, Director, Coordinated Access and Assessment, even baked cookies with Mr. Coleman, and left a batch of cookie dough, so he can bake more.

Thank you, Housing Crisis Center, for your work. Thank you, Mr. Coleman, for your service, and for your patience. Days like yesterday remind us why we do what we do.

 

We will not rest until we house each and every one of our homeless friends, because housing is the only solution for homelessness. Also, we really love any excuse to bake cookies...

2015 Point-In-Time (PIT) Homeless Count This Thursday, January 22, 2015

Dallas, Texas – If you happen to be standing in front of Dallas City Hall this coming Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 5pm, you will see an interesting sight. A few hundred people will gather in front of the building, only to then fan out into the night. Their mission? To count and survey those in our community who are experiencing homelessness. The Point-In-Time (PIT) Homeless Count in Dallas is conducted by the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), and is a requirement under U.S. Law.

In fact, during the final ten days of January such counts will take place in every community across our nation. The PIT, which occurs every year, allows communities and the nation as whole to track progress towards ending homelessness, and gather vital data about the needs of those experiencing homelessness. Dallas and the nation as a whole are committed to ending veteran homelessness this year and chronic homelessness next year.

Here in Dallas, MDHA’s grantees and partner agencies count guests and residents in shelters and housing sites, while the above mentioned community volunteers, escorted by Dallas police officers, locate and count those living elsewhere. Similar counts are conducted the same night by the Collin County Homeless Coalition and by the cities of Garland, Irving and Mesquite, who are all part the Dallas area Continuum of Care organization, which is led by MDHA.

MDHA still needs volunteers for this huge operation, which in Dallas is subsidized by the Real Estate Council Foundation. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, should wear clothing appropriate for the weather and comfortable shoes, and bring a flashlight, a pen, and a clipboard.

SIGN UP HERE TO TODAY TO VOLUNTEER: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0a4ea8ae2aa02-2015

For questions, contact Shavon Moore, at shavon.moore@mdhadallas.org or 972.638.5627

Dallas Area Selected to Join National Campaign to End Veteran and Chronic Homelessness

Dallas, Texas – The Dallas area Continuum of Care (serving Dallas and Collin Counties) has been selected, along with 66 other U.S. communities, to participate in Zero: 2016, a national campaign to end veteran and chronic homelessness in the next two years. The Campaign is being spearheaded by Community Solutions, a national non-profit based in New York City. The organization said it would work intensively with the Dallas Continuum of Care to meet the federal goals set by President Obama to end veteran homelessness by Dec. 2015 and chronic homelessness by Dec. 2016. The initiative is a rigorous follow-on to the group’s successful 100,000 Homes Campaign, which announced in June that it had helped communities house 105,000 chronically homeless Americans in under four years.

The Dallas area Continuum of Care was selected for Zero: 2016 through a competitive, national application process. The decision to apply was made jointly by local public housing authority, Veterans Affairs, non-profit and Continuum of Care leaders. The initiative will formally launch in January of 2015 during the national 2015 Homeless Point-in-Time Count, during which local volunteers will hit area streets and shelters to enumerate the local homeless population. The Dallas area Continuum of Care is exploring the integration of an evidence-based survey into that count to identify all its homeless residents by name and determine the best available resources and housing options to end their homelessness.

“The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance Continuum of Care is excited about this opportunity to utilize nationally recognized best practices to help end Veteran and Chronic Homelessness in Dallas and surrounding communities.  We can reach this goal. Locally Zero: 2016 will change lives and allow agencies to come together to coordinate and prioritize access for the most needy,” said Traswell C. Livingston III, Chair of the Dallas area Continuum of Care, MDHA board member, and Vice President and COO of AIDS Services of Dallas.

“Chronic and Veteran homelessness are urgent, solvable problems,” said Zero: 2016 Director, Beth Sandor. “These communities represent a potential tipping point. If they can show that getting to zero is possible, we think it will become untenable for other communities not to follow suit. Zero: 2016 is about bringing shared accountability to this work. Participants are making a public commitment to get to zero on time, and they are going to use that commitment to drive measurable progress.”

Last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the results of the 2014 Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which shows that homelessness continues to decline across virtually all major categories, including chronic homelessness. Veteran homelessness was singled out by the report for its particularly steep decline-- more than 30 percent in the last four years.

The Dallas area PIT Count report showed that on a single night in January 2014, Dallas had 42 veterans living on the streets, in automobiles or in abandoned buildings.  Veterans’ homelessness decreased from the previous year from 18% to 13% of the overall homeless population.   A total of 413 people were determined chronically homeless on the night of the PIT Count. Chronic homelessness continues to decrease, as permanent supportive housing increases, resulting in a 65% decrease since 2004.  Local officials said they are committed to reducing the veteran and chronic numbers to zero.

The report on the national results also showed that communities selected to join Zero: 2016 account for a combined 31,669 chronically homeless Americans and 16,218 homeless veterans. Community Solutions said it estimates an overlap of 10,000-12,000 between these two populations.

Opening Doors, the federal plan to end homelessness in America, calls for communities to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015 and to end chronic homelessness one year later.

The 67 communities selected for Zero: 2016 represent 30 different states and the District of Columbia. Among them are 51 communities who also participated in the 100,000 Homes Campaign and 16 new communities. Combined, the group represents the joint, public commitment of 234 housing authorities, local government entities, non-profit organizations, and community agencies.

Sandor said Community Solutions would work with communities to accelerate their housing efforts through four focus areas: closing the research-to-practice gap, real-time data and performance management, local systems redesign, and local team and leadership development. Community Solutions will provide hands-on coaching and data tools, and will curate a national peer-to-peer learning network to accelerate innovation across communities.

Sandor added that communities would focus narrowly on data and performance management for the first 90 days of the initiative with a goal of developing clear targets for the total number of housing placements needed locally to end chronic and veteran homelessness on the federal timetable. This number will consider projected inflow and other key factors. Each community will use this number to determine the monthly housing placement rate it will need to meet in order to succeed.

Communities will learn real-time performance improvement techniques drawn from healthcare, manufacturing and other sectors to reach these ambitious monthly goals.

“To make rapid progress, communities will need to measure the size and needs of their homeless populations in real time and use monthly data to improve their housing performance,” added Sandor. “You can’t solve a problem that you only measure once a year.”

Zero: 2016 will dovetail with other large-scale initiatives working to help communities end homelessness, including the 25 Cities Initiative, led by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Mayor’s Challenge to End Homelessness, championed by First Lady Michelle Obama. Many communities selected to join Zero: 2016 are also participating in one or both of these initiatives, and Community Solutions has coordinated extensively with VA and other federal agencies to ensure that all three initiatives complement each other as well as possible.

In addition to the Mayor’s Challenge to End Homelessness and Zero: 2016 initiatives, the Dallas area Continuum of Care has begun implementing a “Housing First” model for permanent supportive housing. It is also scheduled to deploy a community wide coordinated assessment system for the homeless in the next few months.  All of these initiatives are interrelated and when integrated will allow more efficient and effective use of resources within the community.  Investment in these initiatives will not only end homelessness but reduce the cost along the way, while producing self-sufficient citizens within the community.

MDHA is an association of organizations devoted to ending homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties, by putting people into homes. 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. Under U.S. Law, HUD does not fund service providers independently, rather mandates that they be funded through local Continuum of Care organizations, led by lead agencies, which coordinate all facets of the grant application process. MDHA is the lead agency for the Dallas area Continuum of Care, which serves Dallas and Collin Counties.

 
Community Solutions is a national non-profit dedicated to helping communities solve the complex social problems facing their most vulnerable residents. The organization’s work applies design thinking, quality improvement and a host of other cross-sector disciplines to issues like homelessness, unemployment, and public health. Zero: 2016 is a rigorous follow-on to the organization’s successful 100,000 Homes Campaign designed to help a select group of communities end chronic and veteran homelessness in the next two years. The initiative will formally launch in January 2015.