Homelessness in Forsyth County Down by 58 Percent
The 2013 Point-in-Time Count taken on January 30 shows that the chronically `homeless population in Forsyth County has decreased 58 percent since 2005, the year before the city of Winston-Salem and the Forsyth County adopted the Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.
In 2005, there were 194 chronically homeless individuals in our community based on the Point-in-Time Count taken on Jan. 26, 2005. The 2013 Point-in-Time Count showed that that there were 82 chronically homeless individuals.
The Point-in-Time Count is the annual homeless assessment required by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
This year’s count also showed:
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A 49 percent decrease in homelessness among military veterans since 2007, when the Point-in-Time Count began tracking that specific population. There were 74 homeless veterans in 2007, compared with 38 in 2013.
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A 40 percent decrease in total homelessness since 2012, reversing four straight years of increases. The total homeless count of 407 individuals on Jan. 30 this year is the lowest count since data started being kept in 1996. The previous low was 418, in 2003.
The Ten Year Plan has reached 88 percent of its housing goal through housing projects that have created more than 530 units of supportive housing, including 12 units for those with disabilities (Hunters Hill) and 24 units for homeless veterans (Veterans Helping Veterans Heal).
The Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness is overseen by a commission jointly appointed by the city and the county and staffed by the United Way of Forsyth County.
Mayor Allen Joines said, "I am exceptionally pleased to release this information. Our Ten Year Plan continues to be among the most successful anywhere in the nation. This dramatic decrease in homelessness is the result of six years of focused, collaborative work by numerous community organizations, and I thank them all."
Cindy Gordineer, the president and CEO of United Way of Forsyth County, said "As a community leader in developing collaborations that leverage resources to solve community problems, we are proud to be part of this partnership. Lifting individuals and families from homelessness changes their lives in countless ways and makes our community a better place for all of us. Since 2006, our United Way has helped leverage more than $6.5 million to implement the goals of the Ten Year Plan."
For additional information, please contact Andrea Kurtz, United Way’s Senior Director of Housing Strategies, at 721-9373 or
andrea.kurtz@uwforsyth.org.
Media coverage:
United Way of Forsyth County Meets 2012 Campaign Goal
"United Way Meets $17.3 Millon Goal," WS Journal (Feb. 22, 2013)
United Way of Forsyth County announced on February 21 that the 2013 Campaign had met its goal of $17,325,000. The announcement was made by Campaign Chair Leslie Hayes, Executive Vice President and Regional President for Wells Fargo, at a luncheon for volunteers at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts.
“This year’s successful fundraising effort is due to the commitment and selflessness of those who gave through workplace campaigns, grants and individual donations,” said Hayes. “Our community has a long and distinguished history of support for its United Way and this year was certainly no exception.”
“We commend the many individuals, companies and other who rallied around the United Way effort,” said Cindy Gordineer, president and CEO of United Way of Forsyth County. “And while it’s good to celebrate the milestone, it’s even better to acknowledge the tremendously good work that the funds will allow us to continue to do in our community.”
Among the hundreds of organizations that conducted workplace campaigns across Forsyth County, eleven were recognized statewide with United Way of North Carolina’s Spirit of North Carolina Award for Campaign Excellence. They include:
- Adele Knits/Twin City Warehouses/COR 365
- BB&T
- B/E Aerospace
- First Tennessee Bank
- Hanesbrands
- Inmar
- Pepsico
- Reynolds American
- RockTenn Merchandising Displays
- US Airways
- Wake Forest University
For additional information, please contact John Conrad.
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United Way of Forsyth County strengthens our community by focusing on improving student success and the high school graduation rate, increasing financial stability among lower-income individuals and families, broadening access to health care and prescription medications to the un- and under-insured, and providing critical assistance to those facing immediate crisis.
United Way of Forsyth County President Testifies on Capitol Hill about Charitable Contributions
On Thursday, February 14 the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on tax reform and charitable contributions. The hearing comes at a critical time when Congress is making key decisions about the federal budget and tax reform. Thirteen state and local United Way CEOs, as well as United Way Worldwide CEO Brian Gallagher, testified on the charitable tax deduction and shared about the central role that charitable giving plays in strengthening communities.
"It’s an honor to have the opportunity to share with the Committee the important work being done across our community by the United Way of Forsyth County and its many partners. It’s critical that they understand the consequences that a change in the charitable deduction could have on our collective ability to continue to build stronger lives for individuals and families, and ultimately a stronger community overall," said Cindy Gordineer, president and CEO of United Way of Forsyth County.
In his remarks, Brian Gallagher urged the Committee to preserve the charitable deduction for all donors and asked that they consider ways to further incentivize private, charitable giving. The CEOs of the 13 state and local United Ways spoke about their organization’s response to the unique needs of their communities and how a modification to the charitable deduction would impact their ability to provide educational and employment opportunities.
In addition to the hearing, one hundred state and local United Ways made visits to Capitol Hill this week to advocate for the charitable deduction and avert the sequestration that will take effect on March 1. Combined, across-the-board cuts to discretionary education and human service programs and limits to charitable giving incentives in the tax code could leave millions of Americans who need help with no place left to turn.?United Way will continue to advocate for policies that strengthen and support the vulnerable communities we serve.
Video of testimony (Cindy's testimony begins at 5:39:16)
CNN coverage
Full copy of Gordineer's report
Wells Fargo and United Way Roll Out Mobile Prosperity Center
There’s a unique vehicle on the road in Forsyth County, and it’s going to help improve financial stability among our community’s lower-income individuals and families.
A community collaboration funded by Wells Fargo and led by United Way of Forsyth County launched its new Mobile Prosperity Center today. Building on the success of two Prosperity Centers opened since 2008, the Mobile Prosperity Center will make a variety of integrated financial services more easily available, especially for those with transportation challenges.
“We are very excited about the opening of the Mobile Prosperity Center and the launch of this new initiative with the United Way of Forsyth County,” said Leslie Hayes, Triad West Regional President for Wells Fargo. “The services provided at the center will address major obstacles that low-to moderate income households face. It will provide access to educational and financial resources to help them track their monthly expenses, plan for the future, and know how to use financial products and services to meet their needs.”
Mineral Springs Middle School was particularly appropriate for the launch. United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council has invested significantly there to improve student achievement though Summer Success Academies, after-school tutoring and family engagement. United Way President Cindy Gordineer said, “The Mobile Prosperity Center is an important asset in strengthening United Way’s impact in our community. And our choice of Mineral Springs Middle School to officially launch the Mobile Prosperity Center is especially meaningful. The issues of family financial success and the educational success of our children are closely linked. Our event here today illustrates how our United Way and its many community partners are working together to maximize our collective impact on Forsyth County and address challenges through a comprehensive approach.”
United Way is leasing Northwest Piedmont Workforce Development Board’s Mobile JobLink Center to serve as the Mobile Prosperity Center vehicle for a nominal fee until another permanent vehicle for the project is secured. This partnership between United Way and the Workforce Development Board goes beyond the use of the JobLink Center. The organization along with all of the partners in the project provide valuable services that will support individuals and families to achieve greater financial capability and stability.
Partners in creating the Mobile Prosperity Center include:
- Wells Fargo
- United Way of Forsyth County
- NW Piedmont Workforce Development Board
- CHANGE
- County of Forsyth
- Experiment in Self-Reliance
- Financial Pathways of the Piedmont
- Forsyth Futures
- Goodwill Industries of NW North Carolina
- Housing Authority of Winston-Salem
- Liberty CDC
The Mobile Prosperity Center has been in service for 18 days serving as a free tax preparation center, and 123 tax returns have been prepared there. After the income tax filing deadline on April 15, the Mobile Prosperity Center will offer other financial services. Those services will be determined by conversations with area residents to see how their financial situations can best be improved.
Background
The project was born out of a nationwide grant competition Wells Fargo held in 2012 to encourage local communities to consider ways to work more collaboratively to strengthen the financial stability of residents facing financial challenges. United Way of Forsyth County was one of eight United Ways selected to receive a Wells Fargo Financial Capability grant to focus on this important work. Over the next three years, Wells Fargo will invest $300,000 in this project.
Wells Fargo has a long history of supporting United Way of Forsyth County and the community. In 2012 alone, Wells Fargo invested more than $3.7 million in the Triad West region, Wells Fargo employees volunteered nearly 31,000 hours in support of local nonprofits, and Triad West Region President Leslie Hayes chaired the 2012 United Way campaign. What makes this grant unique is that it was secured through a nation-wide competitive grant process with funds from the corporate headquarters of Wells Fargo.
For additional information, please contact John Conrad at 721-9311.
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United Way of Forsyth County strengthens our community by focusing on improving student success and the high school graduation rate, increasing financial stability among lower-income individuals and families, broadening access to health care and prescription medications to the un- and under-insured, and providing critical assistance to those facing immediate crisis.
LIVING UNITED - Enewsletter Archive
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"Forsyth United Way Focuses on Return on Investment," Philanthropy North Carolina
View online
By Todd Cohen
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Since 2008, when United Way of Forsyth County launched a program at Parkland Magnet High School designed to help more students graduate, the graduation rate at the low-income school has grown to 74.3 percent from 65.8 percent, and the graduation rate for all county high schools has grown to 80.9 percent from 70.1 percent.
The effort at Parkland, along with similar initiatives at Carver High School and North Forsyth High School that also have helped boost graduation rates at those schools, reflects a larger shift in focus at United Way.
Long known for the effectiveness of its annual effort to raise money for its partner agencies that provide health and human services, United Way has retooled itself as an organization that invests the dollars it raises in strategies that it believes, based on evidence, will fix some of the communities’ most urgent needs in the areas of financial stability, health and education.
To boost the annual campaign, which this year aims to raise just over $17.3 million, or roughly the total it raised each of the last two years, United Way is counting on engaging donors in the programs it supports and helping them understand the difference their dollars make.
“Our focus is on getting donors out to see these programs and what their dollars are doing and the value that United Way adds,” says Mamie Sutphin, vice president for resource development at United Way.
Chaired by Leslie Hayes, regional president of the Triad West Region for Wells Fargo, the campaign is counting on donors who give $1,000 or more, a group that last year contributed $8.3 million, or roughly half the total raised.
As part of that effort, BB&T this year agreed to give $100,000 a year for five years to match gifts by women who agreed to join United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council by pledging to make an initial gift of $500 and increase that gift annually until it reaches $1,000, with BB&T making up the difference between the annual gift and $1,000.
In addition to the initiative to boost the graduation rate, United Way works with partner agencies to address other education needs.
It teams with Catholic Social Services on a program designed to provide the support that teenage mothers need to stay in school, for example, and it works with the YWCA of Winston-Salem, YMCA of Northwest North Carolina and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Salvation Army on after-school programs based at schools.
In the area of financial stability, United Way has helped establish two “prosperity” centers that serve as one-stop financial shops for lower-income individuals and families.
Led by Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina, the centers offer job training, job searches, credit and budget counseling, and financial literacy training.
Since the first center was launched on Winston-Salem’s south side in mid-2008, it has helped roughly 620 people find jobs, and helped over 860 individuals and families reduce their personal debt, including 565 who now are paying their bills on time, says John Conrad, communications director at United Way.
And in the fiscal year ended June 30, United Way partnered with four local consumer credit counseling services that prevented nearly 600 foreclosures, reflecting a 96 percent success rate in preventing foreclosures.
In the area of health, United Way partners with the Community Care Clinic, which last year provided over 21,000 patient visits for medical and dental care, a huge need in a county in which 61,000 people do not have health insurance.
Med-Aid, another program of the Community Care Clinic that opened in 2008, has helped low-income people get free prescription medications valued at over $15 million from pharmaceutical companies.
Volunteer leaders at United Way set a flat goal for this year’s campaign despite caution signs from corporate leaders that even raising the same amount as last year could be tough in the current unsettled economy, Sutphin says.
But United Way volunteer leaders 'say investment in our community is so invaluable,'she says, 'that we have to continue our support at that level.'”
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United Way's Mission is Producing Community Impact
Many people still believe that United Way of Forsyth County simply raises money to distribute among its partner agencies. While resource development is a critical to our mission, however, it is but a means to an end. Our mission is producing community impact, and we are among the leading United Way in the nation in doing so.
Our Community’s Safety Net: Responding to the Basic Needs of Our Residents
Our Community’s Safety Net:
Responding to the Basic Needs of Our Residents
You are invited to join us on Wednesday, December 5th from noon to 1:30 p.m. to learn about the basic needs of our neighbors facing economic hardship and what your United Way is doing to help.
As we approach the holidays, it is a time when many consider how they can make a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate than themselves. As a United Way supporter, you are making this difference year-round – thank you. We encourage you to come see first-hand the challenges faced by our lower income residents and how your investment is helping them create a better future.
Please meet in the Gateway YWCA parking lot (1300 S. Main Street) at Noon to board the bus for this community issue tour. A boxed lunch will be provided.
We look forward to seeing you on December 5th!
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Thank You, Americorp*VISTA Volunteers!
For the past eleven months, five Americorp*VISTA volunteers have joined us to help increase the high school graduation rate and grade-to-grade promotion in Forsyth County. They include Wren Wilson, Linh Tran, Samantha Opachan, Alexis Overstreet and Sydney Crouch. They have focused on dropout prevention, intervention and recovery; community engagement, education resource development; and school-based projects.
Sydney Crouch is a recent graduate of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, majoring in Sociology and Anthropology. She is originally from Dayton, Ohio and moved to Winston-Salem after graduation to accept the position as an AmeriCorps VISTA working on Resource Development with United Way. She recently completed a project recruiting and training volunteers to help high school seniors and their families complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, in coordination with guidance counselors from Atkins, Carver, East Forsyth and Mount Tabor High Schools. The U.S. Department of Education found that students who file their FAFSA, which is a requirement for students to receive most financial aid, including scholarships, grants and loans, are 90% more likely to enroll in post-secondary education. Sydney continues to work to secure critical resources to support education-based initiatives and programs occurring within our community aimed at raising academic achievement and graduation rates within Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
Wren Wilson attended Salem College and studied Art, Graphic Design, Psychology, and Marketing. She was smitten with the community in Winston-Salem and has decided to stick around. She is working with Samantha and Forsyth Futures to help give local Title I schools a unique mechanism for data-driven decision-making through an inventory of initiatives.
Alexis Overstreet is focusing her year of service helping to increase high school graduation and grade-to-grade promotion. Her term is being fulfilled at Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools in Dropout Prevention, Intervention, & Recovery. Her specific goals are centered around volunteer coordination improvement, volunteer center research, and data collection. In addition to serving as a VISTA volunteer, she is also a graduate student at the University of North Carolina/ Chapel Hill for Social Work. She enjoys spending time with family & friends, traveling, and baking.
Samantha Opachan is originally from Greensboro, North Carolina. Samantha attended North Carolina State University where she studied Sociology and Social Work. Her AmeriCorps VISTA position is with Forsyth Futures in Winston-Salem, collecting and analyzing information concerning programs occurring in some of the Title I schools in our community. The reports created will provide a tool for the schools and community to use to help us better understand all of the initiatives occurring in our schools. With so many programs available, it is important to step back and look at what is happening before we step up to take action!
Linh Tran attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida and studied Psychology, Education and Community Engagement. She is the AmeriCorps VISTA at the United Way working with Sharee Fowler on Community Engagement efforts in the schools in our community. Being a Floridian, she experienced snow for the first time ever this winter!
Please join us in thanking them for their invaluable service!
NC 2-1-1
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To access our information and referral line, Dial 2-1-1 or 888-892-1162.
What is 2-1-1?
Have you ever wondered how to find help or a community service for yourself or someone in need? There are about 30,000 nonprofits in North Carolina. Finding the one you need can be difficult.
The first step in finding help is knowing who to call. 9-1-1 is for emergencies, 4-1-1 is for directory assistance and 2-1-1 is for finding community health and human service resources.
Simply dial 2-1-1 from your home, office or cell phone, any time 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to learn about vital services in your community. This call is free, confidential and available in any language.
Expansion
Currently over 80% of all North Carolinians have access to United Way 2-1-1 Services. If you would like to learn more about bringing 2-1-1 services to your community, please call the United Way of North Carolina at 800.966.8962. Here are the most recent counties that have joined the NC 2-1-1 system.
Dare
We are especially pleased to announce the addition of Dare County to the NC 2-1-1 system. The Outer Banks Community Relief Foundation is the partnering organization for this county and staff from the Outer Banks Collaborative will be managing the database and other outreach efforts for the county.
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Search NC 2-1-1
Serving Alexander, Alamance, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Clay, Columbus, Cumberland, Dare, Davie, Davidson, Durham, Edgecombe, Graham, Forsyth, Gaston, Greeme. Guilford, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Johnson, Lee, Macon, Madison, Mecklenburg, McDowell, Mitchell, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Lincoln, Pender, Person, Onslow, Orange, Randolph, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, South Iredell, Stanly, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Watauga,Wayne, Wilson and Yancey counties
From a cell phone dial 2-1-1 or
1-888-892-1162
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2013 Weston Award Application Now Available
2013 Weston Award application
The Weston Award honors a local non-profit, health, or human-service organization that has demonstrated organizational excellence. Each year, the Weston Award Committee reviews applications from local organizations and presents the winning organization with a $10,000 award from the Joel A. Weston, Jr. Memorial Award Endowment Fund.
The Weston Award is a tribute to one of Forsyth County's finest citizens. As United Way President from 1980 through 1982, Joel Weston was responsible for the introduction of many innovative programs, all designed to strengthen our community. The award was established and endowed by his family and friends in recognition and honor of his vision and dedication to our community.
2013 Project Homeless Connect and VA Stand Down
The 2013 Project Homeless Connect and Veterans Administration (VA) Stand Down was held in the LJVM Coliseum Annex on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 from 8:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Programs like this play a valuable role in helping our homeless and have helped reduce our chronic homelessness rate by 58 percent since 2005.
Project Homeless Connect/VA Stand Down is a one-day, one-stop shop with a goal of bringing together individuals and veterans who are homeless or experiencing a housing crisis with volunteers and service providers on site to establish the necessary connections to end their housing crisis. Services provided included a wide range of veteran service providers, housing assistance, emergency financial assistance, employment, job training and education opportunities, substance abuse treatment information, legal services, victims’ advocates, medical and dental care and much more. Transportation assistance to the event was available for individuals who would otherwise been unable to attend.
Project Homeless Connect/VA Stand Down is sponsored by Mayor Joines, The City of Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, United Way of Forsyth County, Inc Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, The Department of Veterans Affairs, American Express, The US Department of Labor, NW Piedmont Workforce Development Board Mobile JobLink Unit, Salvation Army, and many others.
United Way of Forsyth County Inc. Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness has hosted a Project Homeless Connect for our community for the past six years and it has proven to be a successful service model for our community. This was the second year the Ten Year Plan partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to host a joint Project Homeless Connect / VA Stand Down to serve the needs of homeless participants as well as homeless veterans. The combined event served homeless persons and anyone experiencing a housing crisis from Forsyth County and as well as homeless veterans from Forsyth, Guilford, Davie, Davidson, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin and Wilkes Counties.
Outstanding Volunteers Honored with Governor’s Awards
Individuals and organizations were honored on May 15 for their exceptional volunteerism at the 2013 Governor’s Awards for Outstanding Service. The award recipients, the nominees and all the volunteers across Forsyth County enable non-profits to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently, and we are grateful for their service. The breakfast event, held in Bryant Hall at Salem College, was sponsored by HandsOn of Northwest North Carolina, the Winston-Salem Journal, Salem Academy and College, and United Way of Forsyth County.
Award recipients included:
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Youth Volunteer: Jill Caputi (nominated by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center)
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Individual Volunteer: Betty Allen Graham (nominated by The Children’s Center)
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Faith-based Volunteer: Bridges Church (nominated by Old Town Elementary School)
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Lifetime Achivement Volunteer: Cranford Johnson (nominated by The Shepherd’s Center of WS)
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Senior Volunteer: Tom Nichols (nominated by The Salvation Army)
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Corporate Volunteer: US Airways “Do Crew” (nominated by Second Harvest Food Bank of NWNC)
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Volunteer Group/Team: Kathy Bergren & Fiona McCormack (nominated by The Children’s Home)
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President's Volunteer Service Award: Susan Gannaway (nominated by SECU Family House)
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Special recognition for volunteer service: Shanata MacMillian (nominated by Main Street Academy)
Kathy Bergren and Fiona McCormack also received the Governor's Medallion Award for Volunteer Service and were among statewide group of only 20 volunteers recognized at the Governor's Mansion in Raleigh on April 23.
Would you like to volunteer? There are many ways to give of your time and talent. Some are long-term, individual volunteer efforts. Other opportunities include groups of diverse people with diverse resources, standing together to address the issues that will have the most impact in our region. Look for the opportunity that suits you best at Hands On!
National Teachers Week - May 6-10
Great teachers provide great instruction and great instruction provides great outcomes. Quality instruction is the single most important school-based factor in the educational achievement of our school children, and educational achievement is the key to a good life. During National Teachers Week (May 6-10) — and throughout the year — please join with United Way of Forsyth County in thanking all the teachers in our community for their hard and important work!
Looking for ways that you can thank our teachers? Click here for suggestions. While this document was designed for faith-based groups, it's applicable for most any group.
For information about how the Teachers Matter Initiative is connecting communities, schools and teachers for student sucess, click here.
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CNN Cites Forsyth County Decrease in Homelessness
"FEWER HOMELESS" SAYS CNN COMMENTATOR DAVID FRUM . . . AND THE DATA SUPPORT HIS CLAIM?
"Whatever the cause of homelessness, the solution is ... a home." CNN commentator David Frum this week summed up his view of a key aspect of former President George W. Bush’s legacy – a national decrease in chronic homelessness: "Have you noticed that homelessness isn't worse? Here we are, living through the most protracted joblessness crisis since the Great Depression -- and surprisingly, fewer people are living on the street." Frum is a CNN contributor, a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and has authored eight books, including a new novel, "Patriots," and a post-election e-book titled ?"Why Romney Lost." Frum was a special assistant to President Bush (2001-2002). Read the entire piece at CNN; some excerpts follow.
"Have you noticed that homelessness isn't worse? Here we are, living through the most protracted joblessness crisis since the Great Depression -- and surprisingly, fewer people are living on the street . . .
"To what or whom do we owe this good news?
In very large part, we owe it to the president whose library opened in Dallas last week: George W. Bush.
"For three decades, we have debated what causes homelessness and how to deal with it . . . ?
"The Bush administration substituted a much simpler idea -- an idea that happened to work. Whatever the cause of homelessness, the solution is ... a home.
"In 2002, Bush appointed a new national homeless policy czar, Philip Mangano. ?A former music agent imbued with the religious philosophy of St. Francis of Assisi, Mangano was seized by an idea pioneered by New York University psychiatrist Sam Tsemberis: ‘housing first.’
"The ‘housing first’ concept urges authorities to concentrate resources on the hardest cases -- to move them into housing immediately -- and only to worry about the other problems of the homeless after they first have a roof over their heads . . .?
"Many old school homeless advocates resisted Mangano's approach. They were impelled by two main objections:
"1. They believed that homelessness was just the most extreme form of a problem faced by low-income people generally -- a lack of affordable housing for low-income people. Focusing resources on the nation's hardest cases would (these advocates feared) distract the federal government from the bigger project of subsidizing better housing for millions of people who did not literally live in the streets.
"2. By 2002, the nation had been worrying about homelessness for several decades. Countless programs from state and local agencies responded to some separate part of the problem; tens of thousands of people earned their livings in those state and local agencies, disposing of massive budgets. ‘Housing first’ threatened to disrupt this vast industry. ‘Housing first’ was comparatively cheap . . . ?The transition to ‘housing first’ threatened jobs and budgets across the country.
"There was only one counterargument to these objections: ‘Housing first’ worked. It worked from the start, and it worked fast . . .
" . . . The job is not completed yet. But for the first time since the 1970s, the abolition of homelessness has become a real and near possibility. Whatever else you think of the 43rd president, that achievement is part of Bush's legacy, too."
Read the article.
New decreases in homelessness are being announced across the country, continuing the good news of results and underscoring the unprecedented commitment, investment, partnership, and decreases that began in 2005 under the Bush Administration. Jurisdictions – including some of the first to commit to Ten Year Plans and see local reductions - ?applied data and research strategically to forward housing solutions and to adopt innovative and evidence-based practices and continue to build on their quantifiable results in ending homelessness from the mobilization of political will and partnership. With many communities releasing the results of their 2013 Point-in-Time (PIT) counts, new data point to significant decreases in communities of all sizes.
In Pasadena, CA, the number of people experiencing homelessness dropped almost 37% in the last two years and 15% since 2012, with local leaders in Pasadena’s Ten Year Plan - including Dr. Joe Colletti of Urban Initiatives at Fuller Seminary, who coordinates this count and helped formulate the Plan, as he has in more than a dozen Southern California communities - crediting the city’s Housing First strategy and the economic upswing. Anne Lansing, co-chair of the Pasadena Housing and Homeless Network, affirmed that the city’s 2005 housing focused strategy is behind the change.
San Bernardino County, hard hit by the foreclosure crisis and with a high poverty rate, reported a 19% decrease compared to 2011. The County’s Ten Year Plan and more housing focused initiatives are credited. There are new efforts underway in San Bernardino for unsheltered families and to break the cycle of homelessness for those with histories of incarceration, homelessness, and addiction. Nearly 25% of adults counted were released from prison or jail during the past 12 months after serving a court-mandated sentence, according to the PIT report. Riverside County, Orange County, and Ventura County, CA have announced decreases, and San Diego County recorded a 7% decrease in unsheltered homelessness.
Utah counted a new 9% reduction in chronic homelessness, or a total 72% reduction since 2005. South Dakota (25%) and Idaho (9.5%) reported overall decreases. Snohomish County, WA counted an 18% drop overall. Reductions were reported in Tulsa, OK (8.7%) and Wichita/Sedgwick County, KS (2.2%). Cincinnati, OH found an 8% reduction, and Memphis, TN reported reductions in individuals, families, unsheltered persons, and those in shelter, with a 12.5% reduction.
In Winston-Salem, NC, Mayor Allen Joines announced that chronic homelessness has been cut 58% since 2005, when the County began its Ten Year Plan. Veteran homelessness has been cut 49%, and homelessness overall decreased 40% from last year. Stated Mayor Joines, "Obviously, there’s a moral reason to help homeless individuals get back on their feet and get back in a productive society. But from a community standpoint and a financial standpoint, it makes great sense because it costs much more to provide services to homeless individuals than to get them into a permanent housing situation and into a productive work environment." Other North Carolina communities, including Charlotte/Mecklenburg County (6%), Guilford County (6%), and Wilmington (15%), also reported decreases.
Homeward, in Greater Richmond, VA, found a 4.1% decrease overall, and Virginia reported an 8% decrease statewide, with a 36% decrease in chronic homelessness, 2010-2012. In Fairfax County, VA, homelessness decreased 12% last year, and leaders point to the increased focus on rapid rehousing and prevention for the results. Overall homelessness in the County has dropped 26% since 2007. Homelessness among single adults decreased 13% over last year. Huntington, WV reported a 27% decrease overall.
In Knoxville and Knox County, TN?where a Ten Year Plan was launched in 2005, a new 14% decrease?in the number of new individuals becoming homelessness has been announced. ?The decrease represents a 36% drop from a high in 2010. Dr. Roger Nooe and Michael Dunthorn from the City's Community Development Division staff the Implementation Office created in 2006 by then Knoxville Mayor/now Governor Bill Haslam and Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale to implement the Ten Year Plan. Alachua County/Gainesville, FL reported a 10.8% decrease in street homelessness.
In Canada, new decreases have been announced in Vancouver, BC, one of a dozen Canadian jurisdictions where Round Table President Mangano visited and assisted jurisdictional leaders while serving as Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (2002-2009)(see related story). Mayor Gregor Robertson announced an 11% decrease in street homelessness over the last year and a 66% decrease since 2008, when access to low-demand services was created. "Our efforts are working, but there is no question there is more work to do," the Mayor said. "This is within our grasp." The city has committed about $60 million in its 2012-14 capital plan for additional supportive and other housing.
