A Home for Everyone:Building A Way

The Blueprint to End Homelessness in Washtenaw County

Collaboration Counts

Welcome to Ann Arbor, Where We’re “Crazy” for Collaboration

It’s Messy…Demanding….Challenging

BUT

Collaborative Planning and Action are Key to Our Community’s Success in Tackling Social Issues

Homelessness: Where Housing and Human Needs Intersect

Annualized Homeless Count - 2007 3,431 Individuals were Homeless or At-Risk

2,293 (67%) were Persons in Families 1,089 (32%) were Single Adults 82 (2%) were Unaccompanied Youth

Point-In-Time Count of Homeless Persons - 2007 580 Individuals (including children)

18% Chronically Homeless 41% report Mental Health Condition 56% report Substance Abuse Issues

Economic Impact Across Community Systems

Reduction in Chronic Homelessness Reduction in Costs for Mainstream Systems (e.g., Health, Jail, ER) 73% Reduction in ER, Psychiatric, Detox, Jail, and

Shelter Care Costs in Denver ($20 million/year) 62% Reduction in ER, Health, and Jail Costs in

Portland

Cost of Housing Far Exceeds Household Capacity to Pay

HUD Fair Market Rent for 0-BR Unit (Efficiency) $690/month Income Needed to Afford 0-BR Unit (@30%)

$27,600/year (or $13.27/hour)

HUD Fair Market Rent for 2-BR Unit (Family) $942/month Income Needed to Afford 2-BR Unit (@30%) $37,680/year (or $18.12/hour)

WHY Do We Respond?

Social Imperative Concern for Human Costs It’s the Right Thing to Do

Economic Imperative Concern for Economic and Community Costs Economic Imperative Often Trumps Moral

Suasion

The Exorbitant Cost of “Doing Nothing”

In Indianopolis, 96 homeless individuals $1.7 million/year in public expense

In Athens, GA, 576 homeless individuals $12 million/year

Cost-Analysis for Local Community

Est Cost Per

PersonPer Day

Michigan Corrections - Prison Washtenaw

County JailSheltering for Single

Adult

Housing with

Services for Single

Adult

Individuals with Mental

Illness or Disability

General Population

$123 $96 $94 $66 $32

HOW Do We Respond? History of Community Collaboration

We Are A Community of “Compulsive Collaborators”

Shared Efforts Date Back 20+ Years Early Collaborations in 1980’s HUD Continuum of Care in Mid-90’s County Task Force on Homelessness – Late ’90’s Washtenaw Housing Alliance -- 2001 Success in Initial Alliance Campaign -- 2003

Delonis Center + Community Kitchen + Alpha House Family Shelter

$9 Million Capital Campaign

More Recent Steps

Creation of Blueprint to End Homelessness (“10 Year Plan”) Hundreds of Citizens and Scores of Organizations

Contribute to Creation of Plan Published in Fall, 2004

Commitment to “500 Unit Plan” Creating Common Vision and Broad Buy-In Adopted in Fall, 2006

Initiation of Joint Integrated Funding Pilot Implemented Fall, 2008 Advancing Collaborative Community Investment

What IS the Blueprint to End Homelessness?

Vision Statement 10-Year Strategic Plan Community Process

The Blueprint is both a product and propagator of continuing community commitment and collaborative planning

Key Principles Informing Blueprint Planning and Implementation

Systems Transformation: Changing the Way We Do Business Linked to Common Quality and Service Standards Shared Community Outcomes Consumer-Informed Provider-Driven Results-Based Decision-Making Integrated Funding

Four-Fold Focus of 10-Year Strategic Plan

Homeless Prevention Housing with Services Engaging the Community Reforming the System of Care

Homeless Prevention

Homeless Outreach Court

Community Wide Eviction Prevention Plan

“Barrier Busters” System

Creating Housing with Services

“500 Unit Plan” Key to “Housing First” Orientation Over 300 Supportive Housing Units Created

or “In the Pipeline” since 2004 New Construction Acquisition and Rehab Rental Assistance Vouchers

Engaging the Community

Delonis Center Capital Campaign

Blueprint Work Group Champions

County Task Force on Sustainable Revenues

Reforming the System of Care

Quality and Services Standards

Common Community Outcomes

Community-Wide Data Gathering (HMIS)

Integration of Blueprint, Continuum of Care, HUD Consolidated Plan, and Other Community Plans

Other Significant Planning Linkages

Community Collaborative of Washtenaw County (Human Services)

City/County Office of Community Development

Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative Blueprint on Aging Aging Out Coalition Success by Six Adult Literacy Coalition Statewide Campaign to End Homelessness

Early Wins and Long-Term Commitments

Initial Focus on “Early Wins” Helps to Sustain Energy for the Long-Haul Focus on “Low-Hanging Fruit” in Housing,

Prevention, Community Engagement, and Systems Reform

Impact and Achievement Expands Ownership and Investment

Integrated Funding Strategies as Key Approach to Implementation

Our challenge is not so much to answer “if” we want systems change, but “how” we will best fund it

Why Integrated Funding?

As our community pursues creation of a homeless solutions system that is more unified, strategic, and collaborative, our funding processes should both mirror and support that commitment

Integrated Funding and Systems Transformation

Integrated Funding is about Changing the Way We Do Business Altering relationships among funders Altering relationships among providers Altering relationships between funders and

providers Altering relationships between funders,

providers, and community

Increasing Strategic Impact of Funding Decisions

Funding decisions made in fragmented “silos” cannot address the complicated reality of homeless assistance needs

Funding decisions made through a culture of “competitive entrepreneurialism” frequently fail to reflect system-wide perspective on needs, gaps, capacities, and priorities

Enhancing “Intelligence” of Decision-Making

Funders delegate responsibility for decisions to provider community to assure alignment with Blueprint priorities and consistency with provider capacities

Folks on the ground bring “experiential intelligence” to decision-making

Providers are the ultimate “no spin network”

Improving Results

Integrated funding incentivizes pursuit of shared outcomes and common targeted results

Integrated funding supports FOCUS on key community targets

Joint Integrated Funding Pilot Project

JIF Pilot Concept Creation of new joint public-private sector funder

and provider structure for decision-making and accountability

Focused explicitly on supportive housing services Use of new decision-making models

Joint Integrated Funding Commitment Initial commitment of $1 million, over two years, for

supportive housing services (2007-2009) Emerging commitment of up to $1.5-$2 million for

supportive housing services in following two years (2009-2010)

Initial Focus: Integrated Funding and “500 Unit Plan”

New Community Funding Model Emergent from Blueprint Process Integrated Funding Plan Driven by Major

Community Funders Funding Coordination Focused on “500 Unit

Plan” Reliance on Provider-Based Funding

Recommendations

Initial JIF Investment Partners

City of Ann Arbor Washtenaw County Washtenaw United Way Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation Washtenaw Community Health

Organization Private Donors

Task Force on Sustainable Revenues for Supportive Housing

Follow-Up to JIF Pilot – Intended to establish long-term, sustainable funding stream for services in supportive housing

County Board of Commissioners chartered “blue-ribbon” Task Force to bring forward recommendations for generating dedicated revenues to assure $2.5-$3 million/year “in perpetuity”

Emerging recommendations will propose unique “hybrid” private-public sector funding model

Key Partners in County Task Force

County Administrator City Mayors (Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti) Chair, County Board of Commissioners Chair, Downtown Development Authority President, Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce Chair, Washtenaw United Way President, Ann Arbor Community Foundation Vice-President, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital County Treasurer Vice-Chair, Public Mental Health Authority Business and Philanthropic Leaders

United Way Adopts Community Impact Funding

Transformation of local United Way funding model coincides with commitment to integrated funding

Shared commitment to Joint Integrated Funding pilot

Delegation of responsibility for all housing and homeless program funding recommendations – current and new -- to Housing Alliance ($650K/year)

What Makes This Work: Shared Vision/Shared Leadership

Structure and Function Build on Respect for Importance of Provider-Driven Process

Builds on Engagement of Jurisdictional, Systems, and Community Leadership

What Makes this Work: Ethos of Community-Wide Collaboration

Willingness of Key Providers and Key Funders to “Play Together”

Active Engagement of Jurisdictional, Mainstream Systems, and Community Leaders in Commitment to Shared “Ownership” of Problem AND Solutions

What Makes This Work: Learning our Way toward Success

Baby Steps Practice with “new funding opportunities” Establishing common service standards Developing decision-making protocols

and practice Building trust Evaluating provider feedback Measuring results

What Makes This Work: Structural Elements

Neutral Non-Profit Entity as Intermediary (WHA) Partnership of Public, Private and Non-Profit Sectors

Delegated Authority Both Public/Governmental and Private/Philanthropic

Community Have Charged WHA with Responsibility for Implementation of 10-Year Plan

Broad Community “Buy-In” County, Cities, Businesses, Community Leaders

Collaborative Management Strategy Engagement of Core Providers in Governance

Process

How Will We Measure Success?: Shared Community Outcomes

Reducing # of first-time entries into homelessness

Reducing # returning to emergency shelter system

Reducing length of stay in shelter & transitional housing

Increasing rates of positive exit from homelessness

Increasing length of stay in permanent housing

Challenges: “We’re Building the Plane While Flying”

Building New Models for Shared Leadership and Decision-Making

Cultivating New Norms for Collaborative Governance

Negotiating New Relationships with Community Leaders and Investors

Developing New Tools for Documenting and Assessing Impact and Outcomes

Challenges: Surrendering “Self-Interest” for “Good of the Whole”

Learning Our Way Into New Culture of Full-Blown Collaboration

Re-framing Commitment from “My Agency Needs This….” “Our Community Needs This….”

Challenges: Balancing Values

Managing Sometimes Conflicting “Cultural” Values in the Trenches “Housing First” vs. “Housing Ready” “Voluntary” vs. “Mandated” Services “Ending Homelessness” vs. “Ending Poverty”

Inclusive Process vs. Organizational Efficiency Ability to be Flexible and Nimble in Decision-

Making Exploiting Unanticipated Opportunities

Challenges: Transcending Conflict of Interest

Reframing Issue Helps to Resolve Problem When we all share common interest and

commitment to common outcomes, we no longer have conflict of interest

When we nurture culture of collective accountability, we minimize conflict

When we maximize transparency, we minimize opportunity for conflict

……………………..BUT NONE of this comes easy!

Challenges: Data Development and Management

Developing Data Meaningful for Policy-Making and Systems Change Processes

Need ability to monitor and enforce data-gathering expectations of both funding partners and grantees

Need capacity to generate timely and effective cross-systems data reporting and analysis.

Challenges: Time, Practice, and Trust

TIME Spent in Shared Decision-Making

Developing Culture of Collaboration in an Entrepreneurial Environment

Managing Fears and Concerns

Building Trust and Confidence

At the End of the Day… It Works!

The Time it Takes Is Worth the Trust it Makes

In Spite of the Continuing “Cost”, Collaboration is Worth the Price of Admission

Benefits of Collaborative Cross-Systems Initiatives and Efforts

Maximize Community Assets & Resources Enhance Consumer Access to Services Increase Systems Accountability Enhance Cost-Effectiveness of Service

Delivery Advance Systems Change Goals Accelerate Achievement of Long-Term

Vision

Where to From Here???

Contact Information

Washtenaw Housing AlliancePO Box 7993 Ann Arbor, MI 48107

www.whalliance.org

Chuck KiefferExecutive Director

(kiefferc@ewashtenaw.org)734-222-3570734-645-0810