city of new orleans homeless services working group ten-year plan to end homelessness

8/3/2019 City of New Orleans Homeless Services Working Group Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness

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City o New orleaNsHomeless serviCes workiNg group

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letter rom tHe mayor

Dear Readers:

Unlike any other city in America, residents o New Orleans know what it is like to e without a home.Indeed, a ter Hurricane Katrina, many who never thought they would ever e homeless were suddenly le t with nothing.

In the years since, the num er o homeless in New Orleans has dou led and on any given night thereare nearly 6,500 people living on the streets o our city including unsheltered individuals, youth and

amilies. This num er also includes Veterans who served our country and mentally ill citizens whose

housing situation is complicated y untreated conditions.

This is an urgent issue that needs immediate attention. Since taking o ce in May o 2010, I have madeending homelessness in New Orleans a priority. To lead this e ort, I appointed a long-time home-less advocate as the City’s rst Director o Homeless Policy. Plus, I convened a Homeless Services

Working Group with outstanding representatives rom a diverse cross-section o government, usiness,and community stakeholders. This Working Group was tasked with developing a Ten-Year Plan to EndHomelessness in the City o New Orleans.

We are reaking new ground. For the rst time the City o New Orleans along with our riends andpartners at the Departments o Housing and Ur an Development, La or, Justice, Veteran A airs, andHealth and Human Services have a single comprehensive plan that will lead to an increase in availa le

resources, improve coordination, and take on several urgent issues o grave concern.

Ending homelessness in New Orleans will e no easy task, and we must e united in that e ort — weare one city that will share one ate. This is our mindset and the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessnessrepresents a start — a via le roadmap to ending homelessness in our community so all New Orleanianshave a place they can call home.

Sincerely,

Mitchell J LandrieuMayor, City o New Orleans



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table o CoNteNts

ExECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................. 2

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS TEN-YEAR PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS ............... 5

THEME ONE: INCREASE LEADERSHIP, COLLAbORATION, ......................7

AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

THEME TWO: INCREASE ACCESS TO ................................................. 8

STAbLE AND AFFORDAbLE HOUSING

THEME THREE: INCREASE ECONOMIC SECURITY ............................... 10

THEME FOUR: IMPROVE HEALTH AND STAbILITY ................................. 12

THEME FIVE: RETOOL THE HOMELESS CRISIS RESPONSE SYSTEM ...... 13

The Unsheltered Homeless

A andoned buildings

AREAS OF SPECIFIC FOCUS .................................................................... 15

VETERANS AFFAIRS................. .................... .................... ................. 15

FUNDING ........................................................................................ 17

DATA .................... ..................... .................... .................... ............. 18

SPECIFIC POPULATIONS................................................................... 19

Youth

Families

Chronic Homeless

THE PLAN – ACTION ITEMS SUMMARY ......................................................22

ADDENDA ............................................................................................. 26

Homeless Services Working Group Overview

best Practices, Glossary, Acknowledgments, Re erences



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Since Hurricane Katrina, the homeless population in New Orleans has increasedrapidly. On any given night, appro imately 6,500 individuals in New Orleans are

without a home, making the city’s rate o homelessness one o the highest in thenation. This is unaccepta le.

This is not a new pro lem, ut ur ther complicating the situation are the devastatingconsequences o Hurricane Katrina. Now, nearly si years a ter, the storm’s impacton the New Orleans homeless population is still eing elt.

In March 2011, the City o New Orleans O ce o Community Development, with theCity’s Director o Homeless Policy, convened an initial series o meetings to discussstrategies or improving services and housing or the homeless. Participating in thisinitial meeting were ederal, state, and local par tners, along with UNITY o Greater New Orleans, the Continuum o Care a lead agency.

The outcome o this convening was a strategic ramework or a pu lic planning processto develop a plan to end homelessness in New Orleans. This would ecome theMayor’s Homeless Services Working Group, which would cra t the plan using national

est practices. This Working Group was comprised o a diverse cross-section o gov-ernment, usiness, and community stakeholders, and was tasked with developing amaster plan to prevent and end homelessness.

Throughout this pu lic planning process, the City o New Orleans and the HomelessServices Working Group have een guided y the landmark Opening Doors Plan ,1 released in 2010 y the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Opening Doors is the national, ederal plan to end homelessness y 2020. The NewOrleans Plan ollows the roadmap set out y this national est practice and addressesthe same primary themes identi ed in Opening Doors. below is an overview o each

theme and a quick look at how the New Orleans Plan seeks to address those themesthrough its own initiatives.

eXeCutive summary

a “A Continuum o Care (CoC) is a regional or local planning body that coordinates housing and services unding or homeless amilies and individuals.” From “What is a Continuum o Care: Fact Sheet.” Available: http://www.endhomelessness.org/content/article/detail/1744



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Theme One: IncreaseLeadership, Colla oration,

and Civic Engagement

Create the New Orleans Interagency Council onHomelessness

Launch speci c initiatives with Department o Veterans A airs and the Downtown Development District

Institute cross-sector colla orations – City, State,

Continuum o Care, usiness and community leadership

Esta lish planning and service oppor tunities toencourage dialogue

Theme TwO: Increase Access to Sta le and A orda le Housing

Increase availa ility o Permanent Supportive Housing

Increase availa ility o a orda le housing

E plore opportunities to reorganize e istinghousing stock to etter serve the needs ohomeless constituents

Theme Three: IncreaseEconomic Security

Link homeless constituents with resources across local,state, and ederal systems, including particular ocus onincome-related ene ts

Develop capacity or jo training among provider agen-cies via colla oration with the city work orce investment

oard and the usiness sector

Theme FOur: ImproveHealth and Sta ility

Esta lish and en orce standards o care

Retool discharge planning to prevent people eingdischarged into homelessness rom pu lic institutions

Promote and acilitate cross-sector communication

E amine ways to access ene ts rom health carere orm initiatives and e panded Medicaid services

Theme Five: Retool theHomeless Crisis ResponseSystem

E pand centralized intake to increase access and useo services

Esta lish partnerships to identi y constituents living ina andoned and unsa e dwellings

Address needs and services speci c to identi edsu -populations o homeless constituents

Ensure unsheltered clients esta lish immediate linkagesto low arrier shelters, sa e havens, and emergency shelters; while also connecting them with permanenthousing resources




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Cross-cutting e orts across sectors, groups, and local, state and ederal governments are essentialcomponents to making measura le reductions in the homeless population. There ore, this WorkingGroup is pleased to recommend to the Mayor three new Signature Projects that will represent unprec-edented civic support or ending homelessness in New Orleans:

• T Do to /ho P t s p - A new partnership etween the City and the DowntownDevelopment District that will und street outreach that ocuses on reducing homelessness in

high tra c areas y quickly linking those without a home to housing and social services.

• T D op t o 24-ho Co p s ho ss Co ty r so c C t - A partnership etween the Department o Veterans A airs and the City o New Orleans to re-

develop a portion o the ormer downtown VA Hospitalsite or a homeless resource center.

• T n O s ho ss T st - A pu lic-private partnership housed at the Greater NewOrleans Foundation that will und new innovativeand old initiatives designed to serve the NewOrleans homeless population.

This Plan takes a ho s g F st approach that is cen-tered on providing homeless constituents with immedi-ate housing and then linking them with the supportiveservices necessary to sustain their housing status andimprove their quality o li e. This Plan provides strate-gies or addressing such urgent issues as housingthe unsheltered homeless living in and around the

downtown and those living in a andoned, lighted uildings throughout the City. The Plan also outlinesdetailed strategies to increase the availa ility o resources, improve data collection, improve servicedelivery, and acilitate partnerships and coordination.

by carrying out the initiatives outlined in the Plan, the ollowing timeline will e accomplished:

• Veteran homelessness ended within 5 years

• Chronic homelessness ended within 10 years

• Family homelessness ended within 10 years

This will e no easy task, ut y working together anything is possi le. There is so much to do and thisPlan represents a start —a detailed ramework to ending homelessness in our community.

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Like other large metropolitan communities, New Orleans struggles with many mani estations o homeless-ness. However, in the last si years there has een a tremendous increase in the homeless population.

This can e primarily attri uted to the devastation wrought y Hurricane Katrina. More than one millionpeople were displaced and 70 percent o all occupied housing units were damaged. 2 Many, who prior tothe storm had een housed, employed, and lived sta le lives, a ter the storm struggled to get ack ontheir eet and were le t unsheltered, orced to sleep on the streets or in a andoned uildings.

In addition, Katrina devastated the City’s health care and social service in rastructure. Vulnera le individu-als who su ered rom mental illness or had physical disa ilities were una le to access necessary care.

Many who were housed ut relied on services to keep their li e on the rails, ell o a ter the storm andreturned to the street or sought shelter in a andonedhouses. Other recent events like the economic down-turn and the 2010 bP Oil Spill have also impacted therate o homelessness in this community.

The most recent Point in Time (“PIT”) a survey conduct-ed y UNITY o Greater New Orleans, the lead agency o the Continuum o Care (“CoC”), gives a snap shot o

what is happening on the streets o New Orleans. Thesurvey ound that on any given night in New Orleans

204 s t c d o ss . O these,32 s— p s t g 98 p op — s p-

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b d gs, while the other 172 s s d g

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o t s t o o s g . In addition, the PIT ound 21

yo t b d 5,276 d d d ts g o t

st ts o b do d b d gs. An additional 828 d ts s d g t po y o s g such as overnight emergency shelters or transitional housing.

Since Mayor Landrieu came into o ce, he has made ending homelessness a priority. In June 2011Mayor Landrieu esta lished a Homeless Services Working Group with a diverse range o representa-tives rom government, usiness, and the community. This Working Group’s ocus was to create a

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a The “Point in Time” survey is an annual count o homeless people that seeks to “understand the number and characteristics o homeless people living in shelters or on the street, or in places not meant or human habitation.” The PIT survey is critical to planning or servicedelivery in communities that seek Federal and other unding to address homelessness, and PIT standards ensure that data is collected consistently and accurately.

b Per PIT reporting standards, a “youth” is considered “any person under the age o eighteen who presents or services alone.”




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strategic master plan to prevent and end homelessness in New Orleans. In developing the plan, theHomeless Services Working Group esta lished a set o guiding p c p s rom which all activities andstrategies would e grounded. It was agreed that the plan must e:

• C t y r t– Develop programs and strategies or reducing homelessness thatconsider the cultural conte t o homeless constituents the plan is designed to support.

• T p t c & h g – be mind ul o the therapeutic concerns (i.e. trauma history, amily oorigin, mental health conditions) o homeless constituents and provide appropriate considerationto creating avenues or recovery and healing rom those concerns,

• D t D – Policy recommendations will e in ormed y data, and any new programming wille solutions oriented and tied to measura le outcomes.

With these principles and the US Interagency Council on Homelessness Opening Doors Plan as our guide, the Homeless Services Working Group is pleased to present the culmination o this pu lic, com-munity driven planning process: T -Y P to e d ho ss ss t C ty o n O s.

T k Yo g

I have come to New Orleans Women’sShelter (NOWS) who will help me set uturegoals without a time limit. I am getting assistance with my educational goals, whichis my degree in Registered Nursing. I have asa e place, a clean place or my amily and I. I also have set goals or mysel that my case manager will help me reach! Thank youNOWS or a second chance at li e!

B dd B ggs

(homeless or one year; just housed)

When I ound out I was going to get anapartment, it elt as i a huge weight had been li ted rom me. Knowing I would havemy own place, where I would be sa e,where my things would not be stolen meant everything to me.”




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As a means o homeless services governance, the Mayor will esta lish the n O s i t g cyCo c o ho ss ss (“nOiCh”) to oversee the implementation o the Ten-Year Plan. NOICHis modeled a ter the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (“USICH”) that was originally created in 1987 as part o the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. The USICH was created “as anindependent esta lishment within the E ecutive branch to review the e ectiveness o ederal activi-ties and programs to assist people e periencing homelessness, promote etter coordination amongagency programs, and in orm state and local governments and pu lic and private sector organizationsa out the availa ility o ederal homeless assistance.” 3

Communities across the country are increasingly implementing similar systems in order to retooltheir cities’ homeless services, and New Orleans will ollow this well-esta lished trend y esta lish-ing NOICH. One such model community is Washington, D.C., which esta lished its own Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2005. 4

Led y the City’s Director o Homeless Policy, the NOICH will e an interdisciplinary, diverse ody com-prised o leaders rom UNIT Y, homeless service providers, usiness, criminal justice, health care, higher education, aith- ased, government, non-pro t, neigh orhood, and philanthropic sectors. There will also

e signi cant homeless constituent representation on the Council. Meetings o the NOICH will take placequarterly with esta lished committees meeting monthly and reporting ack to the ull NOICH.

Co tt s c d :• D t – This committee will address data collection, data quality, and access to data with the

goal o improving the quality and use o data. This committee will also develop a per ormancemanagement plan that will e used to esta lish enchmarks, develop incremental goals andmonitor the implementation o the Ten-Year Plan.

• S c D y- This committee will e tasked with e amining e cacy and coordinationo service delivery across multiple service systems. Special ocus will e given to develop-ing discharge planning directives to etter use limited resources and improve client outcomes

ollowing discharge rom a pu lic institution. This committee will convene stakeholders to cra tcommon standards o care and to develop training opportunities or homeless service provid-ers. Goals or this committee will include improving the quality o services availa le to homelesspeople in the city, and providing homeless service providers with tools to grow their capacity and enhance the quality o their services.

• F c – This committee will identi y unding needed to carry out the Plan’s goals ando jectives, and will e amine unding opportunities and address nancial arriers to access ohomeless services.

• v t s – This committee will continue colla orative e orts etween the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System (SLVHCS) and the NOICH, including the ongoing developmento the service center located at the ormer VA Hospital site, and other areas o uture colla ora-tion. The goal o this committee would e to maintain current initiatives etween the two entitiesand e plore uture areas o colla oration.

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a A charrette is an intensive planning session where citizens, designers and others collaborate on a vision or development. It provides aorum or ideas and o ers the unique advantage o giving immediate eedback to the designers. More importantly, it allows everyone who

participates to be a mutual author o the plan. From “What is a Charrette?” Available: http://tndtownpaper.com/what_is_charrette.htm

ho s g F st is the corner stone o the City’s e or ts to end homelessness. The rst step must e toget people housed. Only once that aseline need is met can other issues like unemployment, su stancea use and mental illness e e ectively managed or treated. Girding this model is the elie that housing isa asic human right, and that sta le housing represents the vital launch pad rom which all other inter-

ventions and systemic changes must take place. In addition, many other cities and regions have usedHousing First principles to great e ect and the approach is now considered a est practice. 5

Since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has leveraged ederal investments and private partnerships toesta lish a diverse new stock o a orda le housing. A primary goal o this plan is to ensure that someo this housing is set aside or homeless constituents and that the City’s already comprehensive hous-

ing plan ensures that providing housing or homeless constituents remains an important goal.

Through leadership in the O ce o Community Development, housing will e made availa le or thehomeless throughout the City. New criteria will e put in place regarding the scoring o a orda lehousing NOFA’s (Notices o Funding Availa ility) to give pre erence to developers/organizations whocommit to serving homeless constituents in the City’s housing development proposals.

Utilizing the HUD Calculating Unmet Need 6 methodology, the Working Group developed this HousingProduction Plan y e amining the e isting housing stock, the need or uture housing development anda road set o homeless data. Over the course o the 10-Year Plan, the ollowing housing will e addedto the stock availa le to serve the homeless in New Orleans:

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Low barrier Shelter (to include Respite bedsand Working Persons Shelter) 185 eds

Sa e Havens 50 eds

Prevention and Rapid Re-housing 6,000 interventions over 10 years,600 per year

Permanent Housing 2,115 eds

inDiviDualS

Low barrier Shelter 45 eds or 15 units o reorganized TH;20 units 6 units o new shelter


Permanent Housing 516 eds, 172 units

FamilieS




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One o the other major goals o the NOICH will e to identi y and esta lish additional sa e havens or service-resistant constituents and increase the num er o low- arrier shelter eds or the unshelteredhomeless population. These additional shelter eds will make a measura le di erence in reducing thenum er o homeless constituents living in a andoned uildings or on the streets. As more homelessconstituents are ultimately housed, these shelters and sa e havens will convert to ecome more perma-nent housing solutions.

To promote more harmonious relationships etween neigh orhoods and homeless constituent service providers, developers creating housing or the homeless will e strongly encouraged to pursueand esta lish Co ty acc pt c P s with representatives o the neigh orhood in which thehousing will e located. Community Acceptance Plans are a process undertaken y housing develop-ers to ensure community involvement and uy-in or new a orda le housing developments. Theseagreements promote constructive communication etween the developer and the neigh orhood resi-

dents. Developing additional Good Neigh or Agreements are a part o this process. Good Neigh or Agreements outline issues regarding property maintenance and appearance, codes o conduct,community sa ety, and overall quality o li e or oth uture tenants and neigh orhood residents. 7, 8

As demonstrated in Colum us, Ohio, y the Community Shelter board, Good Neigh or Agreementscan e proactive measures to allay neigh orhood ears and misunderstandings regarding housingdevelopments or special needs populations.

NOICH will oversee the implementation o a orda le housing charrettes a (similar to the design char-rettes held as a part o ongoing post-Katrina City planning e orts 9 ) in the community, scheduled atregular intervals, to augment and support ongoing development e orts or new a orda le housing andpermanent housing stock to meet community need.

Housing and the availa ility o a orda le housing, is the ultimate solution to homelessness. but to eclear, this solution lies not only in the provision o housing, ut also the development o a comprehen-sive system o care to address a constituent’s road array o needs —case management, medical/men-tal health/su stance a use treatment, amily support services, and jo training.

D P yo

( een homeless or year and a hal )

The hardest part about being homeless ishaving people pass by you and they either ignore you or they look at you like youhave some kind o disease.

a A charrette is an intensive planning session where citizens, designers and others collaborate on a vision or development. It provides aorum or ideas and o ers the unique advantage o giving immediate eedback to the designers. More importantly, it allows everyone who

participates to be a mutual author o the plan. From “What is a Charrette?” Available: http://tndtownpaper.com/what_is_charrette.htm



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Ultimately, increasing economic security or homeless individuals depends upon consistent delivery o highquality care and services, and capacity uilding oth at the individual client level and at the macro agency level. In order to address these related concerns, NOICH will esta lish a S c D y Co tt .

This Committee will determine where other system resources are underutilized or where arriers e istto utilization y homeless constituents. Cutting across these identi ed populations, special ocus willalso e given to mentally ill, working poor, non-English speakers, and other su populations. A ter suche amination has taken place, concrete steps will e taken to remove identi ed arriers to service ac-cess via a colla orative process among NOICH and homeless service provider partners.

All too o ten, services that could e assisting home-less constituents are not adequately utilized, or arenot utilized at all, leaving gaps in service or those

who are o ten most vulnera le. Some o these poorly utilized programs include Medicaid, Temporary

Assistance or Needy Families (TANF), SocialSecurity Supplemental Security Income (SSI), andSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),commonly re erred to as “Food Stamps.”

When utilized appropriately and accessed quickly,these services can enhance quality o li e or home-

less constituents, there y improving service out-comes and helping to ensure sta ility in housing.However, homeless constituents who participated inthe Homeless Services Working Group repeatedly e pressed that these mainstream systems are very di cult to navigate. The need or etter overall train-

ing, sensitivity training, and cultural competency training o service workers was consistently echoed y homeless constituents.

Homeless service providers also said that it is di cult to access mainstream ene ts and/or services or their clients. The need or etter coordinated, consistent and ongoing communication etween homeless

service providers and mainstream agencies is an immediate need and would improve service delivery.Speci c resolutions to these issues include trainings or homeless service providers on how to e ectively access mainstream services, and regularly scheduled meetings etween mainstream service providers.

Peer to peer training and coordination will tremendously improve constituents’ access to services.Homeless service providers can train mainstream ene ts workers on how to more e ectively assistspecial needs populations, and mainstream ene ts workers can train homeless service providers onhow to e pedite the provision o ene ts. Communication strategies, like the quarterly service coor-dination meetings hosted y UNITY, will ensure that there is regular communication and coordination

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among service providers. The O ce o Homeless Policy is committed to acilitating such dialogue and train-ing upon Plan implementation.

The Service Delivery Committee will also e tasked with increasing services designed to strengthen home-less constituents’ economic security. For e ample, the Homeless Services Working Group ound that there isa dire need or apprenticeship programs and higher education scholarships or homeless youth, jo training

or individuals and heads o households, and childcare services or homeless heads o household.

Taking service delivery to the ne t step, NOICH will develop a community process to engage oth homeless

constituents and homeless service providers in the development o standards o care or homeless serviceproviders.

Across the nation, communities working to improve homelessservices have identi ed standards o care to document the level oservice and quality o care that homeless constituents can e pectto receive when entering pu licly unded programs. Standards ocare can include, ut are not limited to: health and sa ety stan-dards; clients’ rights, responsi ilities and methods o grievance;case management; and housing quality standards. Standards ocare may also e used to monitor and evaluate the care provided

y homeless service providers. The goal o developing commu-nity-wide standards is to create accounta ility, transparency, andultimately assurance that homeless constituents are receiving only the est, most e cient and most appropriate services.

Upon the initiation o the Standards o Care, all homeless serviceproviders unded y the City and/or the CoC lead agency will erequired to maintain compliance with the Standards in order toreceive unding. Simultaneously, NOICH will oversee the develop-ment o a training curriculum to support agencies in their e ortsto learn and comply with the Standards o Care. These trainings

will e undertaken y a partnership etween New Orleans areahigher educational entities, the O ce o Homeless Policy andthe CoC. Trainings will e culturally relevant and in ormed y research and est practices. A means o regular oversight will eesta lished such that the Standards o Care will e updated alongprogrammed intervals o time.




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DISCHARGE PLANNING

In descri ing his agency’s e orts to address discharge planning, one o the presenters to theHomeless Services Working Group said, “The ront door to the street, is the ack door to theinstitution.” 10 Many homeless constituents have a history with institutional discharges and are caught inan un ortunate cycle where they are discharged rom one institution, end up on the street, only soontherea ter to e admitted to another institution. 11 Such institutions include hospital acilities or medicaland/or mental health concerns, prison or municipal jail acilities, or the oster care system.

E ective discharge planning is key to ensuring the success o individuals e iting these various institu-tions. E ective discharge planning identi es a constituent’s needs and develops a plan or addressingthem once he/she returns to the community. These needs can include linkages to mainstream servicesand ene ts, re errals to community- ased supportive services, jo readiness activities, and housing

re errals. Elements identi ed as essential components o est-practice discharge planning include early constituent and amily involvement, case workers that can provide additional supportin the transition process, e iting institution sta input, and a

written discharge plan. 12

In order to promote e ective discharge planning across institu-tions NOICH will advocate or consistent discharge planningprocedures across pu lic institutions including hospitals,

corrections acilities, and the oster care system. NOICH wille amine current discharge protocols, gaps in discharge plan-ning, and research- ased methods to in orm the developmento cross-institutional discharge planning standards. NOICH willalso encourage the development o linkages etween pu lic in-

stitutions and community mental health centers, Veterans’ service centers and medical clinics so theseservices can e proactively included in e ective discharge planning e orts. Through the esta lishmento interdepartmental case coordination, e orts will e made to enhance coordination with constituentsshared y multiple systems, such as those su ering rom HIV/AIDS, su stance a use, and individuals

who are Veterans.




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THE UNSHELTERED HOMELESS IN THE CENTRAL bUSINESS DISTRICT

In the a termath o Hurricane Katrina, a visi le and siza le population o homeless residents eganto cluster in the downtown New Orleans area. Though e orts have een made over the last several

years—including major initiatives that have addressed the encampments at oth City Hall and under theClai orne Avenue overpasses —there remain in the downtownarea groups o homeless individuals who are in need o hous-ing. While UNITY has een instrumental in working alongsidethe agencies that comprise the CoC to address this issue,appropriate housing has een in short supply. Now is the time

to tackle this pro lem with a long-term housing strategy or these individuals or whom a permanent housing solution hasremained elusive.

To address this issue, the City will partner with the DowntownDevelopment District (“DDD”) on a new colla orative projectcalled the Do to /ho P t s p . The project willaddress homelessness in the downtown New Orleans areathrough targeted outreach services. building upon e isting estpractices in cities like Washington, D.C., this new partnership

will e a strong demonstration o the commitment o oth theCity and usiness community to address homelessness in NewOrleans. 13 Already the City o New Orleans, the DDD, the StateO ce o Community Development, the Metropolitan HumanServices District, UNITY and the agencies that comprise theCoC, have completed the Calliope bridge Housing Initiative, ane ort to house a signi cant portion o the downtown homelesspopulation. by utilizing e isting and/or reorganized resources,housing was secured or all homeless constituents living withinthe Calliope bridge identi ed target area. All told, over 100homeless constituents in this area were served and connected

with appropriate housing as a part o this initiative.

Following these e orts to address the immediate housingneeds o the downtown homeless population, the Downtown/Home Partnership will continue to address homelessness inthe downtown area through assertive outreach and linkagesto necessary services, while utilizing Homeless ManagementIn ormation System (HMIS) data to track progress and identi y constituents’ needs.

tHeme iveRETOOL THE HOMELESS CRISIS RESPONSE SYSTEM




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HOMELESS IN AbANDONED bUILDINGS

The com ination o large num ers o homeless individuals and nearly 50,000 unoccupied propertiesthroughout the city has resulted in signi cant num ers o people living in lighted uildings not t or human ha itation. According to the latest UNITY Point in Time (“PIT”) survey, on any given night 4,767people are residing in such uildings. Eighty-seven percent o these individuals have at least one dis-a ling condition and 11 percent are over the age o 62.

In 2008, a ter learning through surveys that 64 percent o the Clai orne bridge homeless camp hadarrived there rom a andoned uildings, UNITY o Greater New Orleans launched the A andonedbuildings Outreach Team to address the pro lem o homeless constituents living in a andoned uild-ings. The team conducts systematic searches o a andoned uildings in New Orleans y day, returning

y night to uildings showing signs o li e in order to rescue and re-house the occupants.

The City o New Orleans Code En orcement Department, which is the City entity responsi le or re-mediating light, has worked closely with the Homeless Services Working Group on this urgent issue.

Action items that have resulted rom this colla oration include:

• The City and UNITY will coordinate with Code Enforcement of cials to accurately document the

num er o individuals living in housing not meant or suita le or human ha itation.

• To address the needs of the homeless population living in unsafe housing or abandoneduildings, the O ce o Homeless Policy and UNITY will colla orate with Code En orcement

leadership to leverage the strength o a new districting plan that separates the City into si teendistricts with designated Code En orcement O cers assigned to each district.

• Trainings will be provided for Code Enforcement Of cers to assist them in identifying signs ofha itation in such uildings.

The O ce o Homeless Policy, UNITY, and the New Orleans Police Department’s Quality o Li eO cers will develop a coordinated system o engagement with homeless individuals residing in a an-

doned or unsa e uildings, with the ultimate goal o linking them with services and alternative housing.

m . To

Mr. Tommie Mabry was ound by the UNITY outreachteam on a reeze night in a two-room apartment inthe basement o a ooded house. Su ering with

physical and mental disabilities, Mr. Mabry quickly rose to the top o the Permanent Supportive Housing(PSH) Registry, a systematic method or prioritizing

those most likely to die i not housed, and has beenhoused or the past two and a hal years. Today, Mr.Tommie volunteers with outreach on reeze nights.

Tommie says o fnally having a place to call home,“Being homeless is like swimming in an Olympic- sized pool. Having a house is like fnally taking abreath o resh air.”




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veteraNs a airsSecretary o Veterans A airs (“VA”), Erik K. Shinseki, has prioritized ending homelessness or

Veterans, and has authorized Veterans’ service providers across the country to aggressively pursue thisgoal. According to the most recent data cited y the U.S. Department o Veterans A airs, appro imate-ly 15 percent o the New Orleans homeless population consists o Veterans, and on any given nightthere are over 500 homeless Veterans in New Orleans.

In its e or ts to address the needs o the homeless Veteran population, the VA served over 1200

homeless Veterans throughout the last year, and utilized 100 percent o its allotted Veterans A airsSupported Housing (“VASH”) a vouchers. Refecting increased num ers o Veterans served in this com-munity, the num er o allocated VASH vouchers has signi cantly increased or the New Orleans area inthis scal year.

In Fe ruary 2011, the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System (“SLVHCS”) esta lished aHomeless Coalition tasked with addressing Veterans’ homelessness in this community. From this coali-tion a series o initiatives were esta lished, with implementation already underway, including:

• Adoption of a “Housing First” model, including the implementation of a Risk Assessment Tool to

document and prioritize Veterans ased on acuity and vulnera ility

• Focus on hiring preferences for Veterans, for both temporary and permanent construction-related positions to support the development o the new VA hospital acility currently in the initialphases o construction in New Orleans

areas o speCi iC oCus

a VASH assists homeless Veterans and their amilies to a ord decent, sa e, and sanitary housing through the distribution o housing vouchers. From HUD Homeless Resource Exchange, “Introduction and Overview o HUD Homeless Programs.” Available: http://www.hudhre.in o/ index.c m?do=search&re ererType=homeResourceSrc&searchtype=3&cv=t2&keywords=glossary&go2=




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a Stand Downs are events providing services to homeless Veterans such as ood, shelter, clothing, health screenings, VA and Social Security benefts counseling, and re errals to a variety o other necessary services such as housing, employment, and substance abuse treatment.From U.S. Department o Veterans A airs, “Stand Down.” Available: http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/StandDown.asp

b “No Wrong Door” re ers to an approach in which caregivers share common in ormation and tools that can break down unnecessary bar- riers and allow clients to gain access to all needed services no matter whose door they come to frst. From Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, “Defnition List.” Available: http://www.cceh.org/glossary/defnition/no_wrong_door

• Increased integrated Stand Down events which connect veterans to resources and providere errals or housing and employment a

• Development of a Virtual Front Door—an online clearinghouse for homeless services and

resources• Implementation of a Veterans Court at the criminal, municipal, and federal levels

• Partner with community medical centers for use of mobile health clinics

• Increase marketing of VA homeless services to community partners

The VA is an active and committed partner with the City in ending homelessness in New Orleans.Folding these ongoing initiatives into the City’s homelessness planning e orts, SLVHCS has initiatedthe ormation o a partnership with the City that represents only the second such known colla oration inthe country; and in that planning process additional opportunities or innovative partnerships emerged.In addition to endorsing the a ove ongoing initiatives originally esta lished y the VA, the City andSLVHCS have now partnered to e amine how to use a portion o the ormer VA Hospital site in down-town New Orleans as a 24-ho Co p s ho ss Co ty r so c C t , the rstsuch center in the country.

This new center will e designated as the centralized intake and service center or the New Orleansarea, tasked with serving all homeless constituents. Easily integrating the no w o g Doo approachto services endorsed y Secretary Shinseki 14, this center will either provide help on the spot or link theindividual to someone who can.

Further plans or this center will e determined through design and planning charrettes. SLVHCS haso tained the commitment rom an internationally renowned architect and design rm that has workedon previous Veterans’ acilities to lead the charrette. The charrette will include a wide range o stake-

holders, including Veteran and non-Veteran homeless constituents. Meanwhile, NOICH will develop aplan or long-term unding/sustaina ility o the center.




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uNdiNgIn New Orleans, homeless services are unded y the ollowing sources o ederal unds 15:

• eSG (Emergency Shelter Grants) – HUD- unded ormula grant that provides homeless persons with asic shelter and essential supportive services including limited prevention services.

• hOme (Home Investment Partnership Act) – HUD-allocated unds to e pand the supply odecent, sa e, sanitary and a orda le housing.

• TBra (Tenant- ased Rental Assistance) – A su set o HOME, provides up to 24 months orental assistance or homeless individuals & amilies. HOME strives to rapidly re-house,sta ilize, and re-engage those who are homeless.

• ShP (Supportive Housing Program) – Competitively-awarded HUD- unded grants that helpdevelop housing and unds related supportive services or people moving rom homelessness toindependent living.

• S t P s C – Funded y HUD, provides rental assistance or supportive housing, pri-

marily or people with serious mental illness, chronic pro lems with alcohol and/or drugs, and AIDS or related diseases.

• CDBG (Community Development block Grant) – Federal unds that have een used y the City to address urgent needs, and/or needs o low- to moderate-income individuals.

Across the country other cities and states are nding ways to leverage additional unds y tappingprivate philanthropic monies. Not only does this augment the total amount o money availa le or home-less services, it also provides an unrestrictive source o unds that can e used to launch innovativenew projects and uild capacity within the Continuum o Care. Creating such a pool o fe i le unds isthe goal or the n O s ho ss T st .

Housed at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Trust will accept donations oth large and small with the goal o uilding a network o motivated unders in New Orleans and eyond who support themission o ending homelessness in our City. Harnessing these private resources will allow the City tolaunch innovative and fe i le endeavors ased on est practices that assist homeless individuals,

amilies, Veterans, and youth o this community.

I want to go to college and become a surgical nurseso I can make enough money to give back to the

people at Covenant House.

P h o t o b y

C h e r y l G e r b e r




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dataCollecting relia le data on the num er, characteristics, and service needs o individuals, amilies, andunaccompanied youth e periencing homelessness is a critical component o local homeless planning,program development, and system analysis. Accurate data helps to understand homeless populations,adjust the types o programs and services availa le according to need, e ciently target resources,

justi y requests or additional resources, raise pu lic awareness a out the issue o homelessness, andmeasure community progress towards preventing and ending homelessness. 16

Recognizing the critical role data plays in e ective system planning, the New Orleans Interagency Council on Homelessness (“NOICH”) will immediately create a Data Committee to enchmark and mea-sure progress on the Ten-Year Plan. Critical partners on the Data Committee will include UNITY, thelead agency responsi le or the Homeless Management In ormation Systems (HMIS), and VIA Link, theagency that manages the HMIS.

HMIS provides or longitudinal data on all persons accessing the homeless assistance system. Thesystem can e used to generate unduplicated counts o clients served, in ormation on how clients en-ter and e it the system, and measure the per ormance o the system in moving clients into permanent

housing. The e pected outcome rom the work o this Committee is to manage the development andoversight o a per ormance management plan to ensure that the entire community can measure oththe impact o singular programs and the system as a whole. To success ully accomplish this goal, theCommittee will need to develop a data quality management and training plan to ensure all providers re-alize the importance and value o having accurate, relia le data rom which to enchmark and measureprogress in ending homelessness.

A long-term goal o the Ten-Year Plan is or the City and UNIT Y to utilize results rom this per ormancemeasurement system to determine successes and address needed changes in the Ten-Year Plan to EndHomelessness. The types o measures necessary to in orm plan implementation and progress include:

• Availability and quantity of housing stock

• Capacity of CoC member service providers

• Gaps in housing and service resources

• Quality of services provided (via standardized evaluation measures)

• Fluctuation of Point in Time count over the Ten-Year Plan

• Program performance of key Ten-Year Plan initiatives




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speCi iC populatioNs

y h

DATA

• In 2010, 950 unaccompanied youth were served by New Orleans homeless service providers.

FACTS• A “youth” is considered “any person under the age of eighteen who presents for services alone.” 17

• More likely than their peers to suffer with untreated mental illness, be sexually assaulted ore ploited, e perience partner violence, and ecome victims o violent crime. 18

• Often eeing turbulent and abusive home environments, many have a long history of physical

and emotional neglect.

NEEDS• Mental health treatment, abuse screenings, reengagement in educational endeavors,

jo training, and li e skills education.

• Additional housing.

ACTION• Develop proactive intervention programs that work closely with the public school systems to

prevent vulnera le children rom ecoming homeless youth.

• Develop diversion programs for youth that have recently become homeless, or those at immi -nent risk who are living in temporary housing situations.

• Expand employment opportunities for youth through the development of apprenticeship opportuni -ties and mentorship programs in partnership with the New Orleans usiness community.

• Establish a one-stop shop that provides wraparound health, employment, education and case management services in a sa e environment or unaccompanied youth population.

• Build additional housing capacity for youth within the homeless system.

• Develop effective discharge planning to prevent youth exiting foster care or the juvenile justice system rom eing discharged into homelessness.

The sta here at Covenant House have had a bigimpact on my li e, and i I hadn’t come here,I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d be doingwith my li e.

P h o t o b y

H i l a r y D u

f f y




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y h &

DATA

• According to 2010 HMIS data, 7,555 persons in families were served by New Orleans area

homeless service providers, including 3,118 children.

FACTS• Many families are the working poor.

• Most were living in rental housing prior to becoming homeless.

• Majority are African American.

NEEDS• Services designed to address the multi-systemic needs of a family (i.e. children’s services,

educational, medical, health care).

ACTION

• House 98 persons from PIT survey that were found in places not meant for humanha itation.

• Strengthen central intake facilities for families so they may access a variety of servicesquickly and e ectively.

• Target outreach to identify homeless families and families at risk of homelessness, including

outreach e orts to schools, churches and aith- ased organizations, hospitals, and main-stream service delivery entities (e.g. Medicaid/Medicare, SNAP (“ ood stamp”) o ces, andchild support en orcement agencies).

• Work with UNITY and the homeless service providers to link job readiness and workforce

development programs or heads o household.

• Work with family agencies to engage them in efforts to plan for and address needs of homeless amilies.

n t s v g

I realize the value o my education. I haveenrolled in school to get my GED. Then I

plan on getting a license or a CNA. I want

to be a nurse. New Orleans Women’s Shelter (NOWS) is working with me to develop a

plan to secure childcare, employment, my education and housing. When I learn to manage the above I believe I will be able to end homelessness or me and my children.




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Ch n c H

DATA

• 4,064 chronically homeless individuals were served in 2010.

FACTS

• New Orleans has almost double the number of chronic homeless as is reported nationally.

They tend to e an older population; with most alling in 45-61 years o age range; twothirds o them are males; 79 percent have a disa ility – medical, physical, or psychiatric.

NEEDS

• Low barrier shelters, permanent supportive housing, access to medical and psychiatric care.

ACTION

• Increase outreach efforts via the Downtown/Home Partnership and homeless serviceproviders.

• Promote easier access to services via a centralized intake system.

• Promote consistently high quality of services by monitoring services and developing

Standards o Care.

• Increase housing stock to allow for the types of shelters and permanent housing needs forthis population.

• Promote and facilitate the linkage of Medicaid funded mental health providers with housing providers.




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Timelines: All initiatives descri ed in this plan will e launched within the rst year.Implementation will e ongoing over the course o the Ten-Year Plan, withprogrammed and as-needed evaluation taking place over the course o Planimplementation. There will e a structured evaluation initiative occurring dur-

ing the nal year o the ten-year timeline.

As delineated previously, the ollowing timelines will e accomplished:

• Veteran homelessness ended within 5 years

• Chronic homelessness ended within 10 years

• Family homelessness ended within 10 years

Guiding Principles:• C t y r t– Develop programs and strategies or reducing

homelessness that consider the cultural conte t o homeless constituentsthe plan is designed to support.

• T p t c & h g – be mind ul o the therapeutic concerns(i.e. trauma history, amily o origin, mental health conditions) o homelessconstituents and provide appropriate consideration to creating avenues or recovery and healing rom those concerns

• D t D – Policy recommendations will e in ormed y data andany new programming will e solutions oriented and tied to measura leoutcomes.

tHe plaNACTION ITEMS SUMMARY




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iNCrease available HousiNgaCTiOn iTem 1: Increase production and use o housing options or the homeless through Housing

First principles. The ollowing chart represents the additional housing stock that wille developed over the course o Plan implementation:

aCTiOn iTem 2: Increase sa e-haven and low arrier shelters to ensure that all unsheltered home-less have shelter, particularly those who have traditionally een service-resistant.

aCTiOn iTem 3: Increase access to sa e and a orda le rental/su sidized housing. The City willencourage the creation o homeless set-asides in a orda le housing developmentsthroughout the City, oversee implementation o a orda le housing planning char-rettes, and other ongoing e orts to encourage development o a orda le housing.

aCTiOn iTem 4: City will encourage housing developers to pursue Community Acceptance Plans, toinclude Good Neigh or Agreements, with representatives o the neigh orhoods in

which their housing will e located.

address urgeNt issuesaCTiOn iTem 1: Reuse old VA Hospital in downtown New Orleans or innovative, colla orative VA/

City venture to create 24-hour Comprehensive Community Resource Center.

aCTiOn iTem 2: Move all homeless constituents out o a andoned and unsa e housing in colla ora-tion with UNITY o Greater New Orleans and City o New Orleans Department oCode En orcement.

aCTiOn iTem 3: Institute plan to address centralized homeless population in the downtown NewOrleans area in colla oration with Downtown Development District.

Low barrier Shelter 45 eds or 15 units o reorganized TH;20 units 6 units o new shelter


Permanent Housing 516 eds, 172 units

FamilieS

Low barrier Shelter (to include Respite bedsand Working Persons Shelter) 185 eds

Sa e Havens 50 eds


Permanent Housing 2,115 eds

inDiviDualS




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improve staNdards o Care aNd build CapaCityaCTiOn iTem 1: Develop comprehensive Standards o Care protocol that will e adopted and uti-

lized consistently y all homeless service providers delivering services to homelessconstituents.

aCTiOn iTem 2: Improve colla oration, communication, and coordination o services among all pro-

viders delivering services to homeless constituents.

aCTiOn iTem 3: Ensure that programs designed to address the needs o low-income and vulnera lepopulations are in act accessed to serve the needs o homeless constituents (e.g.Medicaid, “Food Stamps,” and Social Security).

aCTiOn iTem 4: Develop trainings which ensure that homeless service providers are in ormed anduy in to this Plan.

aCTiOn iTem 5: Assist homeless service providers in e orts to increase their capacity and stream-line services across agencies so as to ree up capacity that could e utilizedelsewhere.

improve serviCe delivery aNd disCHargeplaNNiNgaCTiOn iTem 1 : Identi y and ll gaps in services to ensure that all populations are receiving consis-

tent and e ective services that address their housing, medical, and nancial needs.

aCTiOn iTem 2: Esta lish and advocate or consistent and e ective discharge plans that preventmainstream systems and institutions rom releasing clients into homelessness.

aCTiOn iTem 3: Ensure the development o targeted homeless outreach e orts to create more e ectiveand streamlined services tailored to the speci c needs o these client populations.

improve ColleCtioN aNd use o dataaCTiOn iTem 1: Identi y data needed to accurately measure per ormance o programs, assess secu-

rity, training and the quality o data presently collected.

aCTiOn iTem 2: Engage all providers o homeless services to utilize consistent data measurementand management protocols rom which to enchmark and measure progress in end-ing homelessness.




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Homeless serviCes workiNg group overviewIn an E ecutive Order dated June 2, 2011, New Orleans Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu created theHomeless Services Working Group. Recognizing that homelessness has ecome a chronic and unre-mitting pro lem or New Orleans, Mayor Landrieu’s e ecutive order charged the Working Group to:

• Review all aspects of homeless services in the City of New Orleans;

• Review the planning processes, policies, and implementation strategies undertaken by home -

less service providers as part o the Continuum o Care;

• Review information about national best practices for homeless services and recommendations

that other organizations may su mit to the Working Group;

• Make nal recommendations to the Mayor regarding a long-term strategic plan for homelessservices in Orleans Parish.

The Working Group – comprised o a cross-section o the community representing the Continuum oCare, usiness, criminal justice, health care, higher education, aith- ased, government, non-pro t,neigh orhood, and philanthropic sectors—worked cooperatively with ederal and state partners inorder to create outcome-driven approaches ased on national est practices in order to est serve the

needs o the homeless and the City.

The Working Group was chaired y Stacy Horn Koch, Director o Homeless Policy. Federal JudgeJay Zainey and Jade brown-Russell, who is an attorney employed y Harrah’s, served as Co-Chairs.In 2004, Judge Zainey ounded Project H.E.L.P, which now provides ree legal services to the home-less in New Orleans and 15 other cities. Ms. brown-Russell is the chair o the Downtown DevelopmentDistrict and a oard mem er o UNITY, which has worked to serve the homeless population in NewOrleans.

Other mem ers include leaders rom UNITY o Greater New Orleans, the lead agency or theContinuum o Care; City Council mem ers and their sta ; the Orleans Parish Sheri ; State and Localadministrative and political leaders; homeless constituents; local nonpro t directors; usiness devel-

opment leaders; aith- ased services representatives; homeless advocates and activists; and many others.

addeNda




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workiNg group membersHipIvye Allen Dottie belletto

Adena boris Cheryl breau

Jade brown-Russell (Co-Chair) Tim Carpenter

Julie Catellier Dr. Re ecca Chaisson

Dooky Chase, III Henry Coa um

Ed Cohn Liza Cowan

David Cros y Dr. Sarah DeLand

Lucas Diaz Dr. Peter Deblieu

Dr. Rochelle Head Dunham Laverne Dunn

Don Erwin Mike Gri n

David bowman Sheri Marlin Gusman

Hon. Stacy Head Je He ert

bill Hines Fr. Henry Hudson

Calvin Johnson Vicki Judice

Martha Kegel Kathy La orde

Ellen Lee Anthony Love

Hon. Cynthia Hedge-Morrell Andreanecia Morris

De ra Morton Lynn Overmann

Angela Patterson Aimee Quirk

Dr. Stephanie Repasky Larry Rivers

Kenneth Rocky Mark Romig

Chie Ronal Serpas bb St. Roman

Toya barnes Teamer Lauri Toups

Laura Tuggle Kurt Weigle

Dr. Andrew Williams Hon. Jay Zainey (Co-Chair)

Luis Zervigon

In addition, representatives rom a num er o homeless service providers rom across the City regularly participated in the Working Group’s meetings and deli erations. Their insight was invalua le.

Finally, a num er o homeless constituents attended regularly. Their perspective was perhaps the mostinfuential as the Working Group shaped the Plan.




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proCessIn a series o si meetings spread out over 100 days, Working Group mem ers and service provid-ers were divided into our standing su committees to address homelessness as it related to: Data;Families, Youth, and Children; Single Individuals; and Veterans. These su committees identi ed clear and concise strategies to ending homelessness or their particular su population and then roughttheir recommendations to the larger group or urther discussion and re nement.

Under the de t assistance o pro essional acilitators provided y the Department o Housing and Ur anDevelopment, the themes and policy priorities identi ed in this document represent the cross-cuttingissues that are o most concern to the homeless population in New Orleans. This report is the ruit otheir la or, and is designed to in orm and guide the Mayor—and the community at large—on how to moste ectively and e ciently tackle the issue o homelessness.

CompreHeNsive list o Homeless serviCesworkiNg group partiCipaNtsClarence Adams, Ozanam InnIvye Allen, Foundation or the Mid-SouthConnie Andry, Catholic Charities

Wayne baquet, Lil Dizzy’s Ca e Toya barnes Teamer, Dillard University Dottie belletto, New Orleans Convention Company Cheri blair, Audu on Institute

Alecia blanchard, Catholic Charities

Edward bonin, Drop-in Center Adena boris, LA Dept. o Children and Family Servicesbrandi bowen, New Orleans Regional AIDS Planning CouncilCheryl breau , HUD

Tyra Johnson brown, City o New Orleans Ayesha buckner, Orleans Parish School boardJamie buth, Southeast LA Veterans Health Care System

Tim Carpenter, Fannie MaeJulie Catellier, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemRe ecca Chaisson, Tulane University School o Social WorkEdgar Chase, Dooky Chase RestaurantCraig Coenson, Metropolitan Human Services DistrictJoseph Constans, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemLiza Cowan, J.P. Morgan ChaseDavid Cros y, First baptist New OrleansPeter Deblieu , Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Sarah Deland, Tulane University Lucas Diaz, City o New Orleansbiaggio DiGiovanni, Ozanam InnLaverne Dunn, Louisiana Department o Education




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Don Erwin, St. Thomas Community Health Center Don Everand, Re uild Center Gregory Favret, Catholic CharitiesDawn Fletcher, New Orleans Women’s Shelter Melinda b. Flynn, ConsultantDerrick Francis, City o New OrleansMichelle Gaiennie, bridge House/Grace House

Lydia Glapion-Days, City o New OrleansLinda Gonzales, New Orleans MissionMichael Gri n, Daughters o Charity

Amanda Guma, State o Louisiana, O ce o Community DevelopmentCli ton Gunderson, Community Mem er Kim Gunderson, Community Mem er Marlin Gusman, Orleans Parish Sheri ’s O ceMelissa Haley, Volunteers o AmericaDarlene Hargrove, City o New OrleansCli ton Harris, VIA LinkDarrin Harris, Ekhaya Youth ProjectJe He ert, City o New Orleans

Felice Hillbill Hines, Jones Walker

Wyatt Hines, Covenant HouseHenry Hudson, Trinity Episcopal ChurchKaren Jackson, Salvation Army

Yolanda Jenkins, New Orleans Police DepartmentMark Johnson, brotherhood, Inc.Calvin Johnson, Metropolitan Human Services DistrictEliza eth Jones, Tulane University

Vickie Judice, UNITY o Greater New OrleansMorris KahnKaryn Kearney, Audu on Institute

Tyrone Keelen, Tulane University Martha Kegel, UNITY o Greater New OrleansJim Kelly, Covenant HouseKathy La orde, Gul Coast Housing Partnershipbar ara Lacen-Keller, City o New Orleans

Andrew Lau er, Gul Coast Housing Partnership William Lavender, City o New OrleansFran Lawless, City o New OrleansFran Ledger, Canavan AssociatesEllen Lee, Greater New Orleans FoundationSteve Loria, belle ReveColleen Lusignan, Fau ourg La ayette Neigh orhood AssociationMary Mangan, Homeless Constituent

Trey Mangum, NO/AIDS Task ForceSarah Marcello, Southeast Louisiana Legal ServicesKaren Martin, Traveler’s AidMike Martyn, Responsi ility HouseSa rina Mays-Montana, City o New OrleansDiana Meyers, St. Anna’s Episcopal Church

Amanda Mills, UNITY o Greater New Orleans




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Andreanecia Morris, Providence Community HousingDe ra Morton, Recovery School DistrictKathleen North, UNITY o Greater New OrleansEric Oleson, Project LazarusJonathan Padgett, VIA Link

Angela Patterson, UNITY o Greater New OrleansElse Pedersen, bridge House

William E. Peters, Jr., Homeless Constituent Aimee Quirk, City o New OrleansGail Ratle , Ozanam InnChaRita Red, City o New Orleans

Valerie Reinhard, UNITY o Greater New OrleansStephanie Repasky, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemJuanita Reynolds, City o New OrleansLarry Rivers, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemDean Ro inson, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemKenneth Rocky, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemJade Russell, Co-Chair Madelyn Cosey Sanchez, City o New Orleans

Glenis Scott, Youth Empowerment ProjectRo ert SevaliaDan Silverman, New Orleans Women’s Shelter Loretta Smith, New Orleans Missionb. b. St. Roman, New Orleans Police Departmentbecky Stallard, The Pro bono Project

Vickie Starks, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemReid Stone, Hero-Farm

Trevor Theunissen, City o New OrleansOliver Thomas, Covenant HouseDon Thompson, Harry Tompson Center Laura Tuggle, Housing Authority o New OrleansCory Turner, Catholic CharitiesNoel Twil eck, NO/AIDS Task ForceMadeline Uddo, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care SystemLilia Valdez-Lindsley, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System

Anthony Vanacore, Homeless Constituent Voris Vigee, Volunteers o America o Greater New OrleansPeter Wa manKurt Weigle, Downtown Development DistrictClarence White, UNITY o Greater New OrleansDonald Wilkerson, E odus House

Andrew Williams, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Patrice Williams, City o New Orleans

Arthur Wilson, Homeless ConstituentJames Young, State o Louisiana, O ce o Community DevelopmentJay Zainey, Co-Chair Luis Zervigon, Crescent Capital Consulting




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best praCtiCes The New Orleans Working Group has taken steps to ensure that our e orts are refective o success ulpractices utilized in other parts o the country. Here are a ew e amples o some programs and modelsthat have inspired the Homeless Services Working Group:

Bosto , m ss c s tts – F d s Tog t• Philanthropic network established solely to harness national philanthropic community to ad -

dress homelessness

• Board composed of leaders from major nonpro t entities – Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,Melville Charita le Trust, Ro ert Wood Johnson Foundation, and many others

C t -S a t o ty o t ho ss

• Executive Director, Mark Baggett Julie, presented at Working Group meeting

• Best practice for plan development, quality assurance, discharge planning standards

Co b s, Oh – Co ty S t Bo d

• Performance measurement

• Accountability and Standards of Care at every level of the CoC

D , Co o do – D ’s ro d ho

• Developed and initiated Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Denver community by 2015

• Served as a model for comprehensive plan development, as well as homeless trust in particular.

D s mo s, io – io i st t t o Co ty a c s

• Project Director Julie Eberbach presented at Working Group Data Subcommittee meeting

• Best practice as related to overhaul and development of HMIS system

m , F o d – m -D d ho ss T st

• Known for excellent standards of care built into their programs


• Discharge planning

m po s, mn – h p Co ty m st P

• Ten-year plan developed in 2006 is one of the strongest best practices for planning process,

their data plan in particular

• Plan addressed broad goals, recommendations, and action steps over a number of serviceareas and issues, and is generally regarded as data-rich

no o k, v g – C ty o no o k O fc to e d ho ss ss

• Director, Sarah Paige Fuller, presented at Working Group Single Individuals Subcommittee

meeting

• As part of their Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, her of ce developed and implementedStandards o Care




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Po t d, Or – O ts d -i

• Focus on youth

• Aim is self-suf ciency

• Meets clients where they are – LGBTQ, mental health services, medical care

w s gto , DC – T Co ty P t s p o t P t o o ho ss ss

• Innovative business – community partnership utilizing Housing First Model to directly impacthomelessness within downtown Washington, D.C.

• Downtown DC Business Improvement District funds Downtown Homeless Services Team com -prised o si clinicians, which has success ully moved over 700 people out o homelessnesssince its inception in 2008


w s gto , DC – DC i t g cy Co c o ho ss ss

• Innovative independent governmental agency for cross-sector collaboration on homeless ser - vices coordination on a local level

• Served as a model for the development of NOICH

w s gto , DC – u t d St t s i t g cy Co c o ho ss ss (“uSiCh”)

• Innovative independent governmental agency for cross-sector collaboration on homeless ser - vices coordination on a ederal level

• Serves as a model for local interagency councils, such as the one established by this Ten-Year Plan.




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glossaryC o c y ho ss – A homeless person with disa ilities living in emergency shelters or placesnot meant or human ha itation or more than a year, or having our or more episodes o such home-lessness in the past 3 years.

hmiS – Homeless Management In ormation Systems – HMIS is a computerized data collection ap-

plication designed to capture client-level in ormation on the characteristics and service needs o adultsand children e periencing homelessness over time.

ho s g F st – An approach to homeless services that is ased on the concept that a homeless individual or household’s rst and primary need is to o tain sta le housing, and that other issues that a ectthe individual or household can and should only e addressed once sta le housing is achieved.

lo B S t – An overnight housing shelter or individuals who are homeless without imposi-tion o identi cation, time limits, or other program requirements.

P t S ppo t ho s g – provides long-term housing with supportive services or homelesspersons with disa ilities. This type o supportive housing ena les special needs populations to live as

independently as possi le in a permanent setting

r p d r - o s g – A newer service o ering that typically provides time limited su sidy to homelessindividuals or amilies who don’t need highly service-enriched interventions, ut are o ten unsheltereddue to jo loss or other e tenuating circumstances.

S h – a orm o supportive housing that serves hard-to-reach homeless persons with severemental illness and other de ilitating ehavioral conditions who are on the street and have een una leor unwilling to participate in housing or supportive services. It is e pected that clients will e reen-gaged with treatment services as they ecome sta ilized and learn to trust service providers.

T s t o ho s g – acilitates the movement o homeless individuals and amilies to permanent

housing. Homeless persons may live in transitional housing or up to 24 months and receive supportiveservices such as childcare, jo training, and home urnishings that help them live more independently.




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aCkNowledgemeNtsMayor Mitchell Landrieu

Working Group Mem ers

Cedric Grant, Deputy Mayor o Facilities, In rastructure & Community Development

bar ara Poppe, Director, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

Anthony Love, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

Nan Roman, National Alliance to End Homelessness

Shaun Donovan, Secretary, Department o Housing & Ur an Development

Mercedes Marquez, Department o Housing & Ur an Development

Mark Johnston, Department o Housing & Ur an Development

Ann Oliva, Department o Housing & Ur an Development, O ce o Special Needs Assistance Programs

Kathleen Se elius, Secretary, Department o Health & Human Services

Charlene LeFauve, Department o Health & Human Services, Co-Occurring & Homeless Activities branch

Eric Shinseki, Secretary, Department o Veteran A airs

Julie Catellier, Department o Veteran A airs, Director, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health CareSystem

Stephanie Repasky, Department o Veteran A airs, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System

Larry Rivers, Department o Veteran A airs, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System

Hilda Solis, Secretary, Department o La or

UNITY o Greater New Orleans

Lakeview Christian Center

KIPP Central City Melinda Flynn

Darlene Mathews

Michelle Hayes

Fran Ledger

Aaron Zagory

Stacy Horn Koch

Sam Joel




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re ereNCes1 United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. “Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to

Prevent and End Homelessness.” 2010. Availa le: http://www.usich.gov 2 Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. “Facts or Figures: Hurricane Katrina Impact.” August

19, 2011. Availa le: http://www.gnocdc.org/Facts or eatures/HurricaneKatrinaImpact/inde .html3 United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. “A out USICH.” Availa le: http://www.usich.

gov/a out_us/. Accessed Septem er 17, 2011.4 District o Colum ia Interagency Council on Homelessness. Accessed Octo er 24, 2011. Availa le:

http://ich.dc.gov/ich/site/de ault.asp5 National Alliance to End Homelessness. “What is Housing First?” Novem er 9, 2006. Availa le:

http://www.endhomelessness.org/content/article/detail/1426 Homelessness Resource E change, Department o Housing and Development. “Calculating Unmet

Need or Homeless Individuals and Families.” Availa le: http://www.hudhre.in o/inde .c m?do=viewResource&ResourceID=705

7 Downtown Emergency Services Shelter, Seattle, WA. “Good Neigh or Agreement Process.” Availa le: http://www.desc.org/crisis_solutions_good_neigh or.html. Accessed Septem er 16,2011.

8 Community Shelter board, Colum us, OH. “Good Neigh or Agreements and Shelter Certi cationStandards.” Availa le: www.cs .org/ les/docs/pu lications/.../e ecutive%20summary%20 nal.doc. Accessed Septem er 16, 2011.

9 People and Participation.net. “Design Charrettes.” Accessed Septem er 24, 2011. Availa le: http:// www.peopleandparticipation.net/display/Methods/Design+Charrettes

10 Mark baggett, Chatham-Savannah Authority or the Homeless. June 16, 2011.11 backer, Thomas E., Howard, Eliza eth A., and Moran, Garrett E. “The Role o E ective Discharge

Planning in Preventing Homelessness.” The Journal o Primary Prevention. 2007. (28):229-243.12 backer, Thomas E., Howard, Eliza eth A., and Moran, Garrett E. “The Role o E ective Discharge

Planning in Preventing Homelessness.” The Journal o Primary Prevention. 2007. (28):229-243.13 Downtown D.C. business Improvement District. “Ending Chronic Homelessness in D.C.: A Uni ed

Strategy”. August 2010. Availa le: http://www.downtowndc.org/reports/leadership-papers#714 National Coalition or Homeless Veterans. “Secretary Shinseki Announces $41.9 Million or Grant and

Per Diem Program.” Octo er 4, 2010. Availa le: http://www.nchv.org/news_article.c m?id=80215 Department o Housing and Ur an Development. Homelessness Resource E change. “Introduction

and Overview o HUD Homeless Programs.” Availa le: http://www.hudhre.in o/inde .c m?do=viewResource&ResourceID=4092&cv=t2&keywords=overview%20o %20hud%20programs&programID=0&esystemID=0&productTypeID=0&resourceTopicID=0& aqTopicID=0& aqSu TopicID=0&date rom=&dateto=& acetParent=& acet=& acetItem=&isFacetSearch=&sessionid=44DbAb62DE9807915EE43359609E4EE2&searchID=137670&searchtype=3&re ererType= annerSrc&listSessionFilter=&listSearchwithin=&resourceinsearch=&resultType=1

16 Department o Housing and Ur an Development. “Let’s Make Everyone Count: Planning or the 2011

Point in Time Count.” Availa le: www.hudhre.in o/documents/PIT_LetsMakeEveryoneCount_12.9.10.pd . Accessed Septem er 16, 2011.

17 Department o Housing and Ur an Development. “Guidance or Counting UnaccompaniedChildren During 2011 Point in Time Counts o Homeless People.” Availa le: www.hudhre.in o/documents/2011PITYouthGuidance.pd . Accessed Septem er 17, 2011.

18 Walsh, Sara M. and Donaldson, Ro in E. “National Sa e Place: Meeting the Needs o Runaway andHomeless Youth.” Journal o Youth and Adolescence. (2010) 39: 437-445.



CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

Mitchell J. Landrieu, Mayor

city of new orleans homeless services working group ten-year plan to end homelessness

Documents