Ending Youth Homelessness in Maryland: Systemic Response Required!

Mindy MitchellDirector, Individual Homeless Adults

Introductions!

Key Questions

• What is an effective systemic response to ending and preventing youth homelessness?

• What are the goals of an effective homeless response system?

• Why do we need a systemic response to youth homelessness, anyway?

• Why does ALL of this need to be done from a Housing First approach?

• What’s YOUR role in your community’s systemic response to youth homelessness?

• But first…. Some history and some MYTHBUSTERS!

Barriers to Systemic Response to Youth Homelessness

ISSUES!- history (40 years!) and

ideological orientations- systems vs.

programmatic approaches

- data, counts, and intervention models

- Coordinated entry- the definition…

OMG, HUD’s Definition of Homeless!

The HUD definition:1. Literally homeless (without

shelter or in shelter or TH)2. Imminently homeless (< 14 days)3. Other definitions (> 14 days;

limited use with HUD $)4. Unsafe situations

Wait, WHY are there differentdefinitions of homelessness?

ELIGIBILITY, not definitions…

WHAT IS AN EFFECTIVE HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM?

An Effective Homeless Response System Means…

Having a local homeless response system (Continuum of Care) that uses

a coordinated and Housing First approach to solving homelessness so that if a young person is about to become homeless or is already homeless, she can be identified,

kept safe, and then quickly moved back into housing.

What is a system?• Inter-dependent parts• Doing different things• Working together• With a defined set of

resources and practices• To achieve a common

goal

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Effective Homeless Response System: GOAL

House youngpeople as quickly as possible andprevent youngpeople from imminent homelessness whenever possible

Photo Credit: The Daily Dot

Use a systemic approach to align programs and resources across your community in a

coordinated way around the common goal

Effective Homeless Response System:APPROACH

A Systemic Approach: Why?• Early approaches to had siloed programs working separately to manage the problem of youth homelessness

• Programs were not coordinated with each other and tried to individually meet the needs of the young people who showed up at their door (and were lucky enough to get into their programs)

A Systemic Approach: Why?A systemic approach:

•aims to end youth homelessness•significantly reduces the number of youth experiencing homelessness

•improves community-level performance outcomes

•uses funding more efficiently•improves “system flow”

A Systemic Approach: Why?

• Communities with the best results have an intense and coordinated focus on housing young people as quickly as possible

• A systemic, Housing First approach - helping a homeless young person move into housing, AND THEN providing other help once she is housed -has proven to get good results at less cost

Effective Homeless Response System: Endgame on Youth Homelessness Young people in a housing crisis have access to

immediate problem-solving assistance, including a safe place to go

Young people are not unsheltered

Young people do not spend long periods of time homeless

Young people exiting homelessness do not quickly cycle back into homelessnessYouth homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time!

Effective Homeless Response System: Performance Outcomes

•Reduce in-flow into homelessness

• Increase exits to permanent housing

•Decrease average length of homelessness

•Decrease returns to homelessness

Prevention!

Diversion!

Housing-focused problem-solving!

Flexible financial assistance!

RapidRe-Housing!

PSH!

Housing vouchers!

Case Management!

Benefits connections!

Employment services!

Healthcare!

Temporary shelter/housing!

Effective Homeless Response System: Increase System Flow

System Flow:An efficient and coordinated process that moves young people from homelessness to housing as quickly as possible

• No diversion strategy in place

• Unchanging or increasing number of unsheltered people• Waitlists for shelter

• Long lengths of stay in shelter (more than 30 days)

• High percentage of exits from shelters to homelessness

• Average length of homelessness is not decreasing

• In-flow into homelessness is steady or increasing

• Long waitlists for RRH and PSH (long CES wait list)

• Significant amount of people aren’t getting any assistance

• Programs are not connected to coordinated entry with many “side doors”

Poor System Flow = STUCK!

Add shelter capacity

Add RRH capacity

Elements of an Effective Homeless Response System With Good System Flow

• Housing First approach across the system• Prevent imminent homelessness • Rapid identification and engagement of youth

experiencing homelessness to connect them to crisis services and housing assistance

• Quick, accessible, low-barrier pathways to shelter and other crisis services with short stays in shelter

• Rapid connection to permanent housing for all sheltered and unsheltered young people

• Coordinated way to access and exit the homeless system (Coordinated Entry)

Aligning Parts of the Homeless Response System To Improve System Flow

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INVESTING AND REALLOCATING RESOURCES TO GET BETTER COMMUNITY OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH IN MARYLAND

Homelessness in Maryland

How to Invest Resources to Get Better System Outcomes: Considerations• How is your local system performing?

• How is your program performing in relation to the system’s goals?

• What problem do you want your dollars solve?

• What does the data tell you about gaps in resources and where should you make investments?

• What are the most effective ways to achieve that goal? (It may not be what you think!)

• What are the consequences across the system of your agency’s funding decision?

Example:If the problem you wanted to address with new resources is unsheltered youth homelessness…

What would be the impact of the following investments on system flow?

• Adding System-wide Diversion• Adding Emergency Shelter Beds• Adding Rapid Re-housing• Adding Permanent Supportive Housing

What would be the systemwide and lasting impacts of that investment?

• What are the consequences of that investment across the system?

• Expanding diversion frees up shelter capacity• Expanding shelter results in more sheltered people

• WITHOUT investments in housing exit strategies there will be no overall reduction in homelessness

• Expanding RRH expedites outflow from shelter and reduces strain on shelter capacity

• Needs strong housing identification and housing stabilization services• Expanding PSH reduces portion of chronic population “stuck” in

homelessness • BUT there may be no discernable impact in later years without

investments in addressing inflow into homelessness

Right-Sizing Our System

Consider how our current resources are being utilized…

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

HomelessIndivs

ES/TH RRH HomelessFams

ES/TH RRH

UNITED STATESTemporary Housing Capacity vs. RRH Capacity

Consider How Current Resources Are Being Utilized …

Consider How Current Resources Are Being Utilized …

Consider How Current Resources Are Being Utilized …

Consider How Current Resources Are Being Utilized …

Consider How Current Resources Are Being Utilized …

But for youth…

Sheltered65%

Unsheltered35%

35% OF UNACCOMPANIED HOMELESS YOUTH ARE UNSHELTERED

UNITED STATES MARYLAND

Consider How Current Resources Are Being Utilized …• If you make investments without considering how it

impacts the system...

SYSTEM-WIDE HOUSING FIRST FOR YOUTH

Elements of an EffectiveSystemic Response

Housing First Orientation

Coordinated Entry that includes outreach, diversion, and prioritization

Emergency/Crisis Housing and Crisis Services

Quick Return to Housing with Rapid Re-Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, and

Maintream Housing Options

Access to Stabilization Supports

Housing First

Housing First is a homeless assistance approach that

prioritizes providing permanent housing to young people

who are homeless as quickly as possible and connects

them to supports necessary to sustain that housing

Housing FirstHOUSING FIRST IS NOT HOUSING FIRST ISJust one type of program (not just PSH) A system-wide philosophical approach to

many types of homeless assistance interventions

One-size fits all A philosophy that values flexibility, individualized supports, client choice, and autonomy

Housing only Supportive services that people choose for themselves are a critical part of a Housing First approach

Setting people up for failure The provision of a foundation of stability and health through permanent housing

A way to prioritize one population over another

A way to provide a housing intervention for everyone regardless of the severity of their needs

Shifting to Housing First• Traditional approach = "housing

ready"• *Everyone* is ready for housing;

regardless of complexity/severity of needs

• Homelessness is a housingproblem

• Issues can best be addressed once people are permanently housed

• Few to no pre-requisites to permanent housing

• Standard leases like anyone else in the community

• CLIENT'S housing, no program-defined time to leave

• Services are voluntary

Power Dynamics

Housing First Philosophy Shift• Shifts the power dynamic from

provider to young person:– I literally have the power to decide

if you get one juice box or two. (Rivianna Hyatt, TCU, on her experience as an outreach worker)

• Shifts away from paternalism/adultism:– Our job is not to parent or “raise”

youth, it’s to accompany them. (Derek Wentorf, CSH)

• Shifts the burden for engagement to the provider:– If you make it engaging they will

engage. (Robin Meyer, NW Youth Services)

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN IMPROVING SYSTEMIC OUTCOMES?

What is Your Role in Improving Outcomes?• What is the role of your

program/funding in improving your homelessness system’s outcomes?

• Preventing youth from becoming homeless

• Diverting youth from homelessness

• Providing low-barrier and housing-focused crisis services/temporary shelter

• Housing young people (quickly!)• Stabilizing young people in housing

Thank you!Happy Symposium!