SOCAHOC Housing Community ForumCreating Healthy and Sustainable Communities

ORANGE COUNTY UNITED WAYEstablished in 1924 as Santa Ana Community Chest1960s: Seventeen independent United Ways and

United Funds in Orange County begin to merge1984: All local United Ways merged into one entity: Orange County United WayMission: To improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of Orange County to strengthen OUR community

UNITED WAY’S EVOLUTION…FROM

Supporting a Family of AgenciesTO

Supporting Needed Programs Based on Community Assessment and Program Outcomes

TO

Mobilizing to Change Community Conditions

BACKGROUND With our Board’s endorsement, United Way engaged

in a strategic planning process beginning in May 2012 Four Board-level Committees were established

focused on: Education, Income, Health and Housing A 6-month Committee and community stakeholder

engagement process was held Look at other successful national models developed

by United Way organizations

UNIQUE AND EXPANDED ROLES

FUND innovative and effective programsADVOCATE for program and policy improvementCOLLABORATE to create Collective ImpactEDUCATE the broader Orange County community

FACE 2024 GUIDING PRINCIPLES1. Education, Income, Health & Housing are all

Inextricably Intertwined2. Focus on Children and Families3. Improve Family Self-Sufficiency4. Emphasize Prevention and Early Intervention5. Build Public Awareness6. Long-Term Commitment

Our Aspiration:Ensure that every Orange County youth receives a high quality and relevant education

10-Year Goal:Cut the high school dropout rate in half (from 9.5% to 5%)

EDUCATION INCOME Our Aspiration:Ensure local families have the capability to become financially stable

10-Year Goal:Cut the % of financially unstable families by 25%

Our Aspiration: Ensure the next generation in Orange County is the healthiest in the nation

10-Year Goal: Increase by 1/3 the # of healthy youth in Orange County

HEALTH HOUSING Our Aspiration: Eliminate homelessness for children and their families

10-Year Goal:Cut the % of homeless and housing insecure children in half

POVERTY IN ORANGE COUNTYOfficial Poverty Measure 12.8%California Poverty Measure 24.3%*

As calculated for Orange County by Stanford and Public Policy Institute of California

EDUCATIONOver 4,000 students drop out of high school each year

By 2018, 60% of jobs will require post secondary education

ECONOMIC IMPACTCompared to a high school dropout, a single high school graduate yields a public benefit of over $200,000 in lower government spending and higher tax revenues

Over 4,000 Orange County high school students will drop out this year

Fiscal impact: $800 Million!

INCOMEMore than 300,000 or 11.7% below the “Official” Poverty Level

Largest employment growth in the lower wage industries (e.g. hotel, restaurant and healthcare clusters)

HEALTH226,000 residents are “food insecure”

More than 1/3 of our youth are overweight or obese

1 of every 6 Orange County residents is uninsured (as of 11/13)

HOUSINGMore than 12,700 face homelessness annually, and on any given night, almost 4,300 people are homeless

Over 1,300 children live in motelsOver 30,542 students are considered homeless or housing insecure

Affording a one bedroom apartment on minimum wage would require 124 hours of work per week

HOUSING- LOCAL 211 CALLERS WITHIN 1 YEARNearly 400 Veterans seeking housing5,211 people seeking transitional housing sheltersNearly 5,000 requests for rental payment assistance1,800+ requests for motel vouchers1600+ seeking cold weather shelters 4,000+ in need of utilities payment assistance

WHO NEEDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING?Recent College GraduatesTeachersConstruction workersPolice and FirefightersNurses and Medical and Dental AssistantsReceptionistsFood Service PersonnelSmall Business Owners

IMPACT OF HOMELESS & HOUSING INSECURITYHome ownership is unattainable for nearly 1/2 of Orange County households

High housing costs mean fewer resources are available for things like food, medical care, education or childcare

Being forced into double and triple occupancies, leads to high-stress living situations, affecting health, safety and children’s school work

HOUSING SOLUTIONS“Rapid re-housing” strategy moves people into permanent housing as quickly as possible and improves access to affordable, permanent housing, lessens the burden on shelters and helps residents retain their dignity

Affordable apartment housing, defined as spending 30% or less of total income on rent

FUNDING GOALS & STRATEGIES Act as an Independent Backbone

Organization Coordinated Assessment & Centralized

Intake System Hire a Housing Resource Specialist Support Rapid Re-Housing Programs Support Homelessness Prevention

ADVOCACY GOALS & STRATEGIES Support housing policies to end homelessness and

increase affordable housing Develop affordable housing advocacy plan with local

advocacy groups Establishing partnerships with local public

housing authorities to allocate housing choice vouchers

Work with apartment associations and communities to endorse Rapid-Re-housing

COLLABORATION GOALS & STRATEGIES Work with partners to problem solve on

affordability and availability of housing inventory Convene a coalition of stakeholders to support 10-

year housing goal Evaluate homeless data to ensure

efficient and effective service delivery and development of a Coordinated Assessment & Centralized Intake

EDUCATION GOALS & STRATEGIES Commission a cost study/countywide report on the

cost of homelessness Develop volunteer engagement opportunities to

educate corporate partners Provide technical assistance for retooling/

repurposing transitional housing stock to permanent supportive housing or Rapid

Re-Housing

CREATE HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

United Way’s focus is to provide leadership and funding to drive collective impact on family homelessness and affordable housing solutions in Orange County

COLLECTIVE IMPACT: UNITING AROUND A COMMON GOAL Communities working together to solve problems Structured form of collaboration Coordinate efforts to work toward a defined goal Cross-sector coalition are required to make

meaningful changes

5 CONDITIONS OF COLLECTIVE IMPACT

COLLECTIVE IMPACT IS WORKINGShape Up Somerville, MA significantly reduced childhood obesity within 3 years So. Urban Seattle is on track to double the number of students on track to graduate with a postsecondary degree or credential by 2020Franklin County, MA reduced substance abuse alcohol (37%) Marijuana (31%) for teens in 30 townsUnited Ways across the country are using the model

THANK YOU!