www.unitygno.org1 unity of greater new orleans a collaborative of 60 agencies working to end...

www.unitygno.org 1

UNITYof Greater New Orleans

A Collaborative of 60 Agencies Working to End HomelessnessBringing New Orleans Home

New Orleans City Council

Housing and Human Needs Committee

August 20, 2007

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UNITY of Greater New Orleans

Who are we?

• An award-winning collaborative founded in 1992

• 60 nonprofit and government agencies working to prevent, reduce and end homelessness

• Provide both housing and services

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• Secure $12 million annually in competitive HUD funds

• Distribute funds to 50 agencies in Orleans and Jefferson; train their staffs

• Oversee work of 100 subcontracts

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Provide two basic types of housing:• Permanent Supportive Housing• Transitional Housing

HUD Continuum of Care funds can be used to fund services in emergency shelters, but not the construction or operating costs of emergency shelters.

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• Provide a wide variety of services:

– Outreach, housing search assistance, case management, employment search assistance, substance addiction treatment, mental health services, medical care, legal services, child care

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• UNITY requires the following performance from the agencies it funds:– At least 63% of transitional housing clients

move to permanent housing– At least 80% of Permanent Supportive Housing

clients stay stably housed for at least seven months

– At least 20% -30% of clients must be employed upon discharge from program

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Who receives funding?

• 40 agencies receive UNITY Continuum of Care Funds

• 16 agencies receive UNITY Housing Repair Funds

• 11 agencies receive UNITY Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Funds

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Unity of Greater New Orleans

Continuum of Care Funds• Armstrong Family Services

• Bridge House

• Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans

• Concerned Citizens for a Better Algiers – Home Again

• Covenant House

• Daughters of Charity Health Services

• First Evangelist Housing and Community Development Corporation

• Galilee Community Development Corporation

• Gateway

• Goodwill Industries

• Hope House

• Harry Tompson Center

• Healthcare for the Homeless

• House of Ruth

• Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority

• Last Hope

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Unity of Greater New Orleans

Continuum of Care Funds• Lindy’s Place

• Living Witness

• Louisiana Public Health Institute

• Loyola Law Clinic

• McCaleb Educational Foundation

• National Council of Negro Women

• New Orleans Mission

• New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation

• New Orleans Pro Bono Project

• NO/AIDS Task Force

• Odyssey House

• Ozanam Inn

• Project Lazarus

• Resources for Human Development

• Responsibility House

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Continuum of Care Funds• Salvation Army

• Southeast Louisiana Legal Services

• St. Vincent DePaul Society

• Travelers Aid Society

• Tulane University Hospital Dept. of Pediatrics

• Volunteers of America

• UNITY of Greater New Orleans

• VIA LINK

• Salvation Army

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Housing Repair Funds• Belle Reve

• Catholic Charities

• Community Christian Concern

• Home Again

• Hope House

• Living Witness

• Lovetouch Ministries, Inc.

• McCaleb Educational Fund

• National Council of Negro Women

• New Orleans Mission

• Odyssey House

• Ozanam Inn

• Project Lazarus

• Responsibility House

• Volunteers of America

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Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing funds

• Alternatives Living

• Catholic Charities

• Community Care Center

• Community Service Center

• Covenant House

• Desire Community Housing

• Hope House

• House of Ruth

• In This Together

• New Hope

• Total Community Action

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The current situation for people who are homeless or threatened

with homelessness

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• Estimated double the rate of homelessness in Orleans and Jefferson post-K

• Now estimated at 12,000 homeless persons

• Living in abandoned buildings, on streets, in cars, in homeless housing

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• Thousands more doubled-up with family and friends

• We’re seeing a whole new population of homeless persons

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• While moderating, rents remain high– 2-bedroom apartment now rents for

$978/month, up from $676 in 2005**

• Affordable housing in short supply

**Fair Market Rents, as cited in The New Orleans Index, Second Anniversary Special Edition, from The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program and Greater New Orleans Community Data Center

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Pre-Katrina:

• UNITY Collaborative housed 2,788 people in permanent, transitional and emergency housing– 940 in Permanent Supportive Housing– 1,011 in transitional housing– 837 in emergency shelters

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Five months after Katrina:

• 484 beds for Permanent Supportive Housing – 51% of pre-K

• 629 beds for transitional housing – 62 % of pre-K

• 180 beds for emergency shelters – 22% of pre-K

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Current overall collaborative capacity is

64% of pre-K

• Can now serve 1,772 people– 818 in PSH – 87% of pre-K– 719 in transitional housing – 71% of pre-K– 254 in emergency shelters – 30% of pre-K

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• In the past year, UNITY collaborative has provided housing and services to more than 6,700 individuals and families

• Beds/spots in service programs are filled as soon as vacated

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Current initiatives

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Rapid Re-housing and Homeless Prevention Hurricane Recovery Program

• Contracting with La. Dept. of Social Services to provide Road Home $$ for homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing help in Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines

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Rapid Re-housing and Homeless Prevention• $3.8 million to go to 11 agencies – helping

more than 1,500 households• Types of help -- rent assistance, utility

assistance and supportive services for people/families at risk of homelessness within 30 days

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Ten-year plan to end chronic homelessness

• Working with City’s Office of Planning and Development

• Focus on creating Permanent Supportive Housing as the evidence-based practice to end city’s chronic homelessness problem

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Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Hurricane Recovery Initiative

• Worked with Louisiana Recovery Authority to set goal of 3,000 PSH apartments (including bricks/mortar, rent subsidies, and services linked to the apartments) in Road Home Plan

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Permanent Supportive Housing development• Working with Common Ground Community –

nation’s largest developer of supportive housing – previously identified by City of New Orleans and Downtown Development District as the national model for ending homelessness to replicate in New Orleans

• Two Rockefeller/Univ. of Penn. fellows will staff Common Ground Institute for UNITY of Greater New Orleans

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Permanent Supportive Housing development

• Work with UNITY Nonprofit Supportive Housing Developers Working Group to identify & acquire sites, work with architects, apply for funding, oversee rehab/construction, train local nonprofits on supportive housing property management

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• Idea-- housing that serves both disabled homeless people and the low-wage workers vital to the New Orleans economy

• Model values integration, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, high-quality on-site services, high architectural quality, stabilization of surrounding neighborhood

• Goal is to develop 500 units city-wide

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UNITY Welcome Home

• Outreach, housing search and placement model – “Housing First” best practice modeled after Philadelphia & San Francisco street outreach

• Works to end street homelessness

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UNITY Welcome Home

• $$ used for placement in UNITY collaborative housing, rent assistance, security deposits, furnishings, hotel vouchers as emergency shelter

• Funded by HUD and Katrina Aid today

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www.unityhousinglink.org• Web-based affordable rental housing

database available to the public• Landlords agree to rent at no more than

80% of FMR• Typically at least 500 listings at a time• Co-sponsored by Apartment Association of

Greater New Orleans

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Critical Policy and Funding Challenges on the Horizon

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Key funding requests for Congress and State

• 3,000 Permanent Supportive Housing vouchers for persons with disabilities or otherwise vulnerable

• $10 million for rental assistance

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• More GO Zone Low Income Housing Tax Credits to fully fund the recovery by repairing New Orleans’ rental housing stock

• Full funding for Road Home program homeownership program so that all homeowners – including those who are low-income – can repair their homes

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Permanent Supportive Housing Voucher funding

• Need Congress to appropriate funds for 3,000 vouchers in Fall 2007

• Crucial last piece – have $$ for bricks and mortar, services

• Chance to help most vulnerable

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• Proven best practice – Permanent Supportive Housing works, and is cost-effective

• Louisiana can be a national leader

• Need the City Council’s support!

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Equitable housing redevelopment in New Orleans

• Support dialogue with City Council to find best ways to provide affordable, accessible rental housing to help New Orleanians return home

• Exploring ideas that work – pledge to continue

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Naval Support Activity – East Bank

• Working on proposal to use portion of the space to address needs of those facing homelessness

• Will work with neighbors and city leaders

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A Collaborative of 60 Agencies Working to End HomelessnessBringing New Orleans Home

504-821-4496

www.unitygno.org

www.unitygno.org1 unity of greater new orleans a collaborative of 60 agencies working to end...

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