Ending homelessness in Vermont |
Homelessness is growing in our state, especially among working families.
It is estimated that Vermont has 4,000 homeless individuals and families
each year and on any given night 88 Vermont children are sleeping in
a shelter. For more information on who is homeless in Vermont, visit
the Vermont Housing Data Web site.
In response to this, VHFA has become a leader in assisting the state
in homeless policies and program planning. There are two parallel planning
efforts called the:
- Continuums of Care; and the
- Statewide Interagency Council on Homelessness
Continuums of Care
Structure of the continuums
Each region of Vermont has its own Continuum
of Care. Ideally, a Continuum is a partnership of the local service
providers
(Community Action Agencies, Mental Health Providers, homeless
and private health care providers, etc); local resource providers
(Economic Services, Department of Children and Families, private
lenders, etc.); nonprofit and for-profit housing managers; housing
developers; consumers; and any other key local players in the
homelessness or low-income service or housing system.
Together, this collection of partners meets regularly to monitor
the needs in their region and works to streamline local services
and housing.
History of the continuums
Vermont was ahead of its time and created a loose Continuum
system well before HUD recognized the effectiveness of this model
and began requiring communities to band together in this way
in order to apply for homeless funding (McKinney/Vento
Homeless Assistance).
The Chittenden County's Continuum is
large enough to apply for funding on its own, and the rest of
the state has joined together to form one large umbrella "Balance
of State" Continuum that includes representatives from each of
the regional Continuums. Together, the 13 counties outside Chittenden
apply for HUD funding under one application.
 Regional
Continuums of Care
|
Interagency Council on Homelessness
At the federal level there is a U.S.
Interagency Council on Homelessness, which is a collection
of secretaries and department heads from approximately 20
federal agencies, all of which have some involvement in working
with
people who are homeless. The federal government encouraged
states and large communities to replicate this model at the
state level, and create a 10-year plan to end homelessness.
Governor
Douglas created the Vermont Interagency Council on Homelessness
(VICH) by Executive Order in November 2003. This new
entity is comprised of representatives from more than a dozen
state and federal agencies as well as people who serve the
homeless or were formerly homeless themselves.
An organizational chart
of participants (136 KB; PDF) as
well as names
of participants (51 KB; PDF ) is available.
There are other partners who come to meetings and participate,
including the Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Program, Social
Security, and the Vermont
State Housing Authority.
This group meets monthly and has drafted a 60-step
work plan (136 KB; PDF) that hopes to end homelessness
in 10 years. To have an immediate effect, the VICH has chosen
two large-scale activities, and will split into two
teams to focusing their work on:
- Accessing more housing for people who are homeless; and
- Creating a discharge plan for people leaving corrections,
alcohol/drug treatment, state and private hospitals, and
youth leaving foster care.
Contact
a service provider
There are many homeless housing and service providers in each
region of the state.
Search
for homeless providers |
How do the two relate?
The Continuums of Care are responsible for applying for the
approximately $2 million in federal homeless funding available
annually as well as the ongoing responsibilities of running
those programs. The Interagency Council is charged with creating
new and analyzing existing state policies and altering state
funding and programs to respond better to meet the needs of
people who are homeless. There are several individuals, including
VHFA Research/Policy
Analyst Maura Collins, who participate
regularly in both efforts to ensure coordination.
VHFA's role
VHFA started regularly attending both the Chittenden County
and the Balance of State Continuum of Care meetings in August
2003. VHFA's Policy
and Planning Coordinator serves on subcommittees for both
Continuums. This has lead to changes in how VHFA allocates
tax credits to help providers possibly access new units created
through that program.
Recognizing that VHFA has an involvement with all of the state
housing resources and housing managers, VHFA's
Executive Director Sarah Carpenter was named to the Interagency
Council and helped draft the 10-year plan to end homelessness
while in Miami at a HUD-sponsored Policy Academy where invited
states were asked to start this type of work. Staff attends
the VICH meetings regularly and have volunteered to manage
approximately a dozen steps in the work plan.
|
|
