|
In This Issue
The AHP Connects with Clients
Open Door/Next Door’s Residence Program for Working People underway
HRI Invites Landlords to Coffee
Public Housing Commission Remodels Home for Chronically Homeless
The AHP has a website!
Oakland House: A new face for the County Overnight Shelter
Portage to Receive New Housing Project
City of Kalamazoo and AHP partner to provide seamless services
Racism Summit draws attention to issues of equality
Important Dates
For details, please contact Michelle Schneider.
July
7-8-09: CST
7-14-09: COE
7-16-09: LT
7-21-09: Data
August
8-5-09: RAHD
8-11-09: COE
September
9-2-09: RAHD
9-8-09: COE
9-9-09: CST
9-17-09: LT
LISC AHP Team Co-Chairs
AHP Chair
Ellen Kisinger-Rothi
Community Outreach and Engagement (COE)
Tobi Hanna-Davies
Pastor Milton Wells
Community Services Team (CST)
Mike Childress
Peggy Gagen
Data Team
Molly Petersen
Annie Wendt
Resource and Housing Development (RAHD)
David Artley
Vicki Georgeau
Cindy Graham
Contact Us
If you have an event, accomplishment, or discussion of best practices that you would like to be highlighted in this quarterly newsletter or know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, please contact Michelle Schneider at:
mschneider@lisc.org
269-343-5472 x 6 |
The AHP Connects with Clients
On June 10, 2009 State Farm Insurance and the LISC AHP presented the first annual Project Homeless Connect event in Kalamazoo County at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.
At the end of the day, 308 clients had received lunch and
204 households (comprised of 279 people) had received at least one of the many services that were offered during the day. Thanks to the 170 volunteers and 49 organizations that participated in Project Homeless Connect (PHC), an overwhelmingly positive day was had by the clients of PHC. According to exit surveys taken by the clients, the event was rated a 4.4 out of 5 and 98 percent of the clients felt they were treated with respect and dignity.
What happened at the event? The following is a list of the services that were provided:
64 birth certificates/IDs
17 legal aid screenings
45 massages
9 kids in daycare
52 dental screenings/ 50 dental work vouchers
16 kids fingerprinted
63 cholesterol tests
34 depression screenings
34 job bank Q & A discussions
82 blood pressure tests
71 blood sugar tests
91 haircuts
70 housing Q & A discussions
21 DHS applications
2 child development screenings
17 GED enrollments
4 Headstart applications
24 hearing screenings
7 veterans services
6 optical health screenings
25 county health plan Q & A discussions
45 Kalamazoo Public Library program
10 kids met with the homeless liaison
There has been an extensive evaluation process following the event, including surveys of the clients, volunteers, vendors, and a debriefing meeting. From these evaluations the planning team can make some important enhancements for next year’s event.
A sample of the items learned includes:
- The longest average wait time for a service was for back massages (more vendors will be recruited for the next event)
- The most requested service was for adult vision screenings
- Demand for most services peaked right before lunch
- Adjustments need to be made to the lunch ticket process
- Clients found haircuts and housing services to be the two most valuable services at the event.
- Adjustments will be made to the communications plan.
- A survey will be taken of clients to determine the ideal time and month to host the next event.
The LISC AHP would like to thank the following for their donations: State Farm Insurance, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Family Health Center, Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Open Door/Next Door, Hairmasters, and Coldstone Creamery, as well as all of the agencies and individuals who gave of their time and resources.
Photo: Services being provided at Project Homeless Connect
Open Door/Next Door’s Residence Program for Working People Expanding
Open Door/Next Door Shelters is expanding its workforce housing program. With the help of HomeAid Michigan and a number of other partners, 19 permanent supportive housing units will be added to the community through Open Door/Next Door’s Residence Program for Working People. This expansion brings the total number of units in the program to 44.
Open Door/Next Door found that many of the individuals who completed their initial homeless program could not find housing despite saving money for a security deposit and first month’s rent. As a result, this program was designed to provide a permanent housing option for workers in low wage jobs. Depending on the size of the unit, program fees are 14 to 27 percent of minimum wage monthly earnings for a person working full time, which equates to $180 to $350 per month.
Photo: “Queenie” entering her new home.
HRI Invites Landlords to Coffee
A new initiative by Housing Resources, Inc takes a casual approach to getting to know landlords and provide information about HRI resources available to them. A coffee hour was held from 8-10am at
HRI on May 14, 2009 with HRI staff. A variety of topics were covered including Lead-based paint disclosure, marketing vacant units and helpful landlord resources available in our community. Events for Landlords are held several times a year and the next one is September 24th from 8:30-10:30 at HRI on Alcott. The Community Action Agency staff will join HRI to present information about weatherization resources. Any landlords interested in knowing more about HRI services are encouraged to call Angela Easterday, Landlord Liaison at HRI at 382-0287 ext 110.
In addition to these efforts, every Wednesday at HRI, there will be an Open Housing Hour from 4-5pm. There will be housing specialists available to assist clients with housing search options as well as provide general housing and service information to tenants and landlords; no RSVP is necessary.
Public Housing Commission Remodels Property for Chronically Homeless
The Public Housing Authority has begun the remodeling of a home for the Chronically Homeless on Elm Street. This facility will have room for ten individuals plus an on-site resident manager. The property, which will open in the fall, will be targeted at the chronically homeless and hardest to serve.
The AHP just released its website to the community. The website address is www.kalamazooahp.org. Please review the content and please add the AHP as a link from your agency’s website.
Content on the website includes a data section, information about the AHP structure and Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, our accomplishments to date, a calendar of meetings, current membership, information on the speaker’s bureau, and an area to post information about current funding opportunities.
Oakland House: A new face for the County Overnight Shelter
The County Overnight Shelter has new management, Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. In addition to the new management, the shelter has a new home: 1207 Oakland Drive.
The shelter, now called Oakland House serves single adults and has a capacity of 14 people.
KNHS Rescues Families From Foreclosure
KNHS has undertaken a pilot program to create and administer a Foreclosure Rescue Fund. The Rescue Fund will be used to provide
small grants to individual households for the purpose of curing mortgage arrearages or making other forbearance payments. This money will aid households that normally have the ability to pay their mortgage, but due to unforeseen circumstances (such as medical expenses or a temporary loss of income) have fallen behind in their payments and are, therefore, at in risk of foreclosure.
Individual grants to homeowners will not exceed $3,000 and homeowners must reside in one of the following neighborhoods to qualify for a grant: Eastside, Edison, or Northside.
KNHS anticipates that the Rescue Fund will assist 35 or more homeowners to avoid foreclosure and intends to disburse the funds within a 12 month window.
Funding for the Rescue Fund was made available through KNHS’ partnership with the City of Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.
Portage to Receive New Housing Project
A new housing project has begun construction in Portage. The development, to be called Gladys Street housing is being developed through the HUD Section 811 program and will be targeted to persons with severe mental illnesses.
The project will have the capacity for 11 people and will be open for occupancy in Winter, 2009.
City of Kalamazoo and AHP partner to provide seamless services.
Kalamazoo County will be a recipient of Housing Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Together, the City of Kalamazoo and the AHP are slated to receive $1,150,859 over the course of two years.
These funds are specifically designated for Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing. Funds can be spent in either of these two categories on financial assistance or housing relocation and stabilization services. A limited amount of the funding can be used for administration and HMIS expenses.
The City of Kalamazoo and the AHP have worked collaboratively to establish a cohesive system by jointly selecting Housing Resources, Inc to serve as the Lead Agency for the funding. This will allow for clients to access funding and services through a Housing Resource Center model. Eligible clients will be served on a first come, first served basis.
Racism Summit Draws Attention to Issues of Equality
Kalamazoo’s Summit on Racism Annual Community Conference is
scheduled for Thursday, September 10, 2009 from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Fetzer Center, on the campus of Western Michigan University and will feature Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, President of Spelman College. Dr. Tatum is a scholar, teacher, author, administrator and race relations expert. She has toured extensively, leading workshops on racial identity development and its impact in the classroom. In her critically acclaimed book, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”, she applies her expertise on race to argue that straight talk about racial identity is essential.
Kalamazoo’s Summit on Racism Annual Community Conference is free of charge. For more information and to RSVP for the event, contact Ellen Cynar at (269) 345-5595 or ekcynar@ywcakalamazoo.org. |
