9978-09 Appropriating $2,463,435 from Community Development (Fund 212), defraying expenses of CED

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St. Joseph County Housing Consortium 2. A community should give a high priority to chronically homeless persons, where the jurisdiction identifies sheltered and unsheltered chronic homeless persons in its Homeless Needs Table - Homeless Populations and Subpopulations. As part of its strategic planning, the St. Joseph County Continuum of Care (CoC) has established the following objectives: • Create new permanent housing beds for chronically homeless individuals. • Increase percentage of homeless persons staying in permanent housing over 6 months to at least 77 percent. • Increase percentage of homeless persons moving from transitional housing to permanent housing to at least 65 percent. • Increase percentage of persons employed at program exit to at least 20 percent. Decrease the number of homeless households with children. To meet these objectives, the CoC is creating goals for the next 1, 5, and 10 years. The CoC is working toward the following priorities: • Restructuring the traditional shelter system toward the Housing First model and meeting Hearth Act priorities. • Focusing on prevention and rapid re-housing activities with HPRP funds. • Using two distinct approaches, one for situational impoverished homeless individuals and one for the chronically impoverished homeless, to re-house them. • Reducing the unsheltered or precariously housed population by 50% by 2012. • Reducing the time spent in transitional housing. The chronically homeless, severely mentally ill, veterans, persons with HIV/AIDS, victims of domestic violence, and youth will be moved into rapid re-housing options rather than the traditional shelter system; the chronic substance abuse homeless subpopulation will use a traditional shelter model with expanded services and programs. A large-scale permanent housing project for the severely mentally ill is being pursued. The Center for the Homeless is establishing a homeless veterans facility. Homelessness prevention funds will be focused on persons with HIV/AIDS and youth. The CoC is also considering a facility for the chronically homeless who typically stay outside of the shelter system. The CoC has identified the following homeless service and housing gaps, presented here in no particular order. Harm reduction/safe haven housing: Currently there are no housing facilities for those individuals who have yet to achieve sustained recovery from addictions and/or mental illness. The Housing First model is considered best practice nationally, where individuals are not expected to achieve the ultimate goal of recovery before they are stably housed and where supportive services are offered while in residence to help them attain this goal. Research demonstrates that Housing First reduces the overall community burden in caring for these individuals. Permanent Supportive Housing: While there are permanent supportive housing beds available in this community, it is our belief that there are simply not enough beds for all of the homeless individuals who qualify for these units. Prevention for the Precarious/y Housed: Prevention is also considered best practice nationally, as indicated by the recent HPRP funds being made available to communities. Prevention activities include both financial assistance for utility, rent, and mortgage arrears, financial literacy training, and intensive case management outreach for those individuals 2010-2014 Housing and Community Development Plan 47