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St. Joseph County Housing Consortium <br />Homeless Strategic Plan (91.215 (c)) <br />i. Homelessness- Describe the jurisdiction's strategy for developing a system to <br />address homelessness and the priority needs of homeless persons and families <br />(including the subpopulations identified in the needs section). The <br />jurisdiction's strategy must consider the housing and supportive services <br />needed in each stage of the process which includes preventing homelessness, <br />outreach/assessment, emergency shelters and services, transitional housing, <br />and helping homeless persons (especially any persons that are chronically <br />homeless) make the transition to permanent housing and iindependent Living. <br />The jurisdiction must also describe its strategy for helping extremely low- and <br />low-income individuals and families who are at imminent risk of becoming <br />homeless. <br />2. Chronic homelessness-Describe the jurisdiction's strategy for eliminating <br />chronic homelessness by 2012. This should include the strategy for helping <br />homeless persons make the transition to permanent housing and independent <br />living. This strategy should, to the maximum extent feasible, be coordinated <br />with the strategy presented Exhibit 1 of the Continuum of Care (CoC) <br />application and any other strategy or plan to eliminate chronic homelessness. <br />Also describe, in a narrative, relationships and efforts to coordinate the <br />Conplan, CoC, and any other strategy or plan to address chronic homelessness. <br />3. Homelessness Prevention-Describe the jurisdiction's strategy to help prevent <br />homelessness for individuals and families with children who are at imminent <br />risk of becoming homeless. <br />4. Institutional Structure-Briefly describe the institutional structure, including <br />private industry, non-profit organizations, and public institutions, through <br />which the jurisdiction will carry out its homelessness strategy. <br />5. Discharge Coordination Policy-Every jurisdiction receiving McKinney-Vento <br />Homeless Assistance Act Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), Supportive Housing, <br />Shelter Plus Care, or Section 8 SRO Program funds must develop and <br />implement a Discharge Coordination Policy, to the maximum extent practicable. <br />Such a policy should include "policies and protocols for the discharge of <br />persons from publicly funded institutions or systems of care (such as health <br />care facilities, foster care or other youth facilities, or correction programs and <br />institutions) in order to prevent such discharge from immediately resulting in <br />homelessness for such persons." The jurisdiction should describe its planned <br />activities to implement a cohesive, community-wide Discharge Coordination <br />Policy, and how the community will move toward such a policy. <br />To develop a system to address homelessness, the following process is used: <br />1. Needs analysis: Annually, each organization serving the homeless assesses the need for <br />services based on internal organization occupancy reports, waiting lists, inquiry calls, <br />anticipated program changes, etc. Beginning in June 2003, an actual street count to <br />determine the extent of unsheltered homeless was conducted. Now the street count, an <br />annual process, is conducted in the winter. <br />2. This information is aggregated at the Committee level; so that an overall community <br />needs level is established. Implementation of the HMIS has assisted in aggregating <br />data on homeless needs. <br />2010-2014 Housing and Community Development Plan 53 <br />