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

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St. Joseph County Housing Consortium 3. A Gaps Analysis is performed, comparing the needs identified in step one with the resources available in the community. 4. Resources, including HUD and other funds, are identified to determine feasibility of new project development. 5. New projects are discussed and then prioritized by the Committee for funding and implementation. 6. Evaluation of the effectiveness of new projects (ongoing). 7. Involvement of the City, through the Division of Community Development, assists in communication, grants management, and program implementation. The St. Joseph County Continuum of Care has a three-stage plan to end chronic homelessness. The first stage of this plan is to enact a prevention strategy targeted at decreasing the number of people who become homeless. The second stage is to provide interventions to assist those individuals who become homeless in dealing with the issues that caused them to become homeless. The final stage is to re-integrate these individuals back into the community by providing financial and clinical support, job training, counseling, and education. Key elements of the first stage (decreasing the number of people who become homeless) involve addressing issues such as addiction, education, job skills, and mental illness that are risk factors for becoming homeless. Preventing individuals and families from becoming homeless involves linking service providers in the community to forma "safety net" for low- income persons. This safety net can be utilized to provide interventions (financially, socially, etc.) to persons at risk of becoming homeless. Identifying those persons who become homeless or are on the verge of becoming homeless is critical. We know anecdotally that there are a certain number of individuals who use the revolving doors of hospital emergency rooms, mental health facilities and homeless shelters, utilizing resources provided through Township Trustees, the URC Advocacy Center and faith-based organizations, but avoiding commitment to treatment programs and other supports that might help to end the cycle. Quantifying and identifying these people has been greatly assisted by the implementation of HMIS. Information is shared among service providers and helps to insure continuity of services as well as the coordination of homeless services with mainstream resources. Identifying disabilities, through assessments completed at the time a person uses one of these emergency facilities, is also a major factor in preventing homelessness. If a person enrolls in addictions treatment, mental health treatment, or receives medical care, that person may be able to receive assistance for housing as well. Perhaps the greatest protection from becoming homeless is education. Research shows an inverse relationship between educational achievement and levels of addiction, income level, teen pregnancy, home ownership, etc. Communities with strong educational systems lay a strong foundation for homeless prevention. Although we have excellent higher educational institutions in this community, and several agencies provide tutoring and GED classes, most of the undereducated need affordable, short-term certificate-based vocational education. Existing programs are beyond their means. The second stage involves a continuation of the strategy that has been enacted by this community over the last several years. This strategy has involved broad-based cooperation among service providers in identifying and addressing the causes of homelessness on an individual basis, including elements such as emergency housing, case management, education, job readiness training, counseling, addictions treatment, transitional housing, financial assistance and rental subsidy. 2010-2014 Housing and Community Development Plan 54