Common Ground

Beth Sandor, LA Field Director

November 17, 2009

100,000 Homes Campaign

from numbers

to names

to neighbors

Time Travel Back to 2003

• over 13 organizations funded by separate agencies to provide outreach in midtown

• “contact” was standard unit of service• no coordination between teams• no one held accountable for outcomes • “if homeless people wanted housing,

they’d go to the shelter.”• “if homeless people won’t go into the

shelter, they must be service resistant.” • ZERO dedicated housing resources

Street to Home Overview

• Adaptation of England’s Rough Sleepers Initiative that achieved 75% reduction in 3 years

• Started in October 2003• Goal: reduce street homelessness in West

Midtown, NYC, by two-thirds in three years• Originally funded by foundation money with

seed grant of $75k • Only partners were the BID and the police• Unwavering commitment to figure this out

Street to Home Strategy

• Geographical accountability• By name (with photos) registry of

everyone sleeping on the streets• Established prioritization method

– Vulnerability Index Tool

• Focused on shared goal of permanent housing

• Housing First

Vulnerability Index

• More than 6 months homeless AND at least one of the following:– End Stage Renal Disease – History of Cold Weather Injuries– Liver Disease or Cirrhosis– HIV+/AIDS– Over 60 years old – 3 or more emergency room visits in prior three

months– 3 or more ER or hospitalizations in prior year– Tri-morbid (mentally ill+ abusing substances+

chronic medical problem)

NYC System Change

• $10 million dollars worth of outreach contracts are withdrawn

• Geographically accountability for 2/3 reduction implemented

• NYC census is down almost 50%

• Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx down 75% in first year of new contracts

Project 50 - Timeline

• Oct 4, 2007: Decision to launch Project 50• Nov 20, 2007: County Supervisors Passed Motion

to Implement Project 50 within 100 days• Dec 2007: Identified 140 vulnerable individuals

out of 471 found sleeping outside • Jan 28, 2008 – 1st person placed into housing• 67 people have been housed to date• Unprecedented collaboration across 24 public and

private agencies, especially across city-county• More money was spent on hospital and jail visits

the year prior to housing than the net operating cost of Project 50

Tenant Profile - Before

Tenant Profile - After

First year of Project 50

• 96% of people offered housing accepted

• 88% retention rate

• 73% reduction in hospitalization costs

• 80% reduction in jail days

• 95% of clients with MI are in treatment

• 65% of clients with SA are in treatment

Vulnerability Index Projects

Results to date

• Over 12,000 surveyed in 17 communities • Over 1,400 most chronic and vulnerable homeless housed • Los Angeles County – in 7 communities:

– Over 2,500 surveyed – Over 200 units committed– 130 people housed

Early Innovations

• Housing Resources• Service Resources• Broader System Changes• Leveraging of the Community

100,000 Homes

• Take something that already works well and– Target it to 50 cities– Goal to house 100,000 vulnerable chronically

homeless adults in 3 years– Building on learning and expertise of the 17

pilot communities– Create system change on a local and national

scale

50 Target Cities

What it means to join the 100,000 Homes Campaign

• Communities will received the full support and resources of the campaign in exchange for a commitment to:– Identify those on the street and prioritize

based on health vulnerabilities– Connect individuals directly with housing– Support housing success with links to

services and neighbors – Be part of local and national learning

Campaign Activities

National Local

Identify • Communities most impacted by homelessness

• Individuals most impacted by homelessness

Recruit • Faculty from “best and brightest” across the country• Allies at HUD, HHS, VA

• Coalition of government, providers, and neighbors to join campaign

Support • Faculty with organizing training and toolkit• Allies with data on 100k people to drive resources

• Registry Creation & Vulnerability Index• Community Building

LA CITY LA COUNTY

Skid Row West Hollywood

San Fernando Valley

Long Beach

Venice Santa Monica

New Image

Vulnerability Index Projects:

LOS ANGELES