HHB Meeting 4.16.2008

Agenda for HHB meeting:

Home Again Project Discussion

Budget Update

Legislative Luncheon/Breakfast: Discussion

Announcements/Areas of Concern

Meeting

Statewide News

The House budget will include $10M sought by Governor Deval Patrick to advance experimental policy changes aimed at ending homelessness in Massachusetts within five years. The House budget will appropriate $8.25M for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, with MassHousing committed to setting aside $1.75M.

It is good to note that the money to fund this Commission was not taken from Emergency Assistance

Interpreting Services Enhanced. The policy is that interpreters must be available and if not interpreters, alternatives must be made available.

RCAP has been able to get money for Residential Assistance for Families in Transition out on a timely fashion

Family Economic Initiative encourages that food stamps are available for legal immigrants. To sign onto this initiative, contact Elizabeth Toulan at 617-603-1626.

Mass Coalition for the Homeless: Save the Date for training sessions on CORI advocacy and food stamps access. For Worcester, the date is Wednesday June, 10.

The $10M conversion funds for the Commission to End Homelessness were a big success – thanks to postcards, calls. These funds are flexible and can be used for prevention, rapid re-housing and help with individuals.

DTA will be holding a community forum to gain input from people about what works in Worcester since it is different than what works in Boston. DTA is very interested in knowing what is going on regionally.

We must start directing postcards to Senate to continue support for $10M

Announcements

Gail – WALK is May 18th. Pledge flyers are being sent out – there are posters. Create a team on the online donation site

There are tenant’s rights violations occurring in the foreclosure crisis. Legal Assistance is helping those tenants who have experienced such violations and who have questions about their rights after foreclosure.

Ivette Moore from Worcester Fair Housing Project passed out pamphlets about housing discrimination and how to rectify the situation.

Worcester Community Connections Coalition spoke about the parents’ center that they are setting up and about their blue book that acts as a services guide

Home Again Project with Brooke Doyle, Community Health Link

Spencer House is part of the Home Again Project and will be sited at 62 Elm Street, Worcester. It will house 14 residents with their own single room – there will be shared kitchens, living rooms

It is funded from Health Foundation and the city taskforce on homelessness. HUD Continuum of Care funds the scattered sites. Community Health Link will be seeing which works better – scattered sites versus clustered

Home Again Project follows a “Housing First” model

  • The “Housing First” model wants people to live their lives in their homes like everybody else. They will react/live better if they feel like they are home and that they have access to services when they are needed.
  • It helps ease people into permanent housing by creating an atmosphere of normalcy
  • Stability is a top priority. It will bring in other services like case management (required), nursing and a therapist
  • The Project will house 20 people who meet “chronic homeless” definition (a single individual that has been homeless more than a year or four times in three years) and 10 people who have been homeless for 265 days and are at-risk of homelessness

People will be referred to the Home Again Project. Gladys Rodriguez is the contact person for referrals. Call her at (508) 860-1080. If person meets criteria, Gladys sets up meetings and then candidates are given to one person who selects randomly.

Some who are chosen will be sent into intervention while others who are chosen will go into services

Determinants for eligibility:

  • Work with individuals – couples are screened as individuals
  • Screening for variables that could lead to chronic homelessness: age is usually in the 40s range; one or more disabling condition; and special note: CORI reports are a screen-in, not an automatic screen-out
  • Participation with self-report surveys. These questions have been approved by IRBs at BU and UMASS. They consist of general health questions and data collected from surveys will tell Community Health Link if intervention makes an impact

Residents at Spencer House are expected to pay rent and they have tenant rights. At the scattered sites, rent paid will be 30% of income. There will be 20 subsidies available from HUD.

Spencer House is not wheelchair accessible.

The Home Again Project has faced several challenges from neighbors on various issues: CO-ED, sex offenders, drinking in private rooms, smoking, staffing

  • “Housing First” does not have sobriety required
  • The Spencer House meets the needs for people who do not fit into criteria of substance abuse
  • It is legal to drink in your own room. It would be different if person is in a program or using in communal areas
  • The Home Again Project does not endorse alcoholism but considers that recovery requires a different path for some
  • Sex offenders are possible for screen-ins
  • There is an issue of staffing the Spencer House since neighbors want a person there 24 hours. This sort of staffing would change the Housing First model that strives to create an atmosphere of normalcy for residents. There will be a resident manager there who has access to executive staff in case the need arises. Again, this Project is not a program but somebody’s home

If there are any questions about the Home Again Project, please check out the website: and Community Health Link would like to stress that they are open to meeting with small groups to pass along correct information about their project.

Also, the HHB meeting for May hopes to have Stephanie Brown from DTA and the date for Legislative Luncheon is still pending.