children's homeless prevention - pilot program results

Family FirstJupiter Elementary Pilot Program ResultsHomeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing

Keith Donald / 2013.06.19

About Me

13-year Brevard County ResidentOriginally from Tuscaloosa, AlabamaWife Keri and I are raising our family here

Software Engineer and Entrepreneur

Children in Transition (CIT) Committee Member

Florida Today Article: http://goo.gl/nN8v6

How I joined CIT

Mike Hubler invited me to a meeting

Learned the numbers: 1300 (now 1634) homeless children in Brevard County

Learned about the need to organize efforts and resources to address this problem

Made the decision to volunteer

Pilot Program

A simple way for homeless families to get help

Schools refer families to one program

Program provides case management to understand the need

Program mobilizes the community to help meet the need

Jupiter Elementary Referral Card

Pilot ProgramResults

Results

Impacted 18 families: 22 parents & 52 kids100% referral call rate

12 "Homeless Prevention" cases4 "Rapid Rehousing" cases1 "Intervention" case

Steward for $28,232 in financial assistance, avg per family: $1,568, median per family: $765

Family DemographicsAge, Work Status, Income, etc.

Young Families

Working Families

Working Families (2)

Prevention by Employment

Low Income

When they first called...Median Monthly Income: $1,200Median % of Poverty Line: 61%Median % of County Median (60K): 23%Median Rent as % of Income: 61%

How we helpedEmployment, education, advocacy, etc.

How the families were helpedHelped 8 obtain employment (33%)Helped 14 avoid eviction (78%)Helped 7 into more affordable homes (38%)

Median rapid-rehousing time: 4 weeksHelped 12 develop financial responsibly (67%)Helped 4 grow their own businesses (22%)Helped 2 avoid legal prosecution (11%)Helped 2 get their Drivers License back (11%)Helped 1 obtain reliable transportation (5%)Helped 3 get education for new work skill (17%)

How the children were helped

Helped 10 into homes close to origin schoolHelped 3 into S.T.E.M after-school programs Helped 21 receive Christmas giftsHelped 1 obtain one-on-one tutoring in readingHelped 3 into spring break campHelped 1 into summer camp

Financial Assistance ProvidedRent: $12,545.45Transportation: $9,554.48Business: $1,393.98Utilities: $1,366.18Legal Aid: $1,278.47Health & Hygiene: $433.53Emergency Housing: $316.32Education Sponsorship: $300.00Clothing: $265.22Storage: $252.70Kids Activities: $222.00Food: $154.66Furnishings: $150.00 Total: $28,232.99

Avg. Per Family: $1,568.50Median Per Family: $765.03

Mostly Private Donations

Prevention costs less

Income Up, Expenses Down

Where they are now...Median Monthly Income: $1,500Median % of Poverty Line: 92%Median % of County Median (60K): 29%Median Rent as % of Income: 43%

Amazingly resilient children

Where the children are now...Known 48 of 52 (92%) in safe, stable homesEarly BPS data showing significantly improved attendance and discipline

Especially in rapid re-housing cases

Next phase of project will also correlate academic performance

Barriers to self-sufficiency

Areas of Exploitation

Benefits

Next Steps

Belief in the model, need for organization and coordination to apply it county wide

Propose formation of a "Children's Homeless Project" to address this need

First-year: lay county-wide foundation with a handful of schools across Brevard County (5-7)Second-year: Aim to scale

Questions?

Email keithd at mysbsc.org for more info and pledge to join the Children's Homeless Project