children's homeless prevention - pilot program results
DESCRIPTION
Results of the "Family First" Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Pilot authorized by the Brevard Homeless Coalition's Children In Transition Committee (CIT) and run in Partnership with Brevard Public Schools (BPS). The program began on November 1st, 2012 and ran until May 31st, 2013. It served 18 in-transition families with children attending Jupiter Elementary, located in Palm Bay, FL. The South Brevard Sharing Center was the administering agency. Keith Donald was the pilot program director and lead case manager.TRANSCRIPT
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