Life After HPRP

Barbara Poppe, Executive Director, USICHMarch 26, 2012

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Overview

1. Introduction to Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness

2. Success of HPRP3. HUD Programs Using Lessons Learned from HPRP4. Other Funding Available to Keep Programs Moving

Forward5. The Importance of Retooling Crisis Response6. Take Action: Opening Doors Across America

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Opening Doors

No one should experience homelessness.

No one should be without a safe, stable place to call home.

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Opening Doors

Goals1. Finish the job of ending chronic homelessness by

2015

2. Prevent and end homelessness among Veterans by 2015

3. Prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and children by 2020

4. Set a path to ending all types of homelessness

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Opening Doors: Five Themes

1. Increase leadership, collaboration, and civic engagement

2. Increase access to stable and affordable housing

3. Increase economic security

4. Improve health and stability

5. Retool the homeless crisis response system

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Retool the homeless crisis response system

Objective 10: Transform homeless services to crisis response systems that prevent homelessness and rapidly return people who experience homelessness to stable housing.

This is precisely what HPRP was designed to do.

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Success of HPRP HPRP saved over 1.2 million Americans from

homelessness

Provided the right amount of intervention to those in need quickly

Efficiently spent dollars on best practices like rapid re-housing

Drove systems change: helping transform homeless services into systems that can end homelessness, not just manage it

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Lessons Learned from HPRP

Make the most impact by rapidly finding permanent housing for people who have just fallen into homelessness using short-term interventions.

Ensure flexibility of using funds for both rapid re-housing or prevention/short-term assistance tailored to the community.

Smarter planning and coordination with CoCs when serving families makes for better results.

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HEARTH Act and new Emergency Solutions Grants

HEARTH Act (2009) established new Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program, now fully implemented at $286M.

New ESG program takes rapid re-housing and prevention elements of HPRP and makes them permanent areas of focus for CoCs and service providers.

HUD encourages all ESG recipients to invest more in rapid re-housing and elements of HPRP that were proven to work.

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CoC grants

CoC grant funding is another opportunity to implement programs following the practices of HPRP.

CoC grants can be used for rapid re-housing programs and should be used as such where appropriate.

CoC funding can also be repurposed from transitional housing to transition in place models to provide more permanent housing options with existing resources.

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Repurposing to Transition in Place

Transitional Housing Is expensive. Often provides more intervention than is needed. Can be destabilizing when families are forced to move upon

program completion.

Transition in Place allows conversion of existing transitional housing resources to be converted in to permanent affordable housing for families and individuals. Not all transitional housing can or should be converted, but for

families without high barriers to stability this model can be effective and can save money.

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Tap into Funding that is Available: Mainstream Resources

Medicaid (HHS): 2010 federal expenditure = $275 Billion The Affordable Care Act increases opportunity for

funding for homeless services Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability

Insurance (SSA) VA Health and Pension Benefits Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (HHS) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (USDA)

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Tap into Funding that is Available: Rapid Re-Housing

Supportive Services for Veterans’ Families (VA)

New Grant Per Diem funding for Transition in Place models (VA)

Emergency Food and Shelter Program (DHS)

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Importance of Retooling Crisis Response

Systems level coordination of programs is essential to using resources wisely as we move forward toward an end to homelessness.

At Risk of Homelessness

Prevention

Outreach

Drop-in Centers

Emergency Shelter

Treatment

Transitional Housing

Supportive Services

Permanent Supportive

Housing

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Desired/Reformed State

Housing Crisis OccursMultiple entry points• Eviction• Release from

institutional care• Personal or family

crisis

Rapid Response SystemAssess and develop re-housing plan• Prevention and

Diversion• Street Outreach• Emergency Shelter

and Transitional Housing

• Rapid Re-Housing

Stable HousingTargeted to individual needs• Affordable housing• Reunification with

family• Permanent

supportive housing

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Rapid Response Framework: The 3As

Access- Prevent- Divert

- Admit to Shelter

Assessment

Assign Permanent Housing Intervention

- Rapid Re-Housing- Affordable Housing - PSH

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Critical Components of aRapid Response System of Care

Access to services: centralized access, coordinated street outreach, integration with mainstream systems

Assessment of family situation/needs to right-size the intervention: prevention, diversion, admit to shelter

Assign to housing intervention: prevention, rapid re-housing (RRH), affordable housing, and permanent supportive housing

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Opening Doors Across America: A Call to Action

Life after HPRP? Join USICH and partners across the country.

Need a sense of urgency – community wide and cross- government strategic planning is pivotal

Now is the time to invest in and act on strategies proven to make an impact

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Opening Doors Across America: A Call to Action

States & Communities are encouraged to… 1. Align your community plan with Opening Doors

2. Set targets and measure results

3. Act strategically

4. Partner

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Join Opening Doors Across America: Tools to Help

Visit the USICH Toolkit: www.usich.gov/tools

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Connect with USICH

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