A letter from Lisa
Tepper Bates
Dear friends,
It has been a long winter, and a tough (ongoing) budget season. But spring is here, and as the flowers start to bloom there are new ideas and new energy in our community, as well.
The 2015 CCEH Annual Training Institute is right around the corner, May 14, and we look forward to this opportunity to come together, share our experiences, and learn from each other and from national experts. Read more about the conference, below, or click here to register!
On the subject of new energy - we are inspired by the great work of our colleagues across the state who are innovating and creating new momentum with their 100-Day efforts. You'll read, below, about the super progress they are making, re-engineering the way work together, and searching for more effective ways to help the clients we serve exit homelessness to housing. We thank our 100-Day teams for their leadership and efforts!
I hope to see you at the ATI!
Best regards,
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Last call to register for ATI!
CCEH will hold the 2015 Annual Training Institute on Thursday, May 14 from 9:00 to 4:30 at the Connecticut Convention Center. Advance registration is required for this full day conference focused on ending homelessness in CT. The conference will feature 18 workshops on a variety of topics, including rapid rehousing, meeting the needs of homeless youth, critical time intervention, shelter diversion, and effective exit strategies.
Keynote speaker Iain de Jong of Org Code Consulting, creator of the VI/SPDAT assessment tool and a leader in innovative approaches to ending homelessness, will also hold two training sessions on use of the VI-SPDAT and one training session on the new combined VI-SPDAT and TAY triage tool for youth. The ATI opening session will feature comments from Darla Bardine, Executive Director of the National Network for Youth, kicking off the full-day track of programming on youth homelessness.
More information and registration link can be found here.
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Connecticut 100-Day Efforts Hit Halfway Mark
100-Day efforts to accelerate collaboration of homeless services providers in Hartford, Eastern CT, and Fairfield County have hit their halfway point! Said one provider energized by the new effort and the innovation and creativity it is spurring in her community: "I have never worked harder, but I love my job more than I have in years!"
Here are the teams, their goals, and their updates at the halfway mark:
Hartford Goal: Lease-up at least 100 of the highest-priority households by June 16th, 2015. Update: Housed 14 chronically homeless individuals and made over 40 conditional matches to available housing units. Read more.
New London County  Goal: House at least 75 of the highest priority individuals over the next 100 days Update: The community has housed 60+ individuals and created a single, community-wide housing placement team. Read more.
Windham Goal: Lease up to 40 of the highest priority chronically homeless individuals on our list by June 16th, 2015 Update: Identified approximately 20 chronically homeless individuals. Six of these individuals have already been housed. Read more.
Fairfield Individuals Goal: Over the next 100 days ensure that time between assessment and allocation of resources for Individuals scoring 0-9 is no more than 10 days Update: So far they have housed 49 individuals, with many being leased up within 10 days after their initial meeting. Read more.
Fairfield Families Goal: By June 16th, we will eliminate the shelter waitlist for families through a combination of diversion and housing 100 families Update: 10 Families housed, 80+ families have been matched to housing programs. Read more.
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Homeless Services Providers Embrace Motivational Interviewing
For the last two months, CCEH has offered Motivational Interviewing trainings around the state. Nearly 80 staff have been trained in six sessions, with one more yet to come. Motivational interviewing is a person-centered technique to support people in making changes in their lives. It embraces the person's own motivation and commitment to change. Staff serve as guides or facilitators of this process.
CCEH's training has been provided by Windsor-based Community Solutions Inc. These day-long sessions provided an overview of motivational interviewing. They were highly interactive and participatory, allowing attendees to practice the skills they learned throughout the day.
Silvia Moscariello, Program Director at Liberty Community Services and a participant in the Waterbury session, said afterwards that she walked away with "some tools that I could use right away." She went on to describe an interaction with a program participant in which she picked up on change language and was able to use OARS - Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening and Summarizing - to work with him on issues related to stabilization. These key elements of MI help to guide a conversation and allow program participants to embrace their own motivation to change.
CCEH thanks all who participated in this great series. We hope to offer additional MI trainings in the near future.
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Balance of State CoC Seeking New Project Applications
CT Balance of State Continuum of Care (BOS CoC) is accepting applications for new projects. The CoC anticipates that there will be funds available for new projects under the NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) for the FY2015 Continuum of Care Program Competition (FY15 NOFA) or through reallocation of existing funds.
All new projects must be Permanent Supportive Housing or Rapid Re-Housing. New projects to be put forward with the CT BOS 2015 application to HUD will be selected by an independent scoring committee. Final decisions regarding awards will be made by HUD via the national competition.
Applications are due by Monday, May 4, 2015 by 5:00pm. Application can be found here. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
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Save the Date: Meeting the Needs of Young Children in Emergency Shelters, June 16
Please save the morning of June 16 for a session with Grace Whitney of the CT Head Start Collaboration Office. Grace will provide a training focusing on how to effectively serve very young children (under age 5) in homeless shelter environments. This vulnerable population needs special consideration - Grace will talk about their unique needs, how to assess a shelter's ability to meet those needs, and what steps might be taken for improvement. This free session will take place in Middletown. More information coming soon.
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Grant opportunities for nonprofits
NEW ROUND OF NON-PROFIT GRANT FUNDING: Governor Malloy issued a media release April 9, 2015 announcing the third round of Nonprofit Grant Program funding: The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) issued a formal Request for Applications (RFA) for the Nonprofit Grant Program, with applications due by June 26, 2015, for approximately $30 million in available funds. Guidelines and application instructions are available on the OPM and Department of Administrative Services websites.
Read the full RFA here.
Also see the Nonprofit Grant Program page on the OPM website.
SEVERE WEATHER RESPONSE FUNDING:
In response to the severe winter storms of January 26-28, 2015 and at the request of Governor Dannel P. Malloy, President Barack Obama has made funding available through the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection to nonprofit organizations, municipalities and state agencies for disaster recovery assistance in New London, Tolland, and Windham Counties.
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New CCEH Data Newsletter
With the number of stakeholders in HMIS data increasing by the day, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make sure all of the data related information we are publishing is reaching everyone it should.
To help better streamline the process, CCEH is introducing a regular data newsletter. Click
here to sign up!
The newsletter will be a collection of everything data-related that is coming out of CCEH - all in one convenient location. You no longer have to worry about missing a meeting, accidentally throwing out that dashboard, or relying on a communication chain to get you the information you are looking for.
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CCEH's collaboration with the classic children's literary character Paddington Bear to end family homelessness in Connecticut,
be homeful, is making great strides forward this spring!
What is the purpose of the be homeful project?
CT frontline providers tell us that they could often help families with children to resolve their houses crisis without entering an emergency shelter IF they had a source of funds available to address financial issues that will otherwise force families into homelessness. And yet there is no standing source of funds available to family providers for this purpose. The CCEH be homeful project is designed to leverage Paddington's profile to raise shelter diversion funds from NEW sources - families, companies, and foundations that may never have given a thought to homelessness before but who will be moved to action once they are presented with concrete tools for making a difference in the lives of families in their community. CCEH will put these funds at the disposal of our colleagues across the state to work with families in need.
Paddington Storytimes and Marmalade Drives
CCEH launches this exciting effort next week with Paddington Storytimes in libraries  around the state. These events are designed to raise awareness about family homelessness and promote a state-wide fundraising drive that will encourage families and businesses to hold "marmalade drives" (in honor of Paddington's favorite food!) to raise funds for shelter diversion. Visit the be homeful Facebook page for updates on Storytimes currently scheduled and help us get the word out to families with young children by sharing information about upcoming Storytimes!
We are also very fortunate that People's United Bank is promoting the fund between Mother's Day and Father's Day and will be accepting donations at all CT branch locations including Stop & Shop (marmalade jars will be accepted at locations with coin counters). Many thanks for your help spreading the word about this effort and please contact Madeline Ravich at 773-339-3600 or at [email protected] if you would like to volunteer to help get out the word!
be homeful Storytime Booth at the ATI
Come have your photo taken at the be homeful storytime booth at the ATI! We will have a professional photographer on-site to take portraits of the heroes of our campaign - the amazing frontline case workers who help families facing homelessness. Come have your picture taken and tell us a story about a family you have helped. We plan to share these photos on social media and with you and your organizations to help you promote the amazing work you do every day. To schedule a time to have your photo taken, please contact Madeline Ravich at [email protected].
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