October 2015

A letter from Lisa Tepper Bates

Hello friends,

With fall well under way, we are all back, hard at work - and making great strides toward ending homelessness in CT!  

With our victory in becoming the first state in America to end the chronic homelessness of veterans, we are poised to carry on - to end all veteran homelessness by year's end, and to finish the job of ending chronic homelessness in CT by 2016.  We hope our Coordinated Access Networks will come out in force, with Governor Malloy, to celebrate our successes and plan the way forward at our CT Zero: 2016 Summit, October 28 (more below).   

At the same time, we look forward to continuing to work with you to improve our capacity as a state to end the homelessness of specific populations, including people who are transgendered,  youth, and families.  Please see, below updates on our work together with you to advance the efforts to address the needs of these populations.

Many thanks, to each of you, for everything you do - every day!

Best regards,

 

Statewide Zero: 2016 Summit Oct. 28 in Hartford

Please join CCEH, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Department of Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein as we celebrate the success of Zero:2016 CT, Wednesday, October 28 th from 9:30 a.m.-4:00p.m. at the Hartford Public Library.  

Coordinated Access Network (CAN) Leadership are asked to attend from 9:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. to hear from Governor, review data and progress to date, and network with local, state, and national leaders to end homelessness.  CAN Team Members designated by each Coordinated Access Network, should plan to attend for the full day to work together, with facilitation with Rapid Results Institute, to review challenges and opportunities, and develop a plan to help us reach the finish-line.  Please work with your CAN Coordinator regarding your attendance in the afternoon session. We look forward to seeing you there!

For more information, please contact Sarah Fox , CCEH Manager of Community Impact and Advocacy.

DOH Commits $800,000 to Support CANs

CCEH is pleased to welcome Department of Housing Commissioner Klein's commitment to make available $800,000 in new resources to support the work of our eight Coordinated Access Networks!  

Partners in the Opening Doors CAN Leadership Task Force, a subcommitee of the Work Group on Re-Tooling the Crisis Response System, are working together to develop a shared concept of CAN roles and responsibilities, resource needs, and to develop a way forward to formalize CAN governance.  

Further to this good work, led by Co-Chairs Cathy Zall of New London Homeless Hospitality Center and Matt Morgan of Journey Home, and facilitated by David Rich of Supportive Housing Works, CCEH and the Partnership for Strong Communities advocated with DOH for support of the resource request.  We are grateful to Commissioner Klein for engaging with this group to hear the terrific products of their collective work, and her response to the call for resources.

CCEH will provide more information on how these funds will be made available to communities and when as it becomes available, likely in early October.  Good work Team CT, good work CAN Leaders, and many thanks to our DOH partners!
 
CCEH, Partners Launch Website Dedicated to Resources for Homeless Youth

Through the collaboration of many state partners, local communities, and a variety of providers, Connecticut was able to take a serious step forward in 2014-2015 in addressing the complex issue of youth homelessness.  Connecticut's first statewide Youth Count, led by CCEH, identified 3,000 youth experiencing homelessness across our state, and the Youth Count project provided a much more in-depth profile of this vulnerable population in Connecticut.

CCEH continues to work with partners to develop better ways to identify homeless youth, assess community resources and barriers, deliver services, and evaluate our efforts to address these issues. We have worked to raise awareness about youth homelessness through community engagement,  dissemination of the Youth Count, and hosting at our Annual Training Institute a full-day program on "Meeting the Educational and Service Needs of Homeless Children and Youth."

This month, with the support and guidance of the Connecticut State Department of Education and in partnership with the Institute for Community Research, the Partnership for Strong Communities, and the Center for Children's Advocacy, CCEH launched a new resource website for homeless youth which includes 3 videos on the school rights of homeless and unstably housed youth, an asset map of services, statistics on CT youth homelessness, and other helpful resources. You can find this CCEH-hosted page, developed in close consultation with young people, at Youth-Help.org .  

For more information about how your organization or community can become more involved with ending youth homelessness, contact Mimi Haley , CCEH Deputy Director.

 
Upcoming training schedule

The Intersection of Domestic Violence and Homelessness
October 20 @ 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
United Way of Greater Waterbury
100 North Elm Street
Waterbury, CT 06702
 
Safe Shelter and Fair Housing for Transgender Individuals 
November 4 @ 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
MFAP/TCC Building
618 West Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06850
 
Safe Shelter and Fair Housing for Transgender Individuals
November 10 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Manchester Housing Authority
24 Bluefield Drive
Manchester, CT 06040
 

Accommodating Our LGBTQ Clients: Training and Resources

One in five transgendered people have experienced homelessness in their lives as a result of family rejection or discrimination. National and state statistics also show an estimated 20%-40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. In our first statewide Youth Count, 25% of homeless youth identified as LGBTQ. The statistics point to a pressing need to build better systems of support for our LGBTQ community, including in shelter and housing services.

To help improve our cultural competence in Connecticut with all LGBTQ individuals, CCEH, in partnership with HUD Connecticut, CT Fair Housing, CT TransAdvocacy, and AIDS-CT, is hosting a series of trainings across the state to help organizations and their staff members provide a welcoming, safe, and respectful environment for all LGBTQ clients.  HUD- and DOH- funded providers are required to place clients seeking shelter according to the gender with which that person identifies. Staff should be aware that emergency shelters may not ask transgender people for information or documentation concerning the person's anatomy or medical history.  

The next trainings will be held in Norwalk on Nov. 4 and in Manchester on Nov. 10.  For details of these upcoming trainings, visit our website at cceh.org, and for more information, legal requirements, and best practices to accommodate  LGBTQ, please visit our resource page on this issue.

Shelters that may want to consider capital renovations to address the needs of special populations should review the DOH Shelter Capitol RFP.

2015 Homeless Shelter Capital Needs, Notice of Funding Availability

The Department of Housing has announced a Homeless Shelter Capital Needs Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).  Existing emergency homeless shelters are eligible to seek funding to make capital improvements to their facilities to improve the quality of the services provided to shelter residents.  

Approximately $10 million is anticipated to be made available to improve a shelter's capacity to provide services to families, youth or transgendered individuals who are experiencing homelessness as well as to make general capital repairs to improve the safety of the shelter.
 
DOH will accept applications for funding under this RFP  on a rolling basis.  Applicants may contact Steve DiLella via email at [email protected] with any questions.  View the NOFA here.

Shelters that may want to consider capital renovations to address the needs of special populations should review the DOH Shelter Capitol RFP.
"Hugs to End Homelessness" Paddington Events in October
 
Come have your photo taken with Paddington! 

This October, in honor of World Homelessness Day and National Bring Your Bear to School and Work Day, Paddington himself will be visiting libraries around the state to raise awareness about family homelessness and encourage families to get involved with the be homeful project, the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness's collaboration with Paddington to end homelessness before it begins.

Library patrons big and small will be able to show their support for the be homeful project by having their photos taken with our official spokesbear. 

Events are currently scheduled for the Stonington Free Public Library (10/12 at 6 pm), Fairfield Public Library (10/13 at 10:30 am), New Haven Free Public Library Courtland Wilson Branch (10/13 at 4 pm), and Hartford Free Public Library Main Branch (10/14 at 11 am) so please mark your calendars and watch the be homeful Facebook page for event announcements you can share with friends who might be interested.

Volunteers are needed for these events so please contact Madeline Ravich at [email protected] if you are interested in lending a hand.
CCEH Data Updates
 
If you haven't subscribed to the CCEH data newsletter, you are missing out on a monthly dose of everything data-related that is coming from CCEH! You can click here to sign up , and never miss out on exciting data related releases like the Coordinated Entry Reports , Regional PIT Reports , or the upcoming supplemental youth count data report.