December 2016
Advocacy Update Diversion & Youth Report 

A letter from Lisa Tepper Bates

Hello friends, 

This is an exciting moment in our campaign to end homelessness: we are nearing our goal of functionally ending chronic homelessness in Connecticut!

CT providers have housed more than 1,200 people since the January, 2015 launch of Zero: 2016 under Governor Malloy's leadership. Only a handful of verified chronically homeless individuals remain to be matched to a housing resource,and providers are working hard to get everyone into their new homes quickly. This is incredible progress --changing so many lives for the better and saving public resources in the process.

Providers on the frontlines of homelessness are driving this success. With difficult state budget negotiations on the horizon, this success provides important proof that public investments to end homelessness work.

We are grateful to you for everything you do, every day.


Sincerely,
  
Lisa Tepper Bates
Executive Director

Advocacy
Gearing Up to Defend Homeless Resources during Connecticut's 2017 Legislative Session

The state legislature will convenes January 4, 2017 to begin negotiations on a new two-year budget. The projected deficit for the next state budget has grown to almost $1.5 billion. 

CCEH will be working together with you and the Partnership for Strong Communities to highlight the success of investments to end homelessness in your communities and across the state - arguing with your help to protect these resources serving those in most need. 

We need your help to preserve funding for housing and homelessness services and supports.

Click here to read more on what you can do and important upcoming important dates! 

Point in Time Count

The 2017 CT Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is scheduled for  Tuesday, January 24th. The PIT Count is a one-day unduplicated count of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals and families across the United States.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that each Continuum of Care (CoC) conduct a count at the end of January every year. While other CoCs around the country conduct separate counts, Connecticut conducts a synchronized count in the same way at the same time so that findings can be compared across communities and over many years.


The Youth Count is a week long effort that corresponds with the Point-in-Time Count to count all of those experiencing homelessness in Connecticut that focuses specifically on youth and young adults aged 24 and below.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will be utilizing the data collected in the 2017 Youth Count as the baseline for data related to homelessness among homeless and unstably housed youth. This data will play a key role in the allocation of resources and future efforts related to ending youth homelessness by 2020. 

Join us to make a difference in the lives of homeless men, women, and children throughout Connecticut by taking part in the nation's largest homeless census. 

Register here to volunteer or contact Sarah Chess at schess@cceh.org
for the Youth Count or  Jackie Janosko at  jjanosko@cceh.org  for the Point in Time Count. 

High Risk Activity among Homeless & Unstably Housed Youth and Young Adults

On November 9th, Runaway and Homeless Youth service  providers  from across Connecticut  gathered for a training and discussion on preventing and intervening in high risk activities, such as violence and substance use. Stacy Spell and Harold Dimbo from Project Longevity led presentations on their programs and experience. 

Youth and young adults under the age of 24 who are experiencing housing instability are more susceptible to these risky behaviors as survival behavior or exposure. Providers discussed how to leverage existing programs and resources to help their clients avoid and exit these situations. 
Upcoming Trainings and Events:
  
Diversion Training SeriesUpcoming
Tuesday, December 20
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Tuesday, January 17
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM


Safe Shelter and Fair Housing for Transgender Individuals
Monday, December 19th
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Administering the Next Step Tool Webinar
Friday, December 2nd
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
To learn more, please click  here  or  c ontact Training & Communications Coordinator Sarah Chess at  schess@cceh.org  f or more information. 

National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day
 
Please join in solidarity with local friends and neighbors to
honor  and remember those who have experienced homelessness in our  community and who lost their lives in 2016.

Help us fight to end homelessness through your presence,  generosity, and polical advocacy.


Thursday, December 22nd, 2016 at 4:00 PM 
Memorial Service & Candlelight Vigil
Church of the Holy Trinity
381 Main Street,  Middletown, CT

To learn more, contact 
Lydia Brewster at St. Vincent de Paul Middletown at   lydia@svdmiddletown.org  f or more information. 

Give the gift of a home to a family in need!

Have a loved one to honor this holiday season? Donate a Paddington in their honor!
behomeful1
 
We have great news! For every $25 you donate this holiday season to the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness with the be homeful project, CT REALTORS® Foundation will donate an adorable Paddington plush to a child in a Connecticut shelter. 
 
Thanks to our generous sponsor, every dollar you give will support the be homeful project, which provides emergency funds accessible to providers across the state to help families at the front door of shelter stay in their homes. 
 
We have already "raised" over 600 bears for children in shelter this holiday season through donations to the be homeful project -- putting us well on the way to raising the 2000 bears we need to give one to every child in a Connecticut shelter this year! Click here if you would like to donate a bear, and let us know if you would like us to send you a tag recognizing your gift as a stocking stuffer! Thank you for being homeful for the holidays!
Shelter diversion is an essential component to our coordinated access system as cost-effective, lightest touch strategy to work at the shelter door to end someone's homelessness. The coordinated access regions across the state have been working hard to incorporate shelter diversion and here are some of the results, alongside news and updates, in November's diversion report. 
YouthR
Youth Engagement Report

Communities across Connecticut are kicking off Youth Engagement Team Initiatives, or YETIs, in preparation for the 2017 Youth Count and to develop, implement, and evaluate a coordinated community plan to end youth homelessness by 2020. The Youth Engagement Report is intended to share relevant news and information to those participating in youth related efforts. Click here for the December 2016 Edition.
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.