Thursday, June 21
154 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac, 48342
5 - 7:30 p.m.
Individual tickets $25
Join us for a
fun welcome-to-summer evening of networking, Michigan beer and wine tasting, appetizers, live music and learning how to engage with us.
Please visit here to purchase a
sponsorship or ticket.
For sponsorship, ticket or general event information, please visit
here or contact
Lisa Fuhr at 248-824-7313.
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*Sponsors as of 06/13/18.
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Art Van Charity Challenge, thank you!
Thank you donors for helping us
enhance the community in our newest development
Jefferson Oaks
, located in Oak Park.
For more information on providing Jefferson Oaks residents with resources to ensure long-term housing stability and high-quality programs and services for families with children in our newest, inclusive community, please visit
here.
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T
his month I'd like to introduce you to Debra Hendren, our director of Community Programs and Outreach. As part of our team, Debra keeps a pulse on the barriers that affect those we serve and is keenly aware of the direct impact our housing programs and
Critical Needs Fund
have on the community.
When signing a lease or applying for a job, a valid ID and/or other vital documents are mandatory. When a person experiences homelessness, oftentimes these important documents are lost, whether it be having to flee a domestic violence situation with just the clothes on their back, not being able to continue payment on a storage unit to keep records secure, or having documents stolen or lost while they accessed shelter or slept outside. Unfortunately, fees to obtain a valid ID or other documents cannot be reimbursed with most housing grants. This is where our Critical Needs Fund comes into play as we can use a portion of those funds to help pay for these documents.
Debra co-chairs the State ID Task Force, now under the umbrella of the Increase Economic Security Workgroup, as part of the
plan to end homelessness in Michigan. The group is working on finding solutions to the barriers to obtaining an ID for those experiencing homelessness. They are also tasked with working on expanding the pilot ID Exception Program, which provides alternate documents for someone who is experiencing homelessness to use, for establishing residency and identity verification.
Additionally the group is working with other local municipalities to model the fee reduction and waiver program for vital documents in Oakland County through the Oakland County Clerk's office. There are also additional challenges to address including developing state appropriations to support a fee waiver or reduction for IDs and/or vital documents at the state level for those who are experiencing homelessness. The group continues to advocate for these initiatives.
Debra's supervisor, Dawn Calnen, J.D. Vice President of Operations shares, "Debra's tireless advocacy for the people we serve spans more than just working with the State ID Task Force. Leaders at the state level regularly rely upon Debra for input, advice and guidance on problem solving to improve the lives of people across the entire state of Michigan."
Let's turn to Debra now and give her a chance to answer a few questions.
How did you become involved with CHN?
I was working at a community partner agency and really enjoyed the housing portion of my role as a service provider. While there are so many programs and resources that people need, I found that housing was a foundation for everything and this was very rewarding. I had been working with CHN collaboratively on many projects and it was a natural fit to transition here when a position became available.
What training is needed to do your job?
I think interacting with people and being immersed in community collaboration is essential to working in our programs successfully. It's about knowing what is out there to leverage in order to get the program participant what they need and working to develop new resources when gaps are identified.
In your opinion, what in your department do you feel has the most impact on those we serve?
In the last few years we have had more rapid rehousing resources as well as vouchers come into our community, which address both short-term and long-term housing assistance, providing a continuum of subsidies to meet a family's needs. This has made an impact in providing housing assistance to those we serve. Additionally the community collaboration work is really what has made the most impact. We collaborate with our partners and are getting better at avoiding duplication of services and working together to serve the clients with the most need with our limited resources.
I'm especially proud of our work on the prioritized housing registry, a community wide registry where we examine all permanent supportive housing vacancies and "match" the most appropriate household in need. I would be remiss in not mentioning the work I am fortunate to be involved in with the ID
Task Force
; as without ID, none of these programs would really be possible for those we serve.
How has your role changed in the nearly 11 years you've been with CHN?
When I started here we had two part-time folks and a full-time manager in the
Housing Resource Center
. There has been a lot of growth since then! We now have more than 15 employees working to help people link to resources and programs in our community. Additionally we now have a Community Programs department, where Projects for Assistance in
Transition
from Homelessness (PATH) and Rapid Rehousing and Prevention are located consisting of an additional ten team members.
Any parting words of wisdom?
Nobody can do it all by themselves, they need a team.
I am grateful for Debra's work, as well as the work of all CHN team members.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
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With support from:
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