Maximizing Transitional Housing Resources

1
Maximizing Transitional Housing Resources

• The Lancaster County Pennsylvania Experience
• Kay Moshier McDivittCommunity Homeless Advisor
  for Lancaster County150 North Queen
  Street, Suite 602 Lancaster PA. 17603Tele
  717-735-8485   
• KMcDivitt_at_co.lancaster.pa.us

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Our Community

• County of 500,000
• City of Lancaster 56,000 person situated in the
  middle of Lancaster County
• Very diversified population (from very rural
  Mennonite/Amish communities to a large
  concentration of Latinos in the city)
• Historically, neither the city nor county
  government has taken ownership of homelessness,
  shelters or ending homelessness

3
Tabor Community Services

• Established in 1968
• Our Mission To rebuild communities by helping
  families find housing and financial solutions
• HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency since 1971
• A Member of the National Foundation of Consumer
  Credit Counseling Agencies since 1988
• Accredited through the Council on Accreditation
  since 1996.

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Tabor Community Services

• Financial Counseling Services
• Consumer Credit Counseling Services
• Matched Savings Accounts Programs
• Foreclosure Prevention Counseling Initiatives
• Housing Counseling Programs
• Rental Counseling/Prevention Programs
• First Time Homebuyer Programs
• Family Self Sufficiency/HOV Program
• Rapid Re-Housing
• Supportive Housing Programs
• Permanent Supportive Housing
• Transitional Housing

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Tabors Transitional Housing Models

• Jubilee House opened in July 2000 in response to
  Continuum of Care request
• Transitional Living Center merged with Tabor in
  July 2004 Originally started as Harb-Adult in
  1988 in a 54 room hotel serving single adults,
  added families in the mid 90s
• Beth Shalom merged with Tabor July 2006
  originally started as a transitional housing
  program for unwed young mothers

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Our Issue What is our role in meeting the
communitys goal of ending homelessness?

• Strategic Planning Process
• Identifies clear steps and goals
• Identifies key players in the process
• Redefined who we are
• Requires an open mind for ANY suggested changes
• Requires retraining, new resources and internal
  cultural shifts
• Communicated our Role to the Community at Large
• Funders/supporters
• Homeless Provider and Social Services system
• Clientele

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Strategic Planning Process for Shaping Tabors
Transitional Housing Programs

• Steps we took
• Revisited our program mission statements (Does
  the goal of the program ultimately end
  homelessness)
• Critical review of outcomes, indicators, targets
  (are we successful in ending homelessness?)
• Feedback from Lancaster Countys Continuum of
  Care committee (what are the gaps/community
  needs)
• Established a Community Review Committee

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Strategic Planning Process for Shaping Tabors
Transitional Housing Programs

• Identifies Clear Goals
• To review current mission and clientele and make
  recommendations regarding goals and direction
• Analyze outcome data
• Final Goal to ensure program is meeting a
  community need and is ending homelessness

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Strategic Planning Process for Shaping Tabors
Transitional Housing Programs

• Identified issues to be considered
• Current role, populations served, transitional vs
  permanent, future funding, outcomes
• Identified possible options
• Continue as is, target populations, provided
  combined transitional/permanent, full permanent
• Identified questions we wanted answered
• Gaps that exist, solution to fill that gap,
  feasibility for plan, what does program mean,
  what does transitional mean

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Strategic Planning Process for Shaping Tabors
Transitional Housing Programs

• Identify Key Players in the Process Developed a
  Study Group
• City government
• Funders
• Mainstream Providers
• Board Member (current and former board members)
• Neighbors
• Homeless Providers
• United Way
• Staff, direct service and management
• Former clientele

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Redefining Who We Are

• Requires an open mind
• Any suggested change is worth reviewing this is
  about ending homelessness
• Winning teams are those that come up with new
  plays
• Its not the letting go that hurts, its the
  holding on
• We are here not for ourselves, but for the
  community
• Ultimately, going out of business can be a good
  thing!
• Retraining, new resources, internal cultural
  shifts
• Identify what training will be needed
• Identify resources, both funding and services
• Develop a plan to shift organizational culture
• Identify strategic service providers to partner
  with

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Communicating to the Community at Large

• Funders/Supporters Make them believers, involve
  them in the process
• Get feedback from the providers, utilize them to
  get the message out
• Get the word on the streets
• Most difficult for long established programs

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What Transitional Housing is for Tabor The
Outcome

• Prioritized and now serve Targeted Populations
• Redefined length of stay
• Service provision is through external
  program/sources rather than internal
• Redefined staff role to that of a supportive
  service coordinator
• Coordinated case management inclusive of all
  external providers
• Shared outcomes and indicators with major focus
  on moving to permanent affordable housing
• Established community partnerships
• Reductions in costs

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Targeted Populations

• Jubilee House Women completed treatment
  programs who are homeless and have children
  (family reunification)
• Beth Shalom Women released from prison who are
  homeless and have children
• TLC Set asides
• Two Floors for Veterans (all referred through
  the VA)
• Single Men and Women coming from Prison (working
  with pre-release unit and drug court)
• Two Parent Homeless Families,
• Single Male Headed Households

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Length of Stay

• Not Program Driven
• Determined by individual plan to find permanent
  housing, not by program requirements
• Focus on shortest length according the individual
  needs
• Average for TLC dropped from 8-12 months to 3-4
  months
• Jubilee from 18 months to 6-8 months
• Beth Shalom just started accepting residents,
  still developing targets

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Services provided externally

• Partner with community providers
• Less dependence on the program
• Ensures an ongoing sustaining support system
  within the larger community
• Mental Health, Recovery, parenting services, life
  skills etc. are all external providers
• Service participation is not mandated,
• Referrals made if identified as part of the
  barriers to housing plan (better participation
  because it is client driven, not program driven)

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Redefined Staff RoleSupportive Service
Coordinator

• Shift from what you need to do to stay here
  successfully, to what you need to leave here
  successfully
• Role is not to counsel or fix but to connect
  residents with the services identified on the
  case management and permanent housing plans

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Coordinated Case Management

• Ensures seamless case management so that all
  providers are on the same page
• Releases of information to obtain case management
  plans from other providers
• Reduces duplication of services and ensures
  successful housing procurement

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Shared Outcomes and Indicators

• All transitional housing providers in the
  community have shared outcome measurements
• Program success is measured by households
  successfully leaving the homeless system and
  maintaining their permanent housing
• Funders are using the shared outcome measurements

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Strategic Community Partnerships

• Treatment Programs
• Lancaster County MH/MR and DA
• Children and Youth
• VA
• RMO (Re-entry Management Organization)
• Emergency Shelter Providers
• Food and Clothing Banks
• Other Tabor Programs (Financial Literacy,
  Budgeting, Matched Savings)
• Job Readiness and Employment Programs (WIB,
  Career Link)

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Cost Effective

• Reduced the TLC budget by 25
• Reduced the Beth Shalom Budget by 60
• Cost per household served reduced by 42

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Results

• 74 of households in the Transitional Living
  Center moved to permanent housing in an average
  of 3.4 months
• 82 of households in Jubilee House moved to
  permanent housing in an average of 7.2 months
• 94 maintained permanent housing for six months,
  82 for a year

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Final Thoughts

• Re-defining the role of transitional housing for
  your community requires a culture that embraces
  change
• Clear goals are imperative
• Community involvement is key to success
• Prepare a communication plan
• Remember, its not the letting go that hurts,
  its the holding on.

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• Kay Moshier McDivittCommunity Homeless Advisor
  for Lancaster County150 North Queen
  Street, Suite 602 Lancaster PA. 17603Tele
  717-735-8485    Fax [phone]
• KMcDivitt_at_co.lancaster.pa.us