Brilliant Corners’ Post

I joined hundreds of advocates in DC as #SCOTUS heard one of the most important cases on #homelessness in 40 years. It was inspiring to be with so many people who fight so hard for housing justice. And infuriating that we are talking about criminalizing homelessness instead of housing solutions. By 2044, Washington needs over 523,000 units affordable for the state’s lowest earners. That’s 26,100 units annually — and we are not on track. At Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Puget Sound, we are mobilizing resources and improving access to capital so more housing organizations and emerging developers can build. But we need to do more - much more. Despite our region’s abundance of wealth, we often exhibit a scarcity mindset toward #homelessness. Even among advocates, there can be resistance to new ideas. It’s time to support a full spectrum of housing options — more shelters, tiny homes, recovery housing, social housing, public housing and permanent supportive housing. And we must remove barriers and increase funding for developers to build at the scale and pace of the crisis. https://lnkd.in/gzRgQ-YG #grantspass #affordablehousing #housingnothandcuffs #housingendshomelessness #johnsvgrantspass

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that the All Neighbors Coalition, a collective of over 140 organizations working in collaboration to solve homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties, will receive over $27 million in annual funding! President and CEO of Housing Forward Sarah Kahn said, “More funding means we can scale up what works for more reductions in homelessness. Public-private partnerships, united by a laser-focus on unsheltered homelessness and a commitment to evidence-based strategies, have made it possible for the All Neighbors Coalition to house more people than ever before. In the last few years alone we’ve seen a 160% increase in monthly housing placements. Together we’re focused on helping families and individuals move back into permanent homes with access to needed services.” Read more about this announcement here: https://lnkd.in/g5bsWwcQ #AllNeighborsCoalition #HousingForward #Endhomelessness

The All Neighbors Coalition received a 23% increase in annual funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 🤯 Dallas and Collin counties will receive over $27 million, a 23% increase over 2022 and a 44% increase over 2021, when the All Neighbors Coalition redesigned its approach to tackling homelessness by drawing on evidence-based strategies. This increase in funding is a direct result of the progress our system has made and the effective strategies we have put in place to help our unhoused neighbors get housed and access the services they need. Board Chair of Housing Forward Peter Brodsky said, “HUD allocates funding based on performance. The increase in funding for our community reflects the efficacy of the strategy employed by the All Neighbors Coalition to tackle homelessness, as well as its hard work doing the day-to-day, person-by-person work of helping our unhoused neighbors move into homes and get the services they need to be able to stay housed. It is terrific to see the virtuous cycle of progress leading to increased funding, which will allow us to make more progress.” Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/g5bsWwcQ #EndHomelessness #HousingForward #AllNeighborsCoalition

Criminalizing homelessness doesn’t solve it, in fact ticketing and arresting people makes their situations a lot worse. Affordable housing and accessible, flexible services like Direct Cash Transfers are what we need to be investing in. Ahead of oral arguments on April 22 I want to be very clear that I stand with National Homelessness Law Center, National Alliance to End Homelessness and Community Solutions, Inc. Built for Zero communities. I work with communities who have ended homelessness for certain populations of people - they did this by coming together as a community, breaking down barriers, using their data to drive system level change, addressing their biases, and investing in services and housing with more equitable outcomes, not by arresting their way out of it. #housingnothandcuffs

As policymakers, public administrators, and the public continue to ask the question of what will it take to see substantial reductions in homelessness, All Home continues to support our Bay Area partners in answering that question. Through our technical assistance, we use data-driven methods to help local governments understand the resources needed to expand the capacity of their homelessness response systems, and then use that data to inform funding strategies and advocacy endeavors. The City of Berkeley recently observed a 45% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, and a 21% reduction in overall homelessness according to the 2024 Point-in-Time Count. All Home recently partnered with the City to perform system analytics in alignment with the Regional Action Plan that will help inform and guide the city administration as it continues to push forward in reducing homelessness in their community. Kudos to Dr. David Amaral for leading our engagement with the City, and thanks to Berkeleyside and Supriya Yelimeli for covering such an important topic. https://lnkd.in/gTpy3_Pn

Interesting 🕵♂️ HOMELESSNESS IN DELAWARE: NEW IDEAS AND DIRECTIONS UD partnership aims to develop a more coordinated and deliberate approach to ending homelessness in Delaware The Center for Community Research and Service (CCRS) and the Institute for Public Administration (IPA) in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware are taking the next step in their already-established partnership to develop the Biden School Housing Initiative. The initiative seeks to provide a hub for activities related to housing and homelessness in Delaware. The work comes from an assessment of homelessness in Delaware conducted by Stephen Metraux, CCRS director, and Steven Peuquet, associate professor emeritus and Metraux’s predecessor. The resulting article, which appeared in the June 2023 issue of the Delaware Journal of Public Health (DJPH), called for a “coordinated, statewide response” as a “critical first step toward addressing what are, based on the data presented here, unprecedented levels of homelessness for Delaware.” https://lnkd.in/eQRgnYgf #UDPartnership #EndHomelessness #HousingInitiative #DelawareHousing #BidenSchool #CCRS #IPA #HomelessnessSolutions #CoordinatedApproach #PublicPolicy #CommunityResearch #StephenMetraux #StevenPeuquet #HousingCrisis #DelawareHomelessness#HousingForAll#StatewideResponse #PublicHealth #DJPH #SocialImpact Ontdek de stad met andere ogen! #vagebondgidsen #dakloosheid #stadswandeling #verhalen www.vagenbond.nl

Today, Regional Council received our Housing Services 2023 Annual Report. The report details our accomplishments over last year, which includes providing more than 33,000 households with housing and supports! The report also shares that 21 of the 35 actions in our 10-year Peel Housing and Homelessness Plan have been completed, with another 9 underway. I want to share my utmost gratitude and praise to the staff of the Housing Services division at the Region, our internal partners and local municipal staff, community housing providers, service provider partners, developer and consultant partners and the community advocacy groups that share our mission and help us achieve better outcomes everyday! And while we take a moment to celebrate our successes, we all know there is much work to do. In Peel, over 97,000 households live in core housing need, which represents approximately 1 in 5 households in Peel. In 2023, a total of 6,007 clients were served at an emergency shelter or an overflow hotel in Peel. This represents an increase of almost 2,000 clients from 2022. More than 4,800 households received one-time financial assistance to prevent homelessness, including funding for first and last month’s rent, assistance with moving costs or help to pay off utility arrears. This represents an increase of over 1,400 households who received these funds when compared to 2022. As the level of unmet need in our community continues to grow, the Region must continue to invest in Housing Supports, and continue to advocate to the federal and provincial governments for the policy and funding changes needed to effectively address the affordable housing crisis so more people can get and keep the affordable housing they need! #communityhousing #supportivehousing #regionofpeel #homelessness

The success of the East Atlanta homelessness caseworker pilot, funded with a modest $100k budget, demonstrates the effectiveness of focused, localized interventions. Atlanta's Neighborhood Planning Unit structure, which clusters 9-10 neighborhoods, offers a scalable model that balances resource allocation with responsiveness to the unique needs of each geographic subarea. By dedicating resources like a caseworker at the NPU level, Atlanta could deliver targeted solutions where they are most needed, optimizing impact while remaining more fiscally feasible than duplicating efforts across Atlanta's 242 distinct neighborhoods. Thinking that through really reveals a broader need for a strengthened NPU system that serves as a bridge between neighborhood-specific needs and citywide strategies. With robust city support, NPUs could address not only homelessness but a wide range of issues affecting Atlanta, enabling a more integrated, adaptable, community informed, and effective model of governance. Now, where do we find the political will and the budget commitment to do that? https://lnkd.in/ecaHjAZP

More affordable housing needed. Highlights from reposted article: “Some politicians and influential figures have argued that people experiencing homelessness do not want housing, and are homeless by choice. Research from Urban and others clearly debunks this myth: people want safe, affordable housing. The problem is that they struggle to access…. A recent Urban report echoes the City of Seattle’s findings. In a survey of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, we identified a lack of affordable housing (63 percent) and long waiting lists for housing assistance (56 percent) as the barriers women most frequently face in securing permanent housing….. Veteran homelessness has dropped by 52 percent since 2009, when the US Department of Housing and Urban Development first began collecting veteran homelessness data. This decline corresponds to an increase in the number of supportive housing beds for veterans. In 2009, more than 73,000 veterans were experiencing homelessness; by 2023, that number had fallen to under 36,000….. With homelessness increasing nationwide, policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels should invest in evidence-backed solutions that help people exit homelessness and achieve greater stability. To prevent entries into homelessness, however, policymakers will need to address its underlying causes, such as by creating and funding a comprehensive affordable housing plan.”

Supportive housing providers across the province are working together to lobby for more low-barrier options for people experiencing homelessness. The newly formed BC Coalition for Safe and Sustainable Supportive Housing is made up of sector leaders who together oversee more than 10,000 living spaces for people who in most cases were previously homeless. "These are people who can literally come right off the street or right into shelter and step into housing where they get access to meals, where they are connected with nursing on site, where they end up having life skill supportive services," said Bob Hughes, CEO of ASK Wellness. “What we’ve seen is that a solution to homelessness is supportive housing, and done in an effective way that’s resourced properly. . . it works.” They have already begun discussions with BC’s Ministry of Housing for more low-barrier housing to get more people off the streets. PHS Community Services Society CEO Micheal Vonn chairs the coalition. Read on: https://bit.ly/3XH2wzx #homelessness #housing #harmreduction