Interventions for Homeless Families

A couple of us just left a meeting with a researcher from a company engaged by HUD to study the effectiveness of the various methods of moving homeless families from emergency shelter to permanent housing.

They will evaluate several approaches to ending homelessness for families:

1. Housing subsidies and no other services
2. Transitional housing with intensive supportive services
3. Rapid re-housing (placement in housing with temporary rental assistance) followed by services focused on keeping housing
4. Assisting families in finding their own solutions to their housing problem.

The study will attempt to answer several questions:

1. What is the relative effectiveness of the different approaches?
2. Are the same interventions that give short-term housing stability effective for the long-term?
3. Are there interventions that are more effective for some categories of homeless families than others?

Fortunately, when they measure effectiveness, they will be looking at more than ending homelessness for a family for a few months. They want to know if an approach will be effective in keeping a family stable – i.e. in permanent housing for at least 18 months. They also will be looking at how well the approach keeps families intact, because family dissolution is a significant side effect of homelessness. They will consider the well being of the adults and children, and finally, the impact on self-sufficiency – employment, earnings and dependence on public assistance.

I’ve mentioned some of our successes by these measures in previous blogs: 83% of our families remain in permanent housing for a minimum of 24 months; we routinely reunite families with up to six children; the earnings of our residents increase by more than 50% and their dependence on public assistance decreases by more than 30% by the time they leave.

Kansas City may or may not be chosen as one of the sites for the study. We were invited to the meeting as one of the agencies that are likely to participate. Even if we aren’t one of the cities in the study, it will be fascinating to learn from the results when they are reported out from 2011-2013.

- Laura Gray

The Value of Relationships

According to Dr. Ruby Payne, noted author of "A Framework for Understanding Poverty," there are certain hidden rules among the classes. Where the middle class value things as possessions and the wealthy one-of-kind objects, legacies and pedigrees, the impoverished value people/relationships.

Recently, a current resident asked permission to bring a significant other into the program, explaining that he would be a tremendous support and that his inclusion would be beneficial for the success of the family. After very careful consideration, he was taken through the process and enrolled in the program. What has resulted is a family that was simply going through the motions has become a family focused on ending the cycle of poverty in their lives. To this end, the significant other is nearing completion of his aviation training--in which he is the top performer in his class--and the family is developing their plan to transition to permanent housing.

Though we may not readily see the value in the relationships that our families choose to maintain, we have to sometimes be willing to take the chance that they know best.

- Jeannine Short, Director of Programs

Tackling Homelessness in Kansas City

By the time this is published, the KCMO City Council hopefully will have passed a resolution to establish a Homelessness Task Force.

That’s a good thing.

The task force will be charged to identify the issues related to homelessness and develop a plan with both immediate and long term strategies. Hopefully, our City will be as successful in reducing homelessness as some of the cities that have already created 10-year plans to end homelessness.

A point in time census conducted on a single day in January of this year determined that there we about 1,400 homeless individuals and an additional 1,200 people in families. Unfortunately, that doesn't count people who are doubling up or couch surfing (staying with family or friends).

Based on our experience, I would guess the number is significantly higher now. The number of families calling us or dropping in to request services has climbed steeply this year. Thirty four families requested our services in January and 105 in June. Compared to the first six months of 2008, the cumulative total number of walk-ins and call-ins has increased by about 280% this year. Our waiting list is now up to 114 families.

Thank you, City Council. The City couldn’t have picked a better time to form the Homelessness Task Force.

- Laura Gray

Why Our Programs Are Successful

Yesterday at our staff meeting, we had a conversation about what makes both our Transitional Housing program and our outreach programs successful.

I’m very clear about what makes our Transitional Housing program uniquely successful (8 out of 10 families will not become homeless again). It’s the selection process that identifies the people ready to do the work to break old patterns, all of the services (family coaching, mental wellness counseling, budgeting & life skills training) working in concert, and the community of support that grows within residents, staff and volunteers.

So I asked the outreach staff to tell us why their outreach is successful. It made me realize just how much outreach the staff of Transitional Housing program are doing, much less those staff in purely outreach jobs.

Our Transitional Housing Family Coaches are case managing all of the walk-ins, including an estimated 35 families per month who will never become residents of Community LINC. They refer them to services, help them face the reality of their situation and understand their options. As one of the Transitional Housing Family Coaches said, understanding what caused our residents to become homeless helps the coaches quickly identify the key issues for the walk-in families. They also case managed the 113 families who are now on our waiting list.

The staff who are exclusively doing outreach under the Community Work Support contract believe they are successful getting better outcomes for their clients for a couple of reasons. One is their tenacity and another is because they go to where the clients are – their homes. All of our outreach clients have case managers for the Temporary Aid to Needy Families and many other government agencies. Our staff teach them how to work within the system that frustrated them to the point of giving up and becoming noncompliant.

- Laura Gray

Graduation Stories

Some success stories about families graduating next Tuesday from Community LINC's transitional housing program...

Kenya came to Community LINC with her 3 children. Because she had been incarcerated, it was difficult for her to find employment that would pay enough money to support her family. Having a felony eviction also kept her from applying for public housing. When she went into a homeless shelter, she was unemployed and had moved from family member to family member. Kenya was a hard worker when she was at Community LINC, but because of the felony conviction, everything she did took extra effort. Kenya got a job with Aim for Peace, a program that assists families of convicted felons. Through this program, she is able to give the services she once needed. While at Community LINC, Kenya eliminated the debt that kept her from finding housing. She and her children now have a permanent home.

Caroline, a single mother of a little girl, came to Community LINC after a long stint of substance abuse, homelessness, and chaos. While in our program, she maintained her hard won sobriety, became gainfully employed, retired a significant amount of debt and began work toward an undergraduate degree. She more than doubled her wages and no longer relies on public assistance from food stamps. Today, Caroline and her daughter live in a quaint three-bedroom home.

Shirley and her son became homeless after her health made it impossible to run her home day care. She found it difficult to get back into the work force after so many years providing childcare. When she lost her income, she and her son not only became homeless, but her foster children were removed from her care. She and her son eventually ended up at the Forest Avenue Shelter. After she came to Community LINC, she found and maintained permanent employment which prepared her to apply for a Section 8 housing voucher. She and her son now live again in permanent housing.

Desiree is a mother of three daughters who had a stable job, but didn’t earn very much working in a drugstore. She couldn’t afford to provide housing for her family, so they had lived with several relatives. She wanted something more stable for her children, but her credit problems and the legal issues they caused kept her from finding housing. During her time at Community LINC, Desiree paid off all of her legal debt and was able to move her children to permanent housing.

Mario, Ayeshia and their daughter came to Community LINC from the reStart homeless shelter. Mario and Ayeshia had lived with family members, but space was limited, so they had to go to a homeless shelter. Mario’s felony conviction and legal issues arising from traffic warrants made it very difficult for him to find a job. He couldn’t afford legal counsel, or pay the tickets and fines. Ayeshia had been downsized at her company and found it difficult to focus on finding employment without stable housing. After coming to Community LINC, both parents found permanent employment, they paid all housing related debt, they resolved all legal barriers that kept them from working and obtaining drivers licenses. Ayeshia and Mario are residing in permanent housing in South Kansas City.

Cynthia is a single mother of four children who entered our program in April of 2007. Due to complications arising from a high-risk pregnancy, she was unable to work after her short-term disability ran out. Consequently, Cynthia’s employment was terminated and the family was evicted from their apartment within two months. In addition, she had mounds of old debts, significant barriers to housing, and had been forced to postpone plans to obtain a secondary degree. In April 2009 Cynthia and her four children moved into a four bedroom ranch-style home. Adding to her success, she has more than doubled her income, retired most of her debt, amassed over $3000.00 in savings and no longer relies on any public assistance.

Virna had served in the Air Force and was honorably discharged. Like many others, she lost her job at Sprint, which eventually made it impossible to keep her apartment. She and her daughter moved from family member to family member until she was forced to go to an emergency shelter. Virna and her 15 year old daughter were referred to Community LINC by City Union Mission. While in the program, Virna found a full time job that tripled her income. She also connected to veterans benefits for herself and her daughter. She was able to remove all housing related debt, as well as some of her outstanding credit debt. Virna also achieved her goal of returning to school to finish her degree. When she left for a permanent home, she had accumulated enough savings to create a cushion for her family in case of emergencies.

More Than Ending Homelessness

A couple of weeks ago I told you about an article written by Mary Beth Shinn of Vanderbilt University called Ending Homelessness for Families: The Evidence for Affordable Housing. The bottom line for the article, and my blog entry, is that families become homeless when they are extremely low income and can’t afford an apartment at the market rate rent. They end up living with relatives or in places “unsuitable for human habitation” when there isn’t enough subsidized housing.

If the goal is just to end homelessness, for the vast majority of families, all they need is a housing subsidy. However, our mission is to develop self-sufficient families.

For some families, self-sufficiency will only mean ending their homelessness. We know that among our families there are some that will never afford a home of their own without a government subsidy. Poorly educated single parents will always be challenged to independently support their families.

Many of our families are aiming for a different kind of self-sufficiency though. Myeshia finished her GED and starts college this Fall. Stephanie paid down the debt that was keeping her from getting a home. John is finishing culinary school. Virna left nearly debt-free for her own (unsubsidized) apartment. The list goes on.

For them, self-sufficiency will mean that they rise above homelessness and out of poverty.

Knowledge is Power

The saying is certainly true for Vera and her family. Following layoff and a history of poor choices and financial decisions, Vera and her family were subjected to a long and painful stint of living with family members and in homeless shelters. Once she entered Community LINC and began to take advantage of the programs and classes, however, things started to turn around. Now armed with newly acquired budgeting and life skills, Vera is almost debt-free and once again living in the comforts of her own apartment.

Yes, it is true. Knowledge is power!

- Jeannine Short, Director of Programs