NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON

COLUMBUS PROGRAM TO END HOMELESSNESS

Community Shelter Board invited to Washington, DC

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Community Shelter Board's efforts to address and end homelessness are being recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives today. Barbara Poppe, Executive Director was invited to testify on the affordable housing needs of Americans before the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. Chaired by Congressman Robert Ney, the Committee held a hearing today about H.R. 4057, the Samaritan Initiative Act of 2004.

The goal of Poppe's testimony was to encourage Congress to make a firm commitment to ending homelessness in our country. Her testimony was offered as one of the eleven recent grantees under President Bush's Collaborative Initiative to End Homelessness - the prototype for the proposed Samaritan Initiative Act of 2004. Poppe offered a local perspective on successful strategies to end chronic homelessness, as well as addressing the needs of families and individuals who experience a short-term episode of homelessness.

The Samaritan Initiative will help combat chronic homelessness, calling for new funding for supportive housing as well as measurable performance outcomes in reducing homelessness. The Community Shelter Board's local experience has found that these are effective means of moving people out of homelessness. Local research and experience support the legislation's discovery that 15% of the homeless population consumes over 50% of the resources.

According to the Interagency Council on Homelessness:

The Samaritan Initiative Act of 2004 would amend the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act to provide authority for the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs to jointly fund community-based efforts to coordinate the provision of housing, health care, mental health and substance abuse services to chronically homeless persons to move them from the streets and out of shelters into housing with the supports they need to sustain their tenancies.

By requiring the Departments of Housing & Urban Development, Health & Human Services, and the Veterans Administration to collaborate and make new federal housing and services dollars available in a single funding stream, local communities can more effectively implement a comprehensive and integrated community strategy to provide outreach, treatment, and support services coordinated with permanent housing. As a Collaborative Initiative grantee, CSB is experiencing first-hand the positive impact of required federal agency collaboration coupled with new funding for housing and services.

The Rebuilding Lives PACT Team Initiative (RLPTI) is a three-year project in Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, awarded from the Collaborative Initiative to End Homelessness as part of the Chronic Homeless Initiative. RLPTI serves men and women that have: 1) experienced chronic homelessness; and 2) that live with serious mental illness, and/or co-occurring substance abuse problems and/or physical illnesses or disabilities. The program plans to serve 156 individuals, including 47 veterans, over the three-year period, and develop 108 supportive housing units. There will be 80 units open by September. To date, 42 individuals are enrolled with 37 already housed.

The shelter board's innovative approach to homeless services and building community support has attracted other top honors nationally. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted a nationwide study on comprehensive plans to address homelessness recognized CSB and Franklin County/Columbus, Ohio as a high-performer within HUD's Continuum of Care process. CSB received the 2002 Nonprofit Sector Achievement Award from the National Alliance to End Homelessness for its leadership and work to build partnerships necessary to end homelessness. In 2001, CSB, in conjunction with Edward Howard & Co., received the Silver Anvil Award, the highest honor of the Public Relations Society of America. In 1999, the U.S General Accounting Office (GAO) recognized the shelter board for its model programs addressing homelessness.

The Community Shelter Board, established in 1986, is a non-profit intermediary organization that coordinates community based efforts, fosters collaboration, and funds services to assist families and individuals in Central Ohio to resolve their housing crisis. The Community Shelter Board allocates $7.5 million annually to support programs at 12 agencies. Last year, these programs served more than 11,000 individuals. The Community Shelter Board is funded by the City of Columbus, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, the United Way of Central Ohio, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State of Ohio, and other public and private donors.