TURNING CONCERN INTO ACTION

COMMUNITY NEEDS AND NON-PROFIT AGENCIES

TODAY’S DISCUSSION

• What are the pressing social needs in our community?

• Who is working to meet some of those needs?

• How are they doing?

• How can I help?

PIKES PEAK REGION

SAMPLING OF CHALLENGES

• About 75,000 people living in poverty (includes 23,000 kids).

• Poverty figures include about 7000 kids under five years old. In general, these kids learn to read later, struggle in school, and go on to start families that continue in poverty.

• About 38% of El Paso County children qualify for free and reduced lunch.

• Substantiated cases of child abuse per thousand children (2017):

• El Paso County: 14.9 (up from 5.7 in 2008)

• Teller County: 11.1 (about the same as 11.2 in 2008)

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SAMPLING OF CHALLENGES

• Many homeowners and renters pay more than 35% of their income for housing (20% of Owners; 35% of Renters).

• Pikes Peak United Way 2-1-1 Helpline

• 36,000 calls for assistance in 2018.

• Majority of calls: rent, mortgage, or utilities payment help.

• About 1,551 homeless people (2018 Point-in-time Survey)

• Includes 128 households with children.

• About 2/3 in shelters; 1/3 unsheltered.

MANY OF THESE PROBLEMS ARE INTERRELATED

• Substance Abuse often leads to poverty, homelessness, and child abuse/neglect.

• Homelessness can lead to frustration and domestic violence.

• Parents who were abused/neglected as children often repeat and perpetrate that abuse on children or domestic partners.

• Early education deficit (for whatever reason) can trap people into a string of low-paying jobs, poverty, and a continuous struggle to survive.

• So combating these problems takes a coordinated approach, both within and across multiple agencies. Nobody can do it alone.

A LOOK AT THE NONPROFIT LANDSCAPE

SO WHO IS WORKING ON THESE PROBLEMS?

• There are more than 1500 Social Service Agencies in El Paso and Teller County. Range from one employee to hundreds. Some with hundreds of volunteers; some with none. How much time do we have today???

• Sooo..Let’s look at three of the Big Issues:

• Early Childhood Education

• Affordable Housing and Homelessness

• Family Stability

• Income Stability

• Domestic Violence and Child Abuse

• Food Assistance

• Connecting people to resources and coordinating support services

Pay Me Now, or Pay Me Later

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

• Latest Study Data on Head Start (Ages 3-5) • Helps the most disadvantaged students improve education readiness. • Increases parental involvement in education • Improve self-control and self-esteem by establishing a habit of success. • Improves lifetime earnings. • One study found $1 invested in early education returns $5-$7 in savings on later

incarceration, public assistance, and behavioral intervention in school. • Example: Tulsa Head Start: higher math scores, less absenteeism, less likely to

repeat a grade. • Two-Generational Approach

• Address the needs of parents and children together. • Education for both parents and children. • Economic Support (Housing, Transportation, Food Assistance) • Social Capital (Peer Support, Case Managers, Connection to More Resources)

What ’s Working in Our Community?

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

• Community Partnership for Child Development/Head Start — 1800 Children every day (2018) in three programs: • Head Start (3-5 years old; 962 kids) • Early Head Start (birth to age 3 and pregnant women; 203 kids) • Colorado Preschool Program (3-5 years old; 636 kids)

• CPCD stretches every dollar through partnerships. • School districts 2, 3, 8, 11, 20, 49 provide classroom space. • Early Connections Learning Center. • Fort Carson partners with CPCD for family support and classroom space. • 723 CPCD volunteers in 2017-2018. • Federal funding (~66%) Plus State & Community Support (~34%)

• Two-Generational Approach • Family Services, Transportation, Health and Nutrition • Parent Education and Employment Support.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

• Early Connections Learning Center • Partner with CPCD to serve additional families, or those who don’t qualify for CPCD

help. • 98% of families receive tuition assistance. • Connect parents with support

• Child Care assistance • Behavioral Health • School Transition

• Parenting Education • Served 646 children in 2018; 60% from single-parent homes

• Pikes Peak United Way - Dolly Parton Imagination Library • Every child gets a new book every month from birth to five years old. • 57,900 books mailed to children (FY2017-2018)

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS• Greccio Housing — Mission

• Provide safe, stable, affordable housing.

• Support residents in achieving stability.

• Promote Community Solutions to affordable housing.

• Greccio Housing - Clients and Results • Operate 22 apartment complexes (501 units) across our community.

• Broke ground on another 18-unit building in June 2018.

• Low-income clients (as defined by HUD); gross monthly income > 3x rent.

• Habitat for Humanity • Affordable Homeownership

• No-interest mortgage in return for “Sweat Equity”

• Built 8 new homes in 2018.

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

• Partners in Housing • Transitional (1-year) housing and furnishings for families in crisis.

• Surround families with support to move them to independence.

• Case Management

• Employment counseling and assistance

• Life skills training

• Budget/Credit counseling

• Served 121 households (150 adults, 244 children) FY2017-2018.

• Emergency Shelter Services • Salvation Army

• Ecumenical Social Ministries

• Urban Peak - only licensed shelter for youth 15-20 years.

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

• Chronically Homeless - Individual Characteristics • 60% - 80% have been victims of physical violence.

• 25% - 50% experienced childhood trauma (parental substance abuse and/or physical or mental abuse)

• Homeward Pikes Peak • Serving chronically homeless people in recovery from addiction

• Target: Stable, sober living; 136 clients in FY2017-2018

• Policy: “Housing First” for the chronically homeless.

• One outpatient program (Medical and Psychiatric) and five housing programs.

• Provide substance abuse treatment and help in obtaining health care, mental health counseling, and permanent housing.

• Complexity of problems for chronically homeless people leads to many cases of very slow progress and high rates of failure.

OTHER SERVICES AND AGENCIES

AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

• Catholic Charities • Marian House Soup Kitchen

• On-site connections to Support Services - Hanifen Center

• Ecumenical Social Ministries (ESM) - Meals, Clothing, Counseling

• Urban Peak - Shelter and Support for youth (15-20)

• Pikes Peak Continuum of Care — Multi-Agency Partnership to serve all homeless people • Part of Pikes Peak Community Health Partnership (~22 agencies)

• Single intake form for all homeless; share info on clients and services and make referrals.

• Catholic Charities, Homeward Pikes Peak, Urban Peak, Family Promise, Others

A FEW EXAMPLESFAMILY STABILITY

• Community Support Coordination — Pikes Peak United Way • 2-1-1 Referral Service

• Success by Six — A spectrum of early childhood education initiatives.

• Community Investment Fund - Provide grants to agencies for specific programs.

• Food Assistance • Care and Share (wholesale for all of Southern Colorado) and local food banks (retail)

• Ecumenical Social Ministries (ESM)

• Catholic Charities/Marian House

• Domestic Violence Response • TESSA (Includes Women’s Resource Center) - Immediate Aid, Transitional Housing,

Counseling and Support for victims and families

• Partners in Housing - Transitional Housing for Families

MORE EXAMPLES

FAMILY STABILITY

• Child Abuse • CASA — Court-ordered advocates for children in Dependency and Neglect cases,

where DHS has custody (served 750 children this year; 200 volunteer advocates)

• TESSA - Counseling and Referral

• Income Stability • Salvation Army

• ESM

• The Resource Exchange

• Partners in Housing

• CPCD and Early Connections Learning Centers

You won’t get turned down!

CAN I HELP?? YOU BET!!!!!

• Volunteer — Time, Talent • Ex: CASA, Habitat for Humanity, Marian House, Partners in Housing

• Advocate — Pick your favorite cause or agency, and help them tell the story, raise funds, communicate with legislators, etc.

• Money! • Decide how/where you want to make a difference

• Look at the list (pick it up here), or ask Google

• Call, email, or donate online

• Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA (if over 70 1/2 Years)

• Allows effects of charitable deduction, even if you no longer qualify under new tax rules.

• Reduces tax consequences of Required Minimum Distribution.

• Talk to your IRA custodian.