New Strategiesfor a New Era

Rebuilding Lives:

Community Shelter BoardA leader in Franklin County for 21 years

“No one should go homeless, for even one night, in Columbus.” Mel Schottenstein

Focus on “Rebuilding Lives”

• Launched in 1999• Focus on people homeless for a long

time

Commons at Chantry

Research Findings

Homeless in Franklin County

7,000+ men, women and children

• At the outset of the study period, shelter programs were concentrated in downtown Columbus (63% of all beds).

• By 2006, 70% of shelter units were located in other zip codes.

Improved Geographic Distribution

Daily Cost of Emergency Shelter

Emergency Shelter Daily Cost Per Unit -Males, Females, Families

$23

$14

$41$46

$79

$65

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

$60

$70

$80

$90

1998 2006

Year

Daily Cost Per Unit (in 2006 dollars)

Single MaleSingle Female

Families

Note: Excludes Youth Shelter, which is undesignated by gender.

Making a difference

Decrease in shelter admissions

Success for families

Impact: More families in housing

Data for 2001-2002 is unavailable.

Emergency Shelter Results and OutcomesHousing Outcomes• Family shelters improved housing outcomes to almost

70% by 2007.

• Single adult housing outcomes also improved.

Return to Shelter and Multiple Shelter Use• Single men (36.4%) and women (25.9%) return to

shelter at relatively high rates.

• For families, repeat shelter episodes are a

considerably rarer event (10%).

What is the overlap with other programs and systems of care?

Huckleberry House

• 5.9% of Huck House youth also accessed adult emergency shelter services at some point.

• No substantial relationship between the youth and the adult shelter stays.

• Minimal cross-over between the shelters.

What is the overlap with other programs and systems of care?

CHOICES

• 34.4% of women served by CHOICES had also a record of stay in the adult emergency shelter system.

• High percentage of single adult women entering shelter in a short period of time after their exit from CHOICES.

• Substantial cross-over, more likely for women of black race and with no children.

What is the overlap with other programs and systems of care?

ADAMH: the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board

• 21.7% and 18.2% of the single adults accessing shelter received mental health and substance abuse services, respectively.

• The longer people stay in shelter, the more likely they are to access ADAMH and consume a disproportionately high share of services.

• ADAMH service use shows dramatic increase in the month prior to shelter entry.

What is the overlap with other programs and systems of care?

Franklin County Children’s Services (FCCS)

• 56% of adult women in shelter with families and 46.9% of single women had records of FCCS cases when they were children.

• 14.7% of adult men in shelter with families and 22.8% of single men had records of FCCS cases when they were children.

What is the overlap with other programs and systems of care?

Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services

Single Adults and Families receiving ongoing benefits at entry or initiated while in shelter

Single Adults

Families

Medicaid 10.8% 74.1%

Food Stamps 35.2% 63.7%

Disability Assistance 11.6% 5.4%

TANF 26.0%

10.6%Childcare Assistance

• Services are currently provided by multiple programs in a “scatter shot” approach with limited emphasis on housing placement.

• Nine (9) programs provide a variety of services with 33 FTE staff.

• Only 6% of FTEs use a Housing First approach

Homeless Outreach

Permanent supportive housing• Total of 1,292 in virtually every ZIP code

Permanent Supportive Housing Residents

• Average 42.3 years old

• Almost three-quarters were male

• Two-thirds of them were black

• Only 12% reported being employed at the time of moving into this housing.

• 59% reported zero income at admission.

Supportive housing works

• 70% stayed housed• Reduced the use of shelters - only

9% return to homelessness• Increased employment and benefits

(30% gained access to benefits) • Greater independence • Lower costs than institutional

settings

Rebuilding Lives Program Impact on Shelter Utilization

FIGURE 1 - Shelter Days Consumed Per Month: PSH-RL Placements (1/04 to 6/05) vs. Matched Controls

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

-12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Month (0=Placement Month)

PSH-RL Placements (n=425)Matched Controls (n=425)

Shelter Use by Rebuilding Lives Residents vs. Control Group

Changes in Supportive Housing Capacity Over Time By Program Type

Supportive Housing Capacity to Serve Homeless People

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Year

Units

Transitional Housing 341 343 355 350 221 207 203 188 161

Permanent Housing ExcludingRebuilding Lives

484 509 499 499 540 587 524 515 557

Rebuilding Lives 0 10 48 128 254 401 485 576 735

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Totals 825 862 902 977 1015 1195 1212 1279 1453

Funding Sources for Rebuilding Lives Programs, 2006, by Local, State, Federal

Source Amount Percent

Local $ 3,289,496 40%

State $ 135,675 2%

Federal $ 4,858,751 58%

What is the overlap with other systems of care?

ADAMH, the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board

• ADAMH services use decreased by 6.1% from pre-admission to post-placement into the RL-PSH unit

• Drastic reduction in substance abuse services

• Increase in outpatient mental health services

What is the overlap with other systems of care?

Franklin County Children’s Services (FCCS)

• 58% of adult women RL PSH had records of FCCS cases when they were children

• 13% of adult men in RL PSH had records of FCCS cases when they were children

What is the overlap with other systems of care?

Single Adults receiving benefits at

entry or initiated while in RL PSH

At Entry Initiated after entry

Total

Medicaid 17.4% 5.1% 22.5%

Food Stamps 50.5% 17.9% 68.4%

Disability Assistance 24.7% 5.5% 30.2%

Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services

What are the answers?

New Rebuilding Lives strategy

100+ community leaders

Rebuilding Lives

Access Making sure community resources

are available to prevent or end homelessness

Rebuilding Lives

Crisis responsePreventing and resolving housing crises as quickly as possible

Making it work

Single point of access to emergency shelter for adults

Rebuilding Lives

TransitionGuiding exits from homelessness to

stable housing

Making it work

Developing 1,400more supportive housing units

Rebuilding Lives

Advocacy Leveraging public policy to work toward ending homelessness

Questions?

Community Housing NetworkCommunities In SchoolsGladden Community HouseHomeless Families FoundationLutheran Social Services/Faith MissionMaryhavenNational Church ResidencesThe Salvation ArmySoutheast, Inc./Friends of the HomelessVolunteers of America of Greater OhioYMCA of Central OhioYWCA Columbus

community shelter board111 liberty street, suite 150 columbus, ohio 43215614 221 9195www.csb.org