The Massachusetts integrated Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness among Veterans

1. The Massachusetts integrated Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness among Veterans

2. History • November 2009 – VA released 5 Year Plan to End Homelessness Among Veterans • June 2010 – USICH released Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, Opening Doors Across America • January 2011 – Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Services announced ending homelessness among Massachusetts veterans as a top priority. • June 2011 – VA convened regional summit on ending homelessness among veterans by 2014 • November 2011 – VA and HUD convened regional conference on ending veterans’ homelessness • December 2011 – ICHH, DVS, DHCD, VA, HUD, and MHSA launched statewide Steering Committee to develop framework for first statewide integrated plan to end veterans’ homelessness • March 2013 – Plan was released and implementation commenced

3. Steering Committee Membership • Massachusetts Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness • U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development • MA Department of Veterans’ Services • MA Department of Housing and Community Development • Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance • Technical Assistance Collaborative • Massachusetts Veterans Services Officers Association • John O’Brien, Advisor

4. Purpose • Develop the first statewide plan for preventing and ending homelessness among Veterans in Massachusetts • Integrate federal, state, and private sector resources • Align with VA Plan to End Homelessness Among Veterans and USICH’s Plan Opening Doors Across America

5. Guiding Principles • Focus on results and evidence-based practices. • Prioritize prevention and rapid re-housing. • Prioritize chronically homeless veterans, the most at risk, and frequent utilizers of emergency care. • Address the needs of all men and women who served in the military regardless of  type of discharge. • Build partnerships.

6. Snapshot of Homeless Veterans in MA • 1,268 homeless veterans in MA (2011 Point in Time count) • 20.6% reduction from prior year • 7.6% of all homeless in MA at point in time are veterans • Approximately 450 chronically homeless veterans in MA

7. Results Framework GOAL 1 Housing: Veterans who become homeless are re-housed and stabilized. GOAL 2 Prevention: Veterans most at-risk of homelessness remain housed. All Massachusetts veterans have a stable place to call home GOAL 3 Intervention:Veterans have increased access to benefits and resources. GOAL 4 Partnerships: Federal, state and community resources are aligned and integrated to support veterans.

8. Signature Initiatives 1. Reduce the 2011 homeless veterans PIT count by 1,000 by the end of 2015. 2. End chronic homelessness among veterans, going from 450 to 0, by the end of 2015. 3. Access 1,000 units of permanent housing to meet plan goals by end of 2015, including: -700 new HUD VASH vouchers -250 new units of housing through DHCD initiatives for chronically homeless veterans, including at least 25 for non-VA eligible chronically homeless veterans -50 housing subsidies through DHCD initiatives to access existing housing units for non-VA eligible homeless veterans 4. Support the partnership between the VA and DVS to build community capacity to serve veterans where they live by contracting for HUD VASH case management and other services, through DVS, to community-based non-profits.

9. Signature Initiatives 5. Expand partnerships between VA, MA ICHH, DVS (Chapter 115), DHCD, VSO’s, Housing Authorities, Regional Networks to End Homelessness, Regional Housing Network, and CoC’s. This partnership is the key to: -Accessing existing housing -New housing production -Providing comprehensive wrap around services -Ensuring access to benefits and income supports -Prevention 6. Develop regional lists of homeless veterans in partnership with CoCs, Regional Networks, and city and town Veteran’s Services Officers (VSO’s) in order to prioritize resources and support services, to track progress and outcomes for specific individuals, and to understand the scope of veterans who are newly homeless and accessing systems of care. 7. Launch a demonstration project in Year 1 of this plan to test the feasibility of conversion strategies that allow providers to utilize existing veteran’s emergency and transitional housing resources for permanent housing and community-based supports. 8. Improve research and data to better inform policy and target resources.

10. Implementation PlanWorking Groups • The Steering Committee has established working groups to advance each of the plan’s goals: • Housing • Prevention • Intervention • Partnerships • Data • Comprised of key federal, state, municipal partners, as well as nonprofits and statewide advocacy organizations. • Report against Action Plan items to Steering Committee every 6 weeks

11. Partnerships Working Group • Chaired by Liz Rogers, ICHH and Stephanie Harrington, HUD • Additional Participants: • Regional Housing Network • City of Boston – Boston CoC • Central MA Housing Alliance – Worcester CoC • Hilltown CDC – Three County Rural CoC • Veterans Service Officers Association • VA • MassNAHRO • City of Newton VSO • Merrimack Valley Regional Network to End Homelessness • Western MA Regional Network to End Homelessness • Homes for Families

12. Partnerships Working Group: Action Items • Engage federal agency participation through New England Regional Federal Interagency Council on Homelessness. • Partner with each Regional Network to establish veterans working groups to implement regional strategies associated with each of the plan’s goals. • Provide TA to CoCs by sharing best practices and ensuring federal and state participation. • Identify and expand community capacity to serve veterans, including participation in regional planning and contracting opportunities. • Enhance engagement of statewide stakeholder organizations in plan implementation, including MassNAHRO, Regional Housing Network, MHSA, philanthropies, VSOA. • Enhance organizations’ capacity to connect VA-eligible and ineligible veterans to housing, benefits, and employment. • Enhance awareness and capacity among community partners, such as first responders, food pantries, food stamp workers, housing authorities, shelters to improve screening and referrals.

13. Next Steps • Begin meeting with CoCs and Regional Networks to establish veterans working groups, present statewide plan, and begin collecting data on the number of veterans housed. • We acknowledge that some CoCs/Networks have dedicated more energy to the veterans subpopulation than others. We want to identify and enhance those local efforts, and coordinate among Networks and CoCs. • Assist CoCs and VSOs to work more effectively together. • Train Veterans Service Officers on the plan and strategies for connecting homeless veterans to housing and benefits. • Identify additional opportunities to expand partnerships and support local/regional efforts to implement plan goals.

14. Next Steps: Launching Signature Initiatives Developing a list of Homeless Veterans: • Can help prioritize resources, avoid duplication of effort, and track progress • Use data warehouse or run query from HMIS to identify master list of all homeless veterans with open enrollments in CoC partner programs • Provide list to all providers that sign data-sharing agreement • Assign each veteran to a primary service provider who will execute release of information with clients to share info with other providers they may have seen. • Update list quarterly to clean data and ensure any new veterans are assigned a primary provider.