Successfully ending homelessness requires collaborative local, regional and national partnerships because no one entity can tackle this pervasive problem alone. When all parties work together, homeless individuals and the community at large benefit, according to the latest Downtown BID leadership paper, Ending Chronic Homelessness in DC: A Unified Strategy.
According to the paper, major progress has been achieved since the first homeless leadership paper, Downtown: Moving People from the Street to Independence, was released in October 2008. Chronic homelessness has decreased significantly in the Downtown BID area, and the BID’s ability to deal with short-term and chronic homelessness has improved because of new partnerships and initiatives and long-term relationships that continue to reach new heights. The BID reduces chronic homelessness through a unified approach involving other DC BIDs, the city, service providers and nonprofit organizations.
The Downtown BID Homeless Services Team has identified and reconnected more than 700 homeless individuals to families and service providers since 2008, and the number of homeless people living on Downtown streets at night has dropped to 73 in January 2010 from 139 in January 2008 because of a Housing First model that steers homeless individuals toward independent lives and away from the streets.
Recent developments include working with or using:
· The DC Public Library – to provide an innovative outreach program for the homeless
· Martha’s Table – to connect former homeless individuals to groceries and clothing
· Common Ground – to create diverse housing stock for the formerly homeless and low-income residents
· A Vulnerability Index – to identify and prioritize the street homeless population to qualify for housing
Other leadership paper highlights:
· A profile of Chet Grey, the Downtown BID’s director of Homeless Services, and Jonathan Ward, clinical director of the BID’s Downtown Homeless Services Team
· An overview of DC government efforts to end homelessness
· Statistical facts about DC’s homeless population
· A map showing homeless services and facilities in the Downtown BID area and where homeless persons were located in a homeless count taken on January 27, 2010
To view the leadership paper, visit www.downtowndc.org/homeless.