Homeless Services Network of Central Florida

HSN’s new Veteran Volunteer Program has a newsletter out called “Azimuth”. For those that don’t know, “Azimuth” is a term used in the military to describe a compass bearing. This edition includes articles on the SSVF program, Veteran Volunteer Program, HSN, and spotlights of real veterans, and upcoming events. The next edition will include veteran employment opportunities and challenges. If you would like to be included in the direct email list for this newsletter, please email Sean Gibbs, Veterans Services Coordinator, at sean.gibbs {at} HSNCFL(.)org. Please include your name and organization, and then type “Newsletter Email List” in the subject heading.

“Azimuth” is available for download from the Homeless Services Network web site.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $200 million in new project funding to support over 15,000 beds and supportive services in communities across the country. The majority of funding will provide housing and services for homeless persons who are disabled, including 8,700 persons in families, and 5,600 persons who are chronically homeless.

Locally, the 2011 funding competition resulted in a $547,927 award to the Homeless Services Network for two new permanent supportive housing projects.

For a local summary of the grants announced today, visit HUD’s Homelessness Resource Exchange (What’s New section) or HUD’s website (Featured News)

Last month, we unveiled our new data quality monitoring tool: the Data Completeness Report Card. This new report not only examines a wider range of data elements required for collection by all HMIS participants, but also boils down the effort into a simple letter grade.

Project Homeless Connect is the Homeless Services Network’s outreach to the homeless in Seminole, Orange, and Osceola Counties. It is a one day event offering more than 50 services that are critically needed by homeless persons in one convenient location.

Services offered include emergency shelter and transitional housing, mental health and substance abuse services, employment resources, food stamp assistance, Florida ID cards and birth certificates via IDignity, legal services, medical care, showers, haircuts, food, clothing and much more.

HSN will be holding the 6th annual Project Homeless Connect in Downtown Orlando on Friday, March 23, 2012. The location is First Baptist Church of Orlando, 3000 S. John Young Parkway Orlando, FL 32805. Transportation to and from the event will be provided for clients via shuttle from various locations in Downtown Orlando and Orange County.

HSN is grateful for the support of First Baptist Church of Orlando, Love Orlando, City of Orlando and Orange County Government for our event this year. In 2010, Project Homeless Connect served over 1,000 clients in Downtown Orlando. In 2012, we expect to serve the same.

In order to make this event a success, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! If you would like to volunteer, please fill out the Volunteer Registration Form.

The Orlando Neighborhood Improvement Corporation (ONIC), in partnership with FAMU Law School, Barry Law School, and the IRS, is offering income tax assistance from now through April 14 to all members in the community, many of whom may qualify for various tax credits this year, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Making Work Pay Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Hope Credit and American Opportunity Credit.

To file your taxes at no cost to you, you must have with you: (more…)

The current data completeness reports used by HSN look only at the Universal Data Elements (UDE’s) that everyone using HMIS must collect (DOB, gender, race, etc). Last year we started requiring a few more data elements (including income, disabilities, and domestic violence history), so we have a new data completeness report that will include those data elements as well.

Additionally, the new report provides an overall data quality score in the form of a letter grade. This report uses the following scale:

A = 95%+
B = 90-94%
C = 80-89%
F = 0-79%

This scale certainly seems a lot more difficult than the one we’re all accustomed to from our school days, but HSN has always required that participating agencies achieve a minimum data completion rate of 95%, so this is actually a standard everyone is used to.

We are still ironing out some wrinkles with the report, but we did run it for 80 separate HMIS-participating programs throughout our CoC. The following 18 programs made the dean’s list for the month of January: (more…)

Date: Tuesday-Wednesday, January 31-February 1, 2012
Time: 8:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Center for Drug Free Living, 3670 Maguire Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32803

What is SOAR training?

• An overview of the Social Security Administration’s disability programs
• A step-by-step guide to engaging and interviewing potential clients
• Overview of the application process and the key components for success for your client’s application

Why is this training important to our Continuum of Care?

How many times have case managers completed a Social Security Disability application for a homeless client, only to have it denied? Nationally, the approval rate for homeless persons is 15% at initial application.

(more…)

HSN will be surveying 15 labor pools in the tri-county area beginning at 5:00 a.m. and ending at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, January 27, 2012. The survey is part of HSN’s annual Point-in-Time Count, which is always conducted within the last 10 days of January.

Volunteers for our labor pool surveys will go to a labor pool site, arriving at approximately 5:00 a.m. when persons seeking work are lining up. Informal surveys are completed until 7:00 a.m. (or until all clients have been interviewed).

HSN is hosting an optional breakfast for volunteers at the Denny’s in Orlando at I-4 on Lee Road beginning at 8:00 a.m. to turn in survey forms and share their experiences with coffee and a hot breakfast.

HSN volunteers will be going to more than 70 locations to gather data on the unsheltered homeless through a simple two-page survey form. The aggregated data is reported to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and is used by local governments, foundations, businesses and nonprofits to develop programs that serve the needs of the homeless in our community. The data is especially important when applying for funding for homeless programs from local, state, and Federal sources.

Volunteers are asked to attend a mandatory one-hour training session at HSN’s office at 2828 Edgewater Drive (downtown College Park) at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 26, 2012, where they will receive their assignments, get clipboards, surveys and directions to their assignments.

To sign up, please fill out the Volunteer Registration Form.

Please contact our volunteer coordinator, Jessie Figueroa at 407-893-0133 x107 or jessie {at} hsncfl(.)org with any questions.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $1.47 billion to renew funding to more than 7,100 local homeless programs operating across the country. The funding announced today will ensure these housing and service programs remain operating in 2012 and are a critical part of the Obama Administration’s strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness.

HUD is renewing funding through its Continuum of Care programs to existing local programs as quickly as possible to prevent any interruption in federal assistance and will award funds to new projects in early 2012.

Homeless Services Network was awarded a total of $5.1 million to continue the operation of current projects at many agencies in Orlando and across Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties, including Catholic Charities, the Center for Drug Free Living, Safehouse of Seminole, the Salvation Army of Orlando, the Sharing Center, Rescue Outreach Mission, the Transition House, Wayne Densch Center, Seminole Behavioral Health Care, Goodwill Industries, the Coalition for the Homeless, Covenant House Florida, Grand Avenue Economic Community Development Corp., Harbor House, Intervention Services, Lakeside Behavioral Health Care, and Health Care Center for the Homeless.

Resources:

• A full list of renewed projects throughout our CoC and the entire state of Florida
• The full press release from HUD

For more information, visit HUD’s Homelessness Resource Exchange at http://www.hudhre.info/