Supportive Housing Integrated Models Toolkit

In creating and sharing the CSH Supportive Housing Integrated Models Toolkit  CSH strives
to:

  • Build the capacity of the affordable housing industry to create and operate high-quality, effective,
    and sustainable supportive housing units in a variety of integrated models
  • Encourage investment in supportive housing, and increase its inclusion in traditional affordable or
    market rate housing developments
  • Answer commonly asked questions to foster familiarity about supportive housing populations and
    give realistic information tying directly to project planning and operations
  • Create a better understanding of the word “integration,” going beyond the number of units within
    any given development and encourage dialogue and ideas on how to promote community
    integration.

Through the Toolkit, CSH expects readers – developers, policy makers, service providers, and community
residents - will learn the range of community responses offering permanent housing solutions that address
local goals of helping individuals with a disability move into independent community based residential
settings with minimal restrictions, or ending long term homelessness.

Chicago Area Community Meetings, Supportive Housing for Adults with IDD

Come learn about supportive housing for adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in Illinois - how to create and access opportunities in your community and share your thoughts on what is needed. These meetings are open to self-advocates, family members, providers, developers, and other allies.

Click here to RSVP for any of the following meetings:

Date/Host Location
Thursday, August 6, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Hosted by Community Service Options
6845 S. Western Ave, Chicago
Tuesday, August 11, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Hosted by Anixter Center
2001 N. Clybourn, Chicago
Friday, August 14, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Hosted by UCP Seguin
3100 S. Central Ave, Cicero
Tuesday, August 18, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Hosted by The Builders at Fremont Library
1170 N. Midlothian Road, Mundelein

Supportive housing is affordable housing with supportive services. Tenants have their own home/apartment and can have a roommate if desired.

Questions? Let us know!

John Fallon, 312-332-6690 ext. 21

Stephanie Sideman, 312-332-6690 ext. 25

OSF Grants $150,000 to CSH for FUSE Replication

OSFThe Open Society Foundations (OSF) U.S. Programs initiative supports efforts to advance equality, fairness, and justice with a focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized communities and the most significant threats to open society in the United States today. OSF works to further a vibrant democratic society in which all people can meaningfully participate in its civic, economic, and political life and to ensure that the core institutions of civil society are effective and accountable to the public.

Areas of particular emphasis in U.S. Programs’ grant-making and other activities include:

  • The advancement of effective and fair criminal justice and drug policies,
  • Support of the rights of racial minorities and other vulnerable groups;
  • Support of institutions and practices that advance a more informed and engaged public and responsive and effective government.

OSF’s recent contribution of $150,000 to CSH to promote a scaled replication and the sustainability of the FUSE (Frequent Users/Utilizers Systems Engagement) model will help ensure that more people leaving our jails and prisons will have a real chance to become a part of the communities in which they live. Because of the generosity of OSF and others, CSH is able to recreate FUSE in more communities across the country.

FUSE is a CSH signature accomplishment that helps communities identify and engage high utilizers of public systems and place them into supportive housing in order to break the cycle of repeated use of costly crisis services, shelters, and the criminal justice system. In the FUSE model, supportive housing serves to smooth the transition from institution to community, promoting a transformation that serves those released from jails and prisons, and the general population, by improving lives and public safety.

The critical support of OSF and our partners will allow CSH to aggressively pursue our vision to create additional policy and resource tools, such as FUSE, that encourage cross-system collaboration and allow innovative responses to complex social problems.

 

Advancing Supportive Housing for Adults with IDD

CSH is pleased to announce our 2015 training seminars geared towards self-advocates, families, community champions, and development teams including developers and service providers. We hosted a webinar twice on July 14th to review all of the upcoming training sessions available to you.  If you missed this or if you are willing to share it with others, please click on either link below.

Click here to view the webinar from July 14th at 12:30pm

Click here to view the webinar from July 14th at 7:00pm

For Self-Advocates
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CSH will host two training sessions, one in Chicago and one in Springfield, for people who are interested in living in their own home with an appropriate array of supportive services and peers interested in learning more about supportive housing. These highly interactive sessions will include as homework  recruiting additional self-advocates to discuss supportive housing with peers and learn more about what housing and support interests are represented in their home town. Sessions will take place in late September, and will include self-advocates as lead trainers. Please e-mail stephanie.sideman@csh.org for more information.

For Families and Community Champions

In order to invest in the driving force of change within the IDD community, CSH plans to offer training sessions in September for family members who would like to learn more about supportive housing and how to influence policy changes that will create new housing solutions.  Recognizing that family members and self-advocates know best about what is needed for adults to live successfully in their own apartment in the community, we wish to arm family members with knowledge about financing supportive housing, coordinating services, and key policy changes needed to bring supportive housing to scale in your local community. This is about understanding and insisting upon real action and change in your own local community. For more information, please e-mail john.fallon@csh.org.

For Developers and Service Providers

Panthers FinaleCSH: The Source for Housing Solutions, in partnership with the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities (ICDD), is excited to announce the 2015 Supportive Housing Institute in Joliet and Springfield.  The 2015 Supportive Housing Institute will focus on the creation of integrated housing settings that meet the needs of adults with intellectual & developmental disabilities. This series will help development teams learn how to navigate the complex process of developing housing with support services and this training series is expected to reduce the time it takes to obtain funding by improving the planning and application process.  Consideration will be given to integrated housing with up to 25% of the housing set aside for supportive housing and small scale multi-family apartments.

The 2015 Institute provides targeted training and technical assistance to both new and experienced development teams.  Teams receive over 50 hours of training including individualized technical assistance and resources to assist in completing their project.  In addition, experts from across the state, including staff and national partners provide insight on property management, financing, and building design. Special emphasis will be given to accessing Section 811 and the Statewide Referral Network.  

Please click here to view the application.

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Housing Veterans

The first Stand Down was held in San Diego, CA in 1988. Today, more than 200 Stand Downs are held across the country each year. Stand Downs give Veterans the opportunity to access countless resources all in one place.

The 2015 Chicago Stand Down was held at the General Jones National Guard Armory on June 26 and 27. Veterans in the Chicago area had access to many services including medical care, legal assistance, food, haircuts, employment assistance, and information about what benefits and other resources are available to them. In addition to these services, the event encouraged Veterans to connect with each other, and served as a great place for Veterans facing homelessness to get connected to housing solutions.

CSH, the systems coordinator for Chicago's Ending Veteran Homelessness Initiative, organized staff from across the City to complete assessments with Veterans in order to match people to housing interventions. Using one by-name registry of all Veterans experiencing homelessness through the Homeless Management Information System platform, this initiative aims to end homelessness by the end of 2015 for all Veterans, and the first step is identifying and assessing Veterans in need of permanent housing.

By gaining access to those in greatest need through outreach efforts such as the Chicago Stand Down, the Ending Veteran Homelessness Initiative is able to provide support for Veterans experiencing homelessness by guiding them to resources to rebuild their lives, the greatest of which is a place to call home.

CMS Issues Bulletin on Using Medicaid for Supportive Services

CMSThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) has released an Informational Bulletin intended to assist states in designing Medicaid benefits, and to clarify the circumstances under which Medicaid reimburses for certain housing-related activities, with the goal of promoting community integration for individuals with disabilities, older adults needing long term services and supports (LTSS), and those experiencing chronic homelessness. Consistent with statute, CMS/CMCS can assist states with coverage of certain housing-related activities and services.

Read the full CMS/CMCS Informational Bulletin here.

For more information on how states are currently using Medicaid in supportive housing, see CSH's four new resources, released earlier this month.

Read our joint statement with the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Technical Assistance Collaborative and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

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Over The Rainbow

Construction is under way for the Southwick Apartment project. Over The Rainbow, the project sponsor and nonprofit dedicated to providing accessible housing for adults with disabilities , is developing a 40 unit, fully accessible affordable housing development in Matteson, Illinois.

305_SWPBuilding_15The Southwick Apartments will be 100 percent ADA compliant and house low-income adults, some of whom depend on wheelchairs for mobility or have a need for mobility features. CSH provided a $475,000 predevelopment loan to Over The Rainbow.

Thirty-five of the units will have Project Based Vouchers from the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) and from the Regional Housing Initiative (RHI). Three of the vouchers administered thru HACC will be set-aside for the Olmstead Population and overlap as Illinois State Referral Network units.

The project consists of 4 studios, 32 one-bedroom apartments and 4 two-bedrooms apartments. Each unit will be equipped with a personal kitchen and bathroom. Volunteer programs and community partnerships will provide services such as basic social and employment services, recreational opportunities, and a computer training center to help develop job skills for all residents.

This is Over The Rainbow's first time developing and managing an integrated project and CSH's financial support will allow this strong organization to successfully provide housing that accommodates their future residents.

OrgCode, Community Solutions & CSH Launch Next Step Tool for Youth

The Next Step Tool for Homeless Youth

The Next Step Tool for Homeless Youth, or Next Step Tool, integrates the TAY Triage Tool, developed by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) through research by Eric Rice, PhD, Associate Professor at University of Southern California, with the VI-SPDAT, created by Community Solutions and OrgCode Consulting, Inc.

The TAY Triage Tool predicts which youth are most likely to experience long-term homelessness, essentially on a trajectory to becoming chronically homeless adults. The VI-SPDAT helps understand current vulnerabilities and risks to future housing stability, in order to support youth in ending their homelessness.

The Next Step Tool carefully merges all of these tested ideas together. Through a closed-ended survey where youth provide a yes, no or one-word answer, service providers have a better understanding of the intensity of supports to begin with when supporting the youth.  You can download the Next Step Tool at http://www.orgcode.com/product/vi-spdat/

 

The Youth SPDAT

To complement the launch of the Next Step Tool, OrgCode has also created a modified version of the Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (SPDAT) for use specifically with youth. The Youth SPDAT was developed based on feedback from many communities using the SPDAT who identified the need for a complete assessment tool that emphasized the unique issues faced by homeless youth.

Download the Youth SPDAT.

 

CSH Transition Age Youth (TAY) Triage Tool

The CSH Transition Age Youth (TAY) Triage Tool - A Tool to Identify Homeless Transition Age Youth Most in Need of Supportive Housing - can be accessed directly here.

 

Groundbreaking: PhilHaven Supportive Housing

philhavenRosemont, Ill. CSH staff, along with several local officials and financing partners, joined together this week to celebrate the groundbreaking for PhilHaven, a new 50-unit affordable and supportive housing development located in Wheeling, Illinois.

Under development by a partnership formed by Daveri Development Group LLC and Kenneth Young Center, the three-story building will comprise 57,174-square-feet of living space.

The first floor will feature the property’s on-site management offices and a variety of community spaces such as a lounge with an adjacent kitchen, technology center, exercise room, reading nook and a bike storage room.

In all, the building will consist of private apartments configured in one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts and complete with contemporary fixtures and finishes.

Green building strategies will also be incorporated throughout the development by including Enterprise Green Communities Criteria as well as energy-efficient HVAC systems.

Financing for PhilHaven was provided by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, National Equity Fund Inc., Village Bank & Trust, Wintrust Financial, Cook County, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity and Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH).

CSH provided a $1,950,000 acquisition and predevelopment loan for PhilHaven. Proceeds from these monies were used to fund acquisition of the project site and predevelopment costs related to the new construction.

Residents will benefit from supportive services, including access to behavioral and mental health counseling and programs, provided by Kenneth Young Center and Alexian Brothers.

Harvard Releases State of the Nation's Housing 2015

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University has released The State of the Nation's Housing 2015 and this is what it says about our PROGRESS IN REDUCING HOMELESSNESS and the role supportive housing is playing, effectively getting people off our streets and keeping them housed:

"The lack of affordable housing in the United States continues to leave nearly 600,000 people homeless. More than a third are people in families, including 130,000 children under the age of 18. By comparison, chronically homeless individuals (those who have been without a place to live for at least a year or have had repeated episodes of homelessness over the past few years) account for a much smaller share (15 percent) of the homeless population. Recent increases in federal funding have aided progress in reducing both homelessness overall and among the most vulnerable groups. Indeed, the number of beds in permanent supportive housing expanded 60 percent between 2007 and 2014, to over 300,000. Beds for the chronically homeless accounted for just over half of this increase. As a result, total homelessness fell 11 percent in 2007–14, the number of homeless veterans dropped 19 percent, and the number of chronically homeless individuals was down by 30 percent. At the same time, however, the number of homeless people in families declined by only 8 percent.

But the national reduction in homelessness is not apparent in all markets. Rising rents and a dwindling supply of affordable rentals continue to put people at risk, especially in high-cost locations. Indeed, total homelessness jumped by 29 percent in New York and 40 percent in Massachusetts between 2007 and 2014. The increase in the District of Columbia was even larger, at 46 percent. Family homelessness is particularly acute in major cities, which were home to 45 percent of this population in 2014. New York City headed the list with 41,600 homeless people in families, or nearly 20 percent of the national total."

 

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