CSH has been enlisted to help the City of Detroit implement strategies to end veteran and chronic homelessness.
Lisa Chapman, Director of the CSH Michigan office explains the partnership this way: “We have assigned one of our staff experts, Meghan Takashima, to work directly within the City’s executive structure as a Senior Homelessness Policy Advisor to Detroit. In this role, Meghan will provide the intensive support Detroit has requested to align city policy to end veteran and chronic homelessness.”
This unique arrangement is made possible in part by a generous grant previously awarded by the McGregor Fund.
“The McGregor Fund has committed considerable resources toward ending homelessness in the City of Detroit and was very receptive to our idea to tailor their grant to embed Meghan in city government as a key voice in guiding policy decisions,” said Chapman.
Meghan will support Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department in the development of Every Detroiter Counts, the Detroit strategy to end homelessness. CSH’s overall role will be to provide information on best practices in service provision for those experiencing homelessness, providing local demographic and outcome data to help inform decision making and assistance in drafting plans to address homelessness and increase supportive housing development. CSH will also assist in creating measurable goals to track outcomes and to monitor program progress for city-funded organizations serving those experiencing homelessness.
Meghan noted that one specific area of focus for the work will be veteran homelessness. “No one who has served our country should have to spend a night without a home. CSH will help the city coordinate with community partners to meet the federal timeline of ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015, and to make homelessness rare and brief among veterans moving forward.”
Meghan also pointed out the Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department is already working closely with CSH to target 200 high-need, chronically homeless individuals, veterans and families for housing in 2015.
