Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer Appoints CSH Director to Housing Advisory Board

This is a headshot of Catherine Distelrath who is director of CSH Michigan.

Catherine Distelrath, Director, CSH Michigan

We are pleased to announce that Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed Catherine Distelrath, director of the Michigan team at CSH, to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Statewide Housing Partnership.

Last week, Governor Whitmer announced advisory board appointments to the Statewide Housing Partnership that was established to strategize around implementing the Michigan Statewide Housing Plan released in 2022 and make recommendations to MSHDA on how best to achieve its goals.

The Plan presented opportunities for organizations to partner on common objectives, including rehabilitating and stabilizing the housing supply, reducing equity gaps and homelessness, and increasing home energy efficiency and weatherization.

“CSH is honored to participate in the Statewide Housing Partnership to represent organizations that advocate in support of access to resources and services for Michiganders who are experiencing complex barriers to housing and services,” said Distelrath.

Governor Whitmer formed The Statewide Housing Partnership as an advisory body within the MSHDA last year through executive order 2022-10. Members include leaders from state, local, and tribal governments, advocates from nonprofit and community organizations, and representatives from the business advocacy world and finance industry.

“I am delighted that Catherine is representing organizations and state systems that exist to improve the quality of life for all Michiganders, especially those who experience the trauma of homelessness and institutionalization,” said Deborah De Santis, CSH President and CEO. “With her experience in the state’s largest Continuum of Care agency and work to improve large-scale systems, Catherine is well equipped to represent and offer recommendations for streamlining the agencies and organizations in place to provide the necessary services to help people remain housed and thrive in their communities.”

CSH is proud to represent Michigan’s network of housing and service providers within the new Statewide Housing Partnership as it will lead a coordinated, data-driven, outcome-oriented approach to housing, ensuring that all Michiganders have a safe, affordable place to call home.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation use CSH Data to Award Six Nonprofit Organizations $300,000 in Supportive Housing Grants

DETROIT, Jan. 26, 2021 – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation today announced nearly $300,000 in funding to six community-based nonprofit organizations statewide, supporting permanent supportive housing initiatives to advance racial and economic health equity for special populations.

Residents living in supportive housing are linked to intensive case management and voluntary, live-improving services such as health care, workforce development and child welfare. These nonprofits will utilize grant funding to add a support element to their housing initiatives, addressing root causes of health disparities including those demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizations selected serve communities of great need and special populations, including racial minorities, people who are homeless, those recovering from mental illness or substance use disorder, the LGBTQ+ community, veterans, adults from the foster system, among others.

“These organizations and their innovative programming serve at the immediate intersection of housing and health, and strive to meet the needs of vulnerable populations,” said Suzanne Miller Allen, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan senior director of Community Responsibility and Social Mission. “Their work shows a dire need to further address health disparities and fill gaps, including housing instability, food insecurity or other social and economic determinants of health affecting individuals and families. Our collective vision with these grantees of increasing access to permanent supportive housing for our communities will lead to improving overall health and achieving health equity statewide.”  

According to the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Michigan ranks 11 out of 50 in the United States in supportive housing needs. Individuals who experience chronic homelessness have high rates of substance abuse and mental health disorders and are more likely to suffer from chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS.

Organizations receiving grant funding include:

  • Family Promise of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids - $50,000
  • New Destiny Pathways, Inc., Grand Rapids - $50,000
  • Great Lakes Recovery Center, Marquette - $48,561
  • Lighthouse MI, Pontiac - $50,000
  • Ruth Ellis Center, Inc., Detroit - $50,000

Southwest Counseling Solutions, Detroit - $50,000

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Avalon Housing, CSH and NYU to host FUSE Social Innovation Fund key findings briefing

Ann Arbor, Michigan – February 5, 2018- Spurred by investments from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) has been leading a five-year national demonstration to create and evaluate supportive housing as a solution to addressing the needs of our health care system’s highest-need, highest-cost patients who are experiencing homelessness. Ann Arbor-based non-profit Avalon Housing was one of the four grantees who led this demonstration known locally as FUSE (Frequent Users Systems Engagement). During the five-year project, Avalon worked closely with numerous service providers, including the University of Michigan Health System, St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Packard Health, Community Mental Health, the Shelter Association and the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, among others.

This demonstration was one of the first initiatives to investigate whether supportive housing  has a significant impact on health care utilization and costs among homeless adults who are high utilizers of the health care system. The project was independently evaluated by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from New York University, led by Principal Investigator Beth C. Weitzman, PhD. This evaluation is the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation of a national supportive housing demonstration of this scale. The evaluation included several key components to assess both program implementation and impacts across sites, including a series of visits to all program sites, a pre/post participant survey and cost effectiveness- and impact analyses.

Using data matching across multiple systems, FUSE targeted 150 individuals who met threshold criteria for frequent utilization of crisis systems, including homelessness or housing instability, low income, behavioral health conditions, chronic physical health conditions and frequent emergency room utilization and/or hospitalizations. Through housing navigation, intensive case management and care coordination for primary and behavioral health services, the FUSE project aimed to demonstrate an increase in housing stability for homeless individuals. The project also sought to demonstrate a reduction in the use of emergency systems, improved health outcomes for medically vulnerable individuals and cost savings across multiple systems.

The New York University RCT evaluation concludes that supportive housing can reduce utilization of shelters and costly health care in some populations and can be an important care coordination approach for people with complex health conditions who also experience homelessness. These reductions can substantially offset program costs. This is the first randomized control evaluation of a national supportive housing demonstration of this scale.

Says Aubrey Patiño, Executive Director of Avalon, “FUSE has made an incredible impact on our community at large, paving the way for housing and healthcare partnerships across the state. At Avalon, we know that housing is fundamental to people’s health and wellbeing. We see that every day. FUSE allowed us to build the evidence base for this intervention while leveraging systems change that permanently shifted our community’s approach to effectively serving this population. The end result is that people cycling out of homelessness and crisis systems are stably housed, have access to the health care they need and are living with dignity.  We are also more effectively using our community’s resources, and supportive housing now serves as a platform for recovery.”

On Friday February 16, 2018 from 1:00-3:00 pm at the St. Joseph Mercy Education Center, 5305 Elliott Drive, Ypsilanti, the CSH and NYU evaluation team members, including Senior Program Manager Lauren Fulton from CSH, Beth C. Weitzman, Ph.D., Professor of Health and Public Policy, NYU Steinhardt, and Carolyn Berry, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, will discuss key evaluation findings from Avalon’s FUSE initiative, in addition to evaluation findings across the other three SIF sites, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the State of Connecticut.

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Avalon Housing, Inc. is a non-profit organization created in 1992 as a long-term solution to homelessness. Avalon develops, owns and manages supportive housing for over 750 of Washtenaw County’s lowest-income residents, including 200 children. We serve people who have been chronically homeless and who have behavioral and physical health challenges, including mental illness and substance use disorders. To learn more, visit avalonhousing.org.

Contact: Marcia Luke-van Dijk
(734) 904-4822
mluke-vandijk@avalonhousing.org

CSH has been the national leader in supportive housing for over 25 years. We have worked in 48 states to help create stable, permanent homes for individuals and families. This housing has transformed the lives of over 200,000 people who once lived in abject poverty, on our streets or in institutions. A nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), CSH has earned a reputation as a highly effective, financially stable organization with strong partnerships across government, community organizations, foundations, and financial institutions. Our loans and grants totaling over $700 MM have been instrumental in developing supportive housing in every corner of the country. Through our resources and knowledge, CSH is advancing innovative solutions like CSH-SIF and FUSE that use housing as a platform for services to improve lives, maximize public resources, build healthy communities and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Visit us at csh.org to learn more.

Contact: Robert Friant
212-986-2966, x245
robert.friant@csh.org

Michigan Planning to End Homelessness

A state level Interagency Council on Homelessness, created by Governor Rick Snyder’s Executive Order issued in January, 2015, is working to address and end homelessness in Michigan through a new plan of action. The council includes 13 members from across state government and is housed within the michigan homelessMichigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).

The Michigan Campaign to End Homelessness Action Plan 2017 - 2019 will be evidence-based, cost effective, in line with the Federal Strategic Plan (Opening Doors) and established with feedback from all major stakeholder groups.

The Homeless Policy Advisory Team (HPAT) is responsible for managing the plan that will be set by the state Interagency Council on Homelessness, in collaboration with local Continuum of Care bodies.

CSH is one of the HPAT member partners and our staff have already shared best practices from around the country along with innovations for Michigan to consider regarding quality supportive housing and strategies to end homelessness. HPAT includes five workgroups that all have openings for partners who wish to be more involved in the process of crafting and responding to a draft of the Action Plan.

John Peterson of CSH chairs the Improve Health and Stability workgroup which has prioritized improving Michigan’s utilization of Medicaid resources in supportive housing and rapid rehousing settings. Lindsey Bishop Gilmore of CSH chairs the Statewide Training Committee and this group will tailor learning sessions requested by the five workgroups and HPAT.

The workgroups are specializing in each area of the plan and involving participants from the ground up to capture expertise of practitioners. All workgroups are inviting new participants to inform and implement the Action Plan. They will meet on September 20, the day before the 2016 Homeless Summit in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

To register for the Homeless Summit being held on September 21-22, 2016, at the Radisson Plaza Suites & Hotel in Kalamazoo, please visit this link:  https://www.regonline.com/2016homelesssummit.

To learn more about the Action Plan or to join one of the workgroups, please contact John Peterson at john.peterson@csh.org or Becky Search of MSHDA at Searchb@mighigan.gov.

Detroit, Flint, Oakland Counties in Action Camp

Detroit action camp2Detroit action camp

At CSH, we believe it’s better in the long term to teach communities how to do something effectively for themselves rather than our organization trying to do it all for them. We have the expertise; we have the experience; but local providers, advocates and leaders know their communities best. And they want to learn from us so they can build their own capacity to address homelessness.

That’s the thinking behind the Action Camps we are holding in various parts of the nation to end chronic and veteran homelessness.

Each Action Camp is a two-day quality improvement workshop where a cross-section of the community confronts the biggest barriers standing in the way of ending chronic and veteran homelessness. The goals are to help communities find homes for more people and equip them with problem-solving tools so that they can test and refine their approaches for years to come.

The photo above shows CSH staff and others engaged in a learning exercise at an Action Camp held this week in Detroit, Michigan.

 

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.

 

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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The Road Home

Driving a van around the business district of downtown Detroit looking for people in need of housing may seem like an unusual job, but for James Carey this is how he changes people's lives. James is a case manager for The Road Home, an outreach crisis unit at Neighborhood Service Organization providing support for people experiencing homelessness with many barriers. James and his team engage people on the streets and provide intensive case management services. For example, The Road Home team recovers all the proper documents an individual needs to be housed, they maintain constant contact with the individual while locating housing, and once housed team members continue to provide support services for each individual.

"That's what supportive housing is all about; supporting the person throughout the whole process and allowing them to maintain stability once they are housed," James said.

The Road Home provides support to anyone experiencing homelessness, regardless of their circumstance "We never turn a person away. If the person wants to end their homelessness then that's what we are there for. We do everything we can to help them," James said.

In just one year, James and his team housed over 100 people in need of housing. The City of Detroit called upon The Road Home to help with an encampment of individuals who were living in a local park during some of the most extreme temperatures this past January.  Despite repeated community outreach efforts, this group remained in the park. Once The Road Home became involved they housed all 14 residents in just 40 days, an accomplishment James is extremely proud of.

The work that James and The Road Home are doing is truly making a difference in the city of Detroit. James explained The Road Home is offering people in need of housing a chance to make decisions for themselves and access permanent housing with support. For James, the greatest reward is seeing an individual receive the keys to their very own home for the first time. He said the best part about his job is knowing, "We don't manage homeless, we end it."

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.

 

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