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Mark your Calendars!

For the past six months, key community stakeholders and many of you have been working with Matt White with Housing Innovations to develop a strategic plan that addresses the specific needs identified in the Polk County Gap Analysis and the challenges identified through countless focus groups. This plan is the culmination of the thoughts and experiences of over 200 individuals consisting of those with lived experience, providers, elected officials, business representatives, and key community leaders. We hope you can join us virtually or in-person for this exciting launch! Please register today!

While the Homeward team was successful in maximum funding in the 2024 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition ($7 million), the federal contracts releasing these funds as well as the FY 23 planning grant, remain slowed at the federal level. Homeward is thankful for the elected officials on the Homeless Coordinating Council and the Metro Advisory Council for their help in advocating for the release of these funds. Homeward staff was able to meet with Senator Ernst's staff the week of March 17 and now have a lead congressional staff also working to expedite contracts. We are optimistic as some contracts due for renewal are now being issued. If you are facing challenges with contract issuance due to federal delays, please let a Homeward staff know.

Homeward Seeks New Board Members!

Homeward's Board of Directors is a diverse, passionate group of individuals united in the work to ensure that one day, everyone in Polk County will have a safe place to call home. Their leadership guides Homeward in creating a coordinated approach to ending homelessness by distributing funding, best practices, data, and training. 

Homeward is currently seeking board applications from individuals who are passionate about homeless services and have lived expertise or have experience with workforce preparation, substance use treatment, the faith community, the LGBTQ community, or have a finance/accounting background.

Board applications will be accepted until April 30, 2025.

Department of Transportation ID Event

Friday, May 2nd from 11-3 pm

Registration required by contacting Jenna Schuck (jschuck@phcinc.net)

On Friday May 2nd from 11a - 3p the Central Library will be hosting the next DOT event! Jenna Schuck is so if you have people that are interested please contact me with their information. We will be able to serve about 50 folks at this event and people need to register BEFORE the day of the event.

Who is eligible to register?

- Folks who have formerly had an Iowa ID and need monetary support obtaining a new one

*This event CANNOT serve folks who have never had an Iowa ID*

Things to bring:

-Themselves!

- No additional documentation is needed at this event 

Things to consider:

- If the individual has a common name, a date of birth may be necessary for registration 

-This event will pay for state IDs, not to re-issue a driver's license.

- Preregistering allows the DOT to assure if a client is eligible for this event and gives time to mitigate issues if not

- There will be assigned appointment times but folks should show up early and be prepared to wait if needed - we will be moving through times as diligently as possible

- If you sign someone up please take the time to remind them of the event to the best of your ability, a month out can be a long time to remember such details 

Please feel free to pass this message along as you see fit, and Jenna Schuck know if you have additional questions.

YAC on Display



On March 12, 2025, the Youth Action Council (YAC) presented at the 2025 Gordon Symposium held at Iowa State University. Their art work, some displayed below, is on display at the ISU College of Design building.

YAC will be presenting to the Grand View University School of Social Work seminar class on April 16th. If you have a group that would be interested in hearing from YAC, please reach out to Amy Croll.

C3 De-Escalation Training

(thanks to our partners WeLIFT)

April 30, 9:00 am-3:00 pm

Polk County River Place, Des Moines, Iowa

Training is free, but registration is required.

Register HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/c3-de-escalation-training-tickets-1274653696519?aff=oddtdtcreator

C3 stands for Calm Circuit Connection. Our world can be a tough place to navigate with the different stressors in our lives.

It is critical that our community have the tools to communicate effectively with each other during emotionally driven conversations. C3 is understanding how each of our individual brains “floods” with Adrenaline and how our responses to situations can calm or explode a response.

C3 targets the adrenaline that disrupts brain connections and fuels aggression. C3 techniques help angry or distraught people calm down, gain control over themselves, and become safer and easier to work with.

WeLIFT has staff that are trained and Certified Instructors in C3 De-escalation and uses this training to help others understand the importance of managing emotions to produce better reactions and behaviors in emotionally charged situations.

This training is open to members of the Polk County CoC at no cost. Homeless service providers will receive priority registration. Registration is limited.

Another C3 De-Escalation training is scheduled for September 10, 2025 also from 9-3 pm. Register HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/c3-de-escalation-training-tickets-1307328086499?aff=oddtdtcreator