August 2016


A letter from Lisa Tepper Bates

Hello friends, 
 
Many of us are just back from the National Alliance to End Homelessness Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. last week.  A key takeaway: Connecticut continues to lead the nation in efforts to end homelessness! Secretary of Health and Human service Burwell, the conference keynote speaker, noted CT's success in ending veteran homelessness - just days in advance of President Obama's shout-out to the Nutmeg state for the same achievement! 
 
NAEH asked Connecticut to present in seven conference sessions on work in our state. A central theme: great teamwork from nonprofits, to state agencies, HUD and VA resources across Connecticut.  Many nonprofit colleagues from other states lamented the fact that they struggle alone to end homelessness - without financial support or leadership, sometimes with opposition, from their state-level elected leaders. Connecticut is a stand-out for the strong commitment of Governor Malloy and his Administration, including our colleagues at the Departments of Housing and Mental Health and Addiction Services, to ending homelessness in our state.
 
There will always be more to do so long as anyone is homeless in Connecticut.  But we should be energized by knowing that we are making great strides and meeting challenges that other communities have yet to tackle, and that we have a team that truly works together.
 
Many thanks, to each and every one of you, for all you do, every day.

Best regards,

 
A90-90
The National Alliance to End Homelessness 
2016 National Conference on Ending Homelessness

CCEH staff and colleagues from across Connecticut attended the National Alliance to End Homelessness Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. July 26-28. 
NAEH leadership highlighted Connecticut's great work throughout the conference - CCEH staff and colleagues from the Department of Housing and the Partnership for Strong Communities presented in multiple sessions, demonstrating that Connecticut is a leader in the field and that we are advancing the model for ending homelessness. 

We feature, below, summaries from CCEH highlighting some of the conference's best sessions on cutting-edge issues of interest in efforts to end homelessness.


Determining "How Much is Enough" in support and Rapid Re-Housing with the "Find-Pay-Stay" Model.

Building Systems to End Youth and Family Homelessness & Tools to improve Rapid Re-Housing.

Improving data collection and quality to improve efforts to end homelessness.

Supporting moving on from permanent supportive housing and prioritizing resources to end chronic homelessness.

Developing strategies to meet housing and healthcare needs for the homeles with low income and living with HIV/AIDS

Strategies for caring for the aging homeless population as demographics change.


Obama
President Obama Applauds Connecticut's Success in Ending Veteran Homelessness

On Monday, August 1st, 2016 President Obama spoke about the national, state, and local successes in ending veteran homelessness while at the Disabled Veterans Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. He specifically acknowledged  Virginia and Connecticut as the first states to end veteran homelessness. 

We and our partners are proud to have achieved this goal and recognition.  To watch his speech, please click here.

CapitalHill
NAEH Conference: 
Capitol Hill Day

The Connecticut Delegation to the National Alliance to End Homelessness Annual Conference spent their last day in Washington DC participating in Capitol Hill Day. Team CT held meetings with housing legislative staffers in the offices of both Senators and all our Congressional representatives to focus on key legislative priorities in the coming year. 

Every staffer echoed back to us their enthusiasm for the energy, drive, urgency, and sense of collaboration in our communities today and dedication to ending homelessness in Connecticut. To learn more about the key priorities and legislative action approaching in regards to our efforts to end homelessness, click  here .

Trainings
Upcoming Trainings and Events:
Diversion Training Series
Tuesday, August 16th
12:00 PM -4:00 PM
Tuesday, September 20th
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday, October 18th
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday, November 15
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Shelter Diversion is a strategy that prevents homelessness at the front door by helping clients identify immediate alternate housing arrangements and, if necessary, connecting them with services and financial assistance to help them return to permanent housing. 

Please note that the material will review the Diversion trainings from February 2016.  To learn more, please click here and or c ontact Training & Communications Coordinator Sarah Chess at  schess@cceh.org  f or more information. 

behom
be homeful challenge comes to a close

Congratulations to all the CANs that participated in the be homeful challenge! Central Connecticut, Fairfield County, Greater Hartford, and Northeastern Connecticut all snagged their shares of the matching funds and we look forward to continuing to partner with you to raise shelter diversion funds accessible to your CAN!

As a next step, we are seeking to put together a collaborative of agency contacts interested in partnering to leverage the be homeful project to raise funds and visibility for the work your CANs are doing. This group will meet monthly by phone to share successes and explore opportunities to partner to raise the profile of our work together and raise funds from new funding sources for shelter diversion. 

Please contact Madeline Ravich at mravich@cceh.org if you'd like to be part of this collaborative.
Data
CCEH Data Updates
 
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click here to sign up , and never miss out on exciting data related releases like the Coordinated Entry Reports , Regional  PIT Reports , or the upcoming supplemental youth count data report.