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Join the Movement to #HouseAllYouth!
Click here to sign your name – it takes less than a minute to show your commitment!
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CONTINUUM OF CARE UPDATES |
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Congratulations to our Executive Director, Katie Vela
The San Antonio Area Foundation, in partnership with HOLT CAT's exclusive training curriculum, has launched a premier executive leadership program this month. Our Executive Director, Katie Vela, was selected among 28 other local nonprofit leaders to participate in this executive-level cohort training. This program focuses on leadership skills, specifically during times of hardship, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 HOLT Advanced Leadership Program has two learning sessions a month through November 12th, 2021.
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SARAH is Seeking a Strategic Planning Consultant
SARAH is accepting proposals to develop a 3-year organizational strategic plan that aligns with the broader community’s Homeless Strategic Plan and SARAH’s recently created mission, vision, and values statement. The strategic plan will include annual goals and priorities along with the development of a mechanism for implementation.
You can find more information about the Request for Proposal here.
The deadline to apply will be on Friday, June 11th, at 5:30 PM.
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Congratulations to Morgan Handley, Associate Director and Street Outreach Specialist at Corazón Ministries! |
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The CoC Membership Council has elected Morgan as the Co-Chair of the new Street Outreach Case Conferencing. Morgan will serve alongside Mary Jo Rodriguez at the Department of Human Services.
Morgan was born and raised in San Antonio and graduated from UTSA with her Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration. While working on her undergraduate degree, Morgan interned at Haven for Hope, where she first fell in love with the homeless population.
After graduation, Morgan worked with a nonprofit, overseeing the work of a street outreach team. Last year, Moran was recognized by SARAH as one of San Antonio's 2020 Street Outreach Heroes for her exceptional work in the field.
After serving with Corazón Ministries in their emergency shelter during the Texas Winter Storm, Morgan was offered their Associate Director and Street Outreach Specialist position. In this position, Morgan continues to advocate for and help clients get off the street, whether through shelter, detox, substance abuse treatment programs, group homes, or assisted living. Morgan also collaborates with other agencies that share the same passion and empathy in working with this population, creating pathways for those who feel beyond worthy of being helped. As the Co-Chair of Street Outreach Case Conferencing, Morgan hopes to bring unique insight from her boots-on-the-ground experience and learn from other advocates and service providers that share the common goal of helping and changing the lives of our homeless community.
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HUD Releases Grant Inventory Worksheet (GIW)
All CoC-funded agencies will receive an email from SARAH staff confirming their CoC Program project information. At this point, a GIW Change Form may be used to request any changes. The GIW will determine each project’s Annual Renewal Amount for the 2021 NOFA and the community’s Annual Renewal Demand.
For questions, contact Jenniferserna@sarahomeless.org.
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Leadership Opportunity for Membership Council Agencies!
If you work for a CoC Membership Council agency and are interested in solving housing barriers that people at risk of or experiencing homelessness encounter, we invite you to apply for Co-Chair of the Housing Strategies Workgroup. Want to learn more about the workgroup? Email Contactsarah@sarahomeless.org to be added to the invite list for the next virtual meeting on Friday, June 11th at 1:00 pm!
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Update to SARAH and Notre Dame's Research Partnership |
On Monday, June 14th, SARAH's Director of Research & Evaluation, Dr. Azza Kamal, will present at the Coordinated Entry Prioritization & Assessment Workshop on the “SARAH Prevention Equity Tool” and the "New Homeless Prioritization Framework” along with our HUD consultant (ICF) to seven different Continuum of Care (CoC) groups.
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CoC Scorecard Updates
SARAH and HMIS have made the first round of changes to the CoC Scorecards based on feedback received from CoC grantees. Detailed information will be sent via email to all CoC-funded agencies. Please contact Jenniferserna@sarahomeless.org with any questions.
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Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) FY21 ESG Amendment
TDHCA’s Board has approved the amendment for the 2021 allocation of ESG funds to be an automatic renewal and not subject to a competitive application cycle. This means that agencies funded for an ESG project through TDHCA (not ESG-CARES) should be receiving a communication from TDHCA on their allocation for 2021. If funds remain, ESG CARES recipients with high expenditure rates will be offered funding.
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Homelink Accomplishments
∙ Between January-May 2021, there have been 662 Housing referrals through Homelink!
∙ Between January-May 2021, there have been 124 Housing referrals to Youth Homeless Demonstration Program (YHDP) projects.
∙ The average time it takes for a Household to receive a Housing Referral after joining the Priority Pool is 21 days.
∙ The average time between a Homelink Enrollment and a Housing Referral has decreased by 69 days! So far, in 2021, there has been a 36% decrease in the number of days a household waits for a Housing Referral.
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Homelink: Homelessness Prevention Response is LIVE!
San Antonio/Bexar County officially launched "Homelink: Homelessness Prevention Response" in May, becoming one of the few communities nationwide to roll out a homelessness prevention and eviction response system to assist people facing housing instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Homelessness Prevention Programs provide financial assistance and services to prevent individuals and families from experiencing homelessness.
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Homelink Orientation Training
Homelink Orientation Training is offered monthly for anyone who conducts Homelink assessments or claims, sends or receives referrals, or needs to get certified to obtain access.
This orientation is extensive, so one full session is split into two days. Attendees MUST attend both days. Please note that only 10 spots are available for each pair of training dates.
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Homelink Orientation Training Registration Update. We have a new easy process for supervisors to sign up new staff for Homelink Orientation Training:
5 Easy Steps:
1. Go to the SARAH website
2. Click Partner Resources
3. Click Homelink from the Dropdown list
5. Fill out the form!
Upon the form's completion, the staff member needing the training will receive an email to select the dates they want to attend. Contact PatriciaPalomo@sarahomeless.org with any questions.
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Funding Opportunity - Department of Health and Human Services: Basic Center Program (BCP) |
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BCPs provide youth under 18 years of age with emergency shelter, food, clothing, counseling, and referrals for health care. BCPs can provide up to 21 days of shelter for youth and seek to reunite young people with their families whenever possible or locate appropriate alternative placements. Additional services may include street-based services, home-based services for families with youth at risk of separation from the family, drug abuse education and prevention services, and at the request of runaway and homeless youth, testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The deadline to apply for this grant opportunity is Monday, June 21st.
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SARAH's 2021 Point-in-Time Count Report
In May, we released our annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count Report. We also held three Lunch & Learn sessions where we released the data, identified the gaps, and shared our actions to prevent and end homelessness. To view the full 2021 PIT Count Report, click here. To watch our recorded sessions, follow the links below.
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Black Freedom Factory is Hosting a Juneteenth Celebration! |
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Join Black Freedom Factory on June 17th, from 6:30 PM - 10 PM, for a Juneteenth Celebration that celebrates the past, present, and future of grassroots efforts and organizations that continue to build the pathways towards freedom. Enjoy live music, artists, vendors, food at the brand new interactive museum Hopscotch San Antonio! Food & drink are provided by Tony G’s Soul Food and Corazón's Chef Robbie Rodgers.
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Congrats to Nina Gall, Interim HMIS Manager at Haven for Hope!
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We are happy to share that Nina Gall has been promoted to Interim HMIS Manager at Haven for Hope effective May 2021. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the HMIS department, oversight of the 8 staff members, and active coordination with SARAH on our data needs and HMIS priorities.
Ms. Gall’s tenure began in 2017 as the HMIS Trainer and Project Coordinator. In this role, she was responsible for providing training and technical assistance to end-users, updating training manuals, and ensuring agencies complied with federal and local requirements. In 2019, Ms. Gall was hired as the HMIS Security and Compliance Coordinator, a new role for the department. This required the development of data monitoring and privacy practices that could be implemented at the agency level and reviewed by HMIS staff.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a minor in Public Relations from Southern New Hampshire University. Ms. Gall is scheduled to complete her Master’s in Business Administration in July 2021.
Nina is a subject matter expert, a problem-solver, and has strong working relationships with the SARAH team and our partners. HMIS coordination is critical in our efforts to impact homelessness successfully. We are thrilled that she will assume the interim manager role!
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WELCOME NEW SARAH TEAM MEMBERS |
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Harpreet Gill, System Coordination Manager
Harpreet Gill is joining the SARAH team as a Systems Coordination Manager. Harpreet comes with eight years of experience in social services; most of her work has been around preventing homelessness and providing services to those experiencing homelessness. Harpreet has done coordinated entry work for three and half years in Snohomish County, located close to the Seattle area. Harpreet has Bachelor’s degree in Human Services from Western Washington University. Harpreet is dedicated to doing meaningful work and making a difference in her community for those who need it the most.
Harpreet loves spending time with her family, traveling, doing outdoor adventures, eating delicious foods, and experiencing new things. Harpreet is excited to do CE work and building stronger partnerships in Bexar County and San Antonio.
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Dacey Werba, Planning Coordinator
Dacey graduated from Iowa State University in 2018 with a major in Child, Adult, and Family Services. Dacey has always had a passion for housing. She dove into this passion when she started a position with youth and shelter services in Iowa. Following college, she was the volunteer coordinator for Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity. Her most recent endeavor includes being an office manager for an elementary school.
Through all her work in housing, she has learned the importance of spending time to get to know people. Their stories, their passions, and what motivates them is what makes them who they are. When people pull together, that is what makes their community. Working within a community has been the best part of all her past experiences.
Dacey is new to the San Antonio area. She is excited to get to know her new home. She is coming from Des Moines, Iowa. She is eager to get to know the community, dive into the work ahead, and become a part of the SARAH family by working together towards ensuring everyone has a place to call home.
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Every Wednesday | 9:30 am - 10:30 am
COVID-19 & Homelessness Weekly Coordination Call
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JUNE 8 | 1 pm - 3 pm
Veteran Homelessness Workgroup
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JUNE 9 | 10:30 am - 11:30 am
Coordinated Entry Advisory Committee
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JUNE 10 | 10 am - 11 am
Point-In-Time (PIT) Count Committee
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JUNE 10 | 2 pm - 3 pm
Chronic Homelessness Workgroup
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JUNE 11 | 1 pm - 2 pm
Housing Strategies Workgroup
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JUNE 17 | 2:30 pm - 4 pm
YHDP Steering Committee
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JUNE 18 | 9:30 am - 10:30 am
Youth Homelessness Workgroup
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JUNE 22 | 1 pm - 3 pm
Veteran Homelessness Workgroup
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JUNE 24 | 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
CoC Board of Directors Meeting
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JUNE 30 | 10:30 am - 11:15 am
HMIS Advisory Committee
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