Tom Wade, artist, creates cover art for anniversary
Ticket Sales are Strong – Buy your tickets online!

With three weeks until Monarch Housing Associates September 30, 2010, 20th Anniversary Celebration – Building Homes, Transforming Lives, we have received many positive comments about the cover art work for our invitation.

The art work is the result of a partnership with Arts Unbound, a non-profit organization dedicated to the artistic achievement of youth, adults and senior citizens with disabilities. As a result of this partnership Monarch Housing was able to commission Tom Wade to create the artwork for the invitation.

Tom Wade became interested in art at an early age. In the 1980’s he went to Jersey City State College to pursue a BFA. Although he did not graduate, art was still something he loved and did.

In 1995 Tom was in a motor vehicle accident which left him a paraplegic. He spent the next few years adjusting to his new life and battling numerous medical issues that were related to his spinal cord injury. During this time Tom went back to school, and despite many obstacles, graduated from Seton Hall University with a degree in Education/Special Education. Although this was a fine accomplishment Tom felt something was missing – art. Even though, initially, the injury somewhat diminished Tom’s creative drive, his love of art continued and in 2007 he became an active participant in the Arts Unbound program which was sponsored by The Kessler Foundation. Since that time Tom has grown as an artist – he has become a commissioned artist, an art instructor, and class assistant at AU.

Tom’s recent works include colored pencil still lives and small, pen and ink drawings. The colored pencils are loosely drawn in which free lines make layers of color and become subject matter themselves. The pen and ink drawings are most intriguing as they are made up of stream of consciousness “doodles” that have hidden and autobiographical imagery. Their subject many times relates to being handicapped.

Over the years Tom’s disability enabled his art to develop and unfold and his love of art has helped him to cope with his disability.

We applaud Tom Wade for his talent and creativity.

Ticket sales have been very strong for the 20th Anniversary Celebration – Building Homes, Transforming Lives. To insure that you can attend we strongly encourage you to purchase your tickets online today by clicking here.

Housing and Services for Homeless Persons
Demonstration in FY 2011

In the 2011 budget, HUD has requested $85 million for the new Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration, a two-part initiative that aims to more fully engage mainstream housing, health, and human service programs in order to prevent future homelessness and reduce the number of currently homeless families and individuals.

Specifically, the demonstration requests $85 million from HUD’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to be combined with services provided through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Medicaid, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program within HHS. Housing coupled with services is a model proven to end homelessness for many individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. The demonstration has the potential to promote the type of cross-agency partnerships that will greatly improve homelessness assistance. The initiative would have two parts:

First, the initiative will fund supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals.  In collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), if funded by congress, HUD will provide up to 4,000 Housing Choice Vouchers to public housing agencies to be used in conjunction with Medicaid-covered supportive services and $16 million in grants from SAMHSA. This proven model, known as permanent supportive housing, combines permanent housing with services, such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, health care, child care, transportation, case management, and employment.

Similar programs are reducing homelessness, improving health, reducing incarceration, and reducing the need for publicly funded services. In addition, these programs have proven to be more cost effective than allowing people to remain homeless. An analysis of seven cost studies comparing service utilization pre- and post-housing found that permanent supportive housing resulted in cost savings in several categories—$3,270 in Medicaid, $1,402 in Emergency Rooms, $4,966 in Behavioral Health, and $5,366 in Substance Abuse Detoxification services.

Second, the initiative will target families with children that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.  If funded, up to 6,000 Housing Choice Vouchers will be made available through a collaborative HUD-HHS-Department of Education competition focusing on communities with high concentrations of homeless families and well-coordinated community-based plans. 

Housing assistance and supports to help homeless or at-risk families with children avoid homelessness, improve their children’s education outcomes, and achieve their highest possible level of self-sufficiency. Applicants will have to show how the housing assistance will be integrated with the TANF program, as well as child care, child welfare, health care, employment training, education for homeless children and youth assistance, substance abuse treatment, and other critical services.

A substantial amount of research has demonstrated the effectiveness of housing vouchers as a tool to prevent and end homelessness for families. For example, a randomized study of the use of housing vouchers by families eligible for welfare found that voucher assistance resulted in a 74 percent reduction in the incidence of homelessness.

Click here to review a PDF prepared by HUD on the Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration.

White Horse Supportive Housing Project
CSP and CEC holds Open House

On August 27th, we had the opportunity to celebrate with our friends at Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, Inc. (CSP) and Community Enterprise Corporation (CEC) at the opening of the White Horse Supportive Housing Project. This project is a new construction ranch home that is fully handicap accessible. It maximizes the privacy and enhances the living environment of all four (4) residents.

The 4-bedroom single family home is designed after much feedback from consumers in CSP’s existing shared housing homes. This home will incorporate a “suite model” maximizing the individual space of each tenant and still maintaining a communal environment ideal for peer support. Each Suite will be 400 square feet including the bedroom, sitting room, private bathroom and an outside private patio. All residents share common spaces including the kitchen, living room and laundry room.

The construction integrated green building applications and energy efficient systems such as; energy efficient heating and cooling, tank-less hotwater system, and various other systems design to lower the ongoing operating expense of the home. This home will operate on a a wellness and recovery model in its approach to resident’s needs and services and will be strengthen and empower the resident to foster the development of healthy, independent adults.

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To view and share the photos on Facebook click here.

Development Team

Developers: Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, Inc.
and Community Enterprise Corporation

Architect: Bruce Constant

Contractor: Meadowlands Electric, Inc.

Attorney: Andora & Romano, LLC

Consultant: Monarch Housing Associates

Monarch Housing and CSP have been partners for almost twenty years in developing supportive housing in New Jersey. We look forward to celebrating with CSP and all of our other partners on September 30, 2010.

Tickets are selling fast and the deadline to purchase them for this exciting event is September 15th. To purchase tickets online click here.

Urge Senators to Extend Critical Support
for Low-Income Families AND Create Jobs

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) is helping states to prevent and end homelessness for families across the country. ECF funds can help states create subsidized employment for low-income parents, provide short-term rent assistance to families experiencing a housing crisis, and offer cash assistance to low-income families.

Unfortunately, ECF funds are due to expire on September 30!

We must urge the Senate to take action NOW to extend the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund.

Today, Senator Kerry (D-MA) began circulating a “Dear Colleague” congressional sign-on letter urging Senate leaders to provide a one-year, $2.5 billion extension of the ECF before it expires on September 30. For more information, see “Background” below. The deadline for joining the letter is Wednesday, September 15 at 12 p.m. ET.

What You Can Do

When senators return to Washington on September 14, they will only have two short weeks to extend the TANF ECF. Please make sure your senators know how these resources could benefit families in your state and urge them to extend the ECF. They can show their support by signing onto Senator Kerry’s sign-on letter.

• Call the housing staffers in your senators’ offices. Senators’ phone numbers can be found by calling the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.
• Explain what your state is already doing with ECF dollars and what you could do with more. For more information on how your state is currently using TANF ECF dollars, click here.
• Ask them to ask their bosses to sign onto Senator Kerry’s “Dear Colleague” letter urging Senate leaders to extend the ECF by September 30. The deadline for signing on is Wednesday, September 15 at 12 p.m. ET.
• Ask when you can follow up to find out if their bosses will sign onto the letter.
• Interested senators should contact Alison Bonebrake in Senator Kerry’s office at  to sign onto the letter.

In addition, if your state and community are not already accessing ECF dollars, you should work with key officials at both the state and local level to access the next round of funds for homelessness prevention and assistance.

BACKGROUND

What is TANF ECF?

The TANF Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) was created through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in early 2009, though it is set to expire on September 30, 2010. It provides critical resources to states to:

• Create new work opportunities for low-income mothers and fathers so they can provide care for their children (subsidized employment);
• Provide emergency assistance to families experiencing a housing crisis – including mortgage assistance, help paying for motels, eviction prevention, and rapid re-housing assistance (short-term benefits); and
• Cover the increased costs of providing cash assistance to eligible, low-income families who may have lost jobs and are ineligible for unemployment insurance so that states do not have to absorb the increased costs by cutting other programs.

How Can TANF ECF Serve People Experiencing Homelessness?

TANF ECF funds can be used to prevent and end homelessness. In fact, ECF funds have helped create more than 200,000 jobs across the country for low-income families who might be at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

In addition, TANF ECF can be used with Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) funds to prevent and end family homelessness. Carmen Nazario, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Mercedes Marquez, Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, had this to say about combining TANF ECF and HPRP funds to serve homeless and at-risk families:

“As parents have lost jobs or faced other economic challenges, many families are falling behind on rent or mortgage payments and are at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Many households are confronted by eviction from their apartment or foreclosure on their home, while others have already fallen into homelessness but may be able to move toward stability with immediate assistance. … Where possible, we strongly encourage State TANF agencies to work together with HPRP programs to maximize the benefit and efficiency of both resources to serve families.”

Click here for more information on how the TANF ECF can be used in conjunction with HPRP funds to help homeless families.

Who Else Supports a TANF ECF Extension?

State and County leaders across the country have urged Congress to take action and extend the TANF ECF. The National Governors’ Association, the National Council of State Legislatures, and the National Council of Counties Board of Directors have all expressed their support of this extension.

Join the movement to preserve and expand programs that can help families avoid homelessness and help families achieve greater economic self-sufficiency by improving their work skills.

Urge your senators to support the extension to the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund TODAY.

NAEH to hold webinars, training on HEARTH
First webinar on September 22nd

September 22, 2010 – HEARTH Act Overview – 2:00 Eastern
This webinar will explain the significant changes the HEARTH Act makes to HUD’s McKinney-Vento homeless assistance programs. To register for this webinar click here.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness’ (NAEH) Center for Capacity Building is hosting a HEARTH Academy to prepare communities to meet the ambitious performance expectations of the HEARTH Act, particularly the outcomes of reducing homelessness episodes and reducing new and return entries into homelessness.

The HEARTH Academy will feature a 1.5 day training that will be held in several locations in early 2011. The fee for the training will depend on the locations and venues, but is expected to be approximately $300 per participant.

The Academy also includes numerous webinars, tools, and printed and virtual resources that will be particularly helpful to training participants, but will be available to everyone free of charge.

If you are interested in participating in the HEARTH Academy Training, please send an email to Aisha Williams with your name and location. Also, if you are interested in hosting a training in your community, please indicate so. The Alliance will identify locations for the HEARTH Academy based partly on interest.

HEARTH Academy

• Sets ambitious goals for reducing the length of time people are homeless.
• Significantly increases resources for prevention and rapid re-housing.
• Continues to provide incentives for developing permanent supportive housing.
• The changes made by the HEARTH Act will begin to take effect with the programs that are funded by the FY 2011 round of Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG, formerly the Emergency Shelter Grants) and the FY 2011 NOFA, which will probably be released sometime in mid-2011.

Preparation Webinars – September and October, 2010

The three pre-training webinars will be free to all who wish to participate and will be recorded for later viewing. They will cover the following topics:

1. September 22, 2010 – HEARTH Act Overview – 2:00 Eastern
   This webinar will explain the significant changes the HEARTH Act makes to HUD’s McKinney-Vento homeless assistance programs. To register for this webinar click here.
2. October 13, 2010 – HEARTH: Performance Improvement and Data Measurement
   This webinar will present information about the outcomes included in the HEARTH Act and how community’s can use outcome measures to improve performance.
3. October 27, 2010 – HEARTH: System Assessment
   This webinar will present tools for assessing and retooling your community’s homelessness assistance. It will include information about system resource allocation and return on investment under HEARTH’s performance framework.

HEARTH Training Session – January to April, 2011

The 1.5 day training will be held in various locations around the country. The training is designed to serve 6-10 leaders from each community who are responsible for funding and overseeing homelessness assistance. Participants will learn how to implement and improve strategies that better prevent homelessness and reduce the length of time individuals and families experience homelessness. The training covers three topics:

• System Analysis: Assessing the outcomes and cost effectiveness of your community’s homelessness assistance
• System Change: Creating an action plan to improve the outcomes and efficiency of your community’s homelessness assistance
• Performance Improvement: Creating a structure to translate performance data into continuous improvement

If your community is interested in participating please send a letter of interest to Aisha Williams.

Implementation Webinars – Beginning March 2011

The Alliance will host several webinars on HEARTH implementation, focused on adopting best practices regarding performance improvement, shifting transitional housing, expanding rapid re-housing, diversion, prevention, oversight, and other topics. These webinars will be available free of charge.