Response to the
Millenial Housing Commission

Presented by

Tanya Tull
President/CEO

Beyond Shelter, Inc.
3255 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 815
Los Angeles, California 90010

213.252.0772
fax: 213.480.0846

beyondshelter.org

Response to the Millennial Housing Commission
Tanya Tull, President/CEO - Beyond Shelter, Inc., Los Angeles, CA

Priority Issues – Community Linkages: What prevents people from using housing in tandem with other programs, such as job training programs, to create healthy neighborhoods?

Most low-income people live in neighborhoods in which resources are frequently fragmented, difficult to access, or may not exist at all.  Access to community resources and services may be exacerbated by cultural and language barriers.  In fact, regardless of the community evaluated or methodology used to assess need, findings regarding personal and systemic barriers to services are often remarkably similar in different parts of the country.  Such barriers include, but are not limited to, lack of information about resources and services, fear and mistrust of service providers, self-imposed barriers of pride and denial, transportation, location, and child care issues, and cultural relevance.  Perhaps the greatest "gap in services" in our low-income communities is access to community services and resources for all residents - i.e. services coordination.  This paper recommends that services coordination be provided either through the operation of affordable housing programs  - or through neighborhood-based programs which coordinate the needs of all people living in our communities, regardless of the housing in which they live.

How can the community development impact of housing be maximized? What principles should guide affordable housing development so that it enhances neighborhoods?
From “Core Principles” developed by the Housing + Services Committee of the National Low Income Housing Coalition:

•	Housing and social work services should be integrated and provided to all residents in distressed communities.

•	Community development activities should be extended to the surrounding community, and not be limited to the property alone.

Two innovative "best practices" that should be used in affordable housing programs so that housing assistance has a positive impact on the broader community and helps create healthy neighborhoods include the following: 

•	“Service-enriched housing” – basic rental housing for the low-income population at-large, in which services coordination is available to residents of a rental property, most often provided directly through staff hired by the owner or management or through contract for services by a community-based agency.  (See attached Housing + Services Matrix)

•	“Neighborhood-based services coordination” - an adaptation of the service-enriched housing methodology, in which a "central point of contact" for services coordination is available to all residents of a neighborhood, including families, the elderly, children and youth, and people with special needs. (See  enclosed "A Feasibility Analysis for Neighborhood-Based Services Coordination", Beyond Shelter, Inc., 2000)

I.	Service-Enriched Housing

The term service-enriched housing defines what is essentially a simple, adaptable mechanism to provide for the coordination of community-based services and resources in low-income or affordable housing, to promote the social and economic self-sufficiency of the residents. Services coordination covers the full range of services and resources from which a diverse population of residents might benefit at any given time.   In service-enriched housing, case management will have the specific focus of helping residents to access the resources needed to achieve personal goals through a coordination of services and programs available in the community. 

The resulting services coordination represents a successful approach to meeting a variety of resident goals.  While some residents may at times need help in resolving a crisis, help in accessing community resources is the more common activity in service-enriched housing.  In effect, coordination over the long-term of programs and services available in the community can help create a safety net that enhances the quality of life for residents.  More importantly, services coordination in the wake of Welfare Reform can play a vital role in helping people whose lives are impacted by the changes.

The Basic Methodology: A social services support system may be incorporated into the on-going operation and management of permanent, rental housing through a wide variety of service models. The key new component is the addition of a Services Coordinator. The Services Coordinator takes the lead role in organizing services, programs and activities for residents and provides liaison to community resources and services.  In addition to crisis intervention and resource and referral services, the Services Coordinator helps to develop and support a leadership group, which represents all residents.  The residents coordinate with the Services Coordinator on the development of services, recreational, educational, and social activities.  The Services Coordinator can work with individual residents to design a plan of action to address personal crises and problems requiring a longer-term approach.  Together, the residents, property manager, and Services Coordinator can address issues that impact on all residents and the property as a whole. 

A service-enriched housing program can be developed at any housing site – or at scattered sites throughout a neighborhood.  In some successful models, all services, programs, and activities will be provided by and at a community center located nearby. 

 Key Elements of Service-Enriched Housing  

•	incorporation of a services mechanism into the operation/management of permanent housing.
•	provision of crisis intervention and short-term case management for residents.
•	assistance to residents in accessing neighborhood and community resources and services. 
•	voluntary participation of residents in programs, services and activities.
•	resident participation in the decision-making process.
•	residents, management and service providers working together as a team.

Variations in Physical Layout

•	Single Site - one Services Coordinator, although not necessarily on-site full time
•	Scattered Site - One Services Coordinator provides services for residents of multiple sites
•	On-site Social Services Center - serves housing residents and also neighborhood residents
•	Community Center - independent community-based center serves a neighborhood or community and also provides services to designated  multifamily housing sites

Variations in Organization Structure

•	Owner/developer hires and supervises the services coordinator directly.
•	Owner/developer contracts with a social service agency for services coordinator. 
•	Property management company hires and supervises services coordinator.

Role of the Social Services Coordinator

•	assessment of the resident’s health, welfare, education, employment and/or children’s needs and determination of individual goals;
•	full participation by the resident in the process; 
•	development of individualized action plan to assist the resident to meet his or her needs, solve problems or achieve goals;
•	referral to community resources and services to achieve the objectives in the action plan;
•	on-going interaction with the resident and outside resources in the coordination of action plan activities
•	periodic re-evaluation of the resident’s needs and goals, and modification of action plan to respond to the current situation;
•	advocacy to assist the resident to obtain services or benefits to which he or she is entitled;
•	intervention during a crisis (i.e., job loss, substance abuse, family violence) in order to prevent a problem from escalating;
•	empowerment of the resident by helping him/her to improve coping skills and increase knowledge of community resources and how to use them; 
•	follow-up to ensure that the resident continues to progress towards meeting needs, solving problems or achieving goals that he or she has identified.

Employment-Related Services Coordination

Service-enriched housing can play a pivotal role in the lives of low-income people - providing stable and affordable housing, while helping those adult residents who are welfare-dependent to  participate in programs and activities that lead to employment.  This function of services provision is particularly important in the aftermath of Welfare Reform in the United States. 

In some communities, assistance for welfare recipients in obtaining employment is successfully provided through local government agencies working in partnership with community-based organizations.  In many areas of the country, however, programs are either non-existent or are not responsive to the special needs of the various groups in need of assistance.  General barriers to employment for welfare dependent heads-of-household are well documented and include lack of appropriate training or employment opportunities, lack of childcare, and transportation problems.  A responsive service-enriched housing program will help residents address these issues, while providing at the same time much needed psychological support.  Once a resident has entered a training program or obtained a job, there are additional kinds of monitoring and support that might be needed.  Residents newly enrolled in a training program or in the first few months of new employment can benefit greatly from periodic monitoring to ensure that the transition to a different life style is successful.  

The Services Coordinator can provide to support to residents trying to enter the workforce in a variety of ways, including the following:

•	assessment of individual personal and systemic barriers preventing living wage employment.
•	coordinating the development and implementation of individualized plans to help people overcome personal and systemic barriers.
•	advocating on behalf of residents with private and public educational/training & employment programs.
•	working in partnership with local government welfare-to-work programs, to identify and provide appropriate support to residents transitioning from welfare dependency into the workforce.
•	helping residents with transportation issues, including, but not limited to, helping them to access transportation subsidies; providing actual transportation for groups of residents together; developing car pools among residents; and promoting improved public transportation from isolated areas to city employment or from inner-city areas to suburban employment;
•	providing access to computers to help residents obtain high school equivalency degrees, improve their writing and communication skills, learn general computer skills, and access other helpful information.

2.	Neighborhood-based Services Coordination

Neighborhood-Based Services Coordination integrates the resident empowerment process of community development with the individual case management approach of social services.  It offers low-income neighborhoods a cost-effective mechanism to address barriers to service delivery, provide for crisis intervention support, and develop and implement activities and programs which enhance the quality of life for residents.

Neighborhood-Based Services Coordination  adapts the concept of "service coordination" in affordable rental housing to all residents of a neighborhood.  The goal of  "neighborhood-based services coordination" is to improve the social and economic well-being of residents.  Services coordination and access to community-based services and resources are made available to the community-at-large, not simply to individuals who are in crisis.

While the concept of neighborhood-based services is not new, in recent years the concept has re-emerged as a vital tool for neighborhood revitalization.  In some communities, neighborhood-based services coordination has evolved in conjunction with community and economic development initiatives.  In others, it has evolved from service-enriched housing programs in which services attached to a particular development are also extended to all residents of a neighborhood.  

Neighborhood-based services coordination helps to supports residents, connecting them with resources and services that currently exist in a community and promoting responses to the "gaps" in services.  

•	It emphasizes use of existing resources, inter-agency collaboration and partnership between residents, service providers and other stakeholders. 
•	Support is made available not only to residents who are vulnerable, disabled or with special needs; it responds to the full range of needs in the population-at-large might at any given time.   
•	In successful program models, a lead agency works closely with a resident leadership group (which could also be the lead agency), property owners and services providers to develop an environment of support, empowerment and community for residents. 

General Goals for Neighborhood-Based
Services Coordination:

•	Improve knowledge of and access to resources/services in the community for all residents.
•	Improve access to and support of education, training and employment opportunities for all residents.
•	Improve access to and development of programs and resources for children, youth, and young adults.
•	Improve support systems for young, single female-headed households, particularly those who are moving from welfare to work.  
•	Improve existing programs to address intervention and prevention of early pregnancy and other health and life style issues for teenagers.
•	Improve access to quality childcare, 24-hour childcare and childcare for children with special needs.  
•	Improve access to and development of programs and resources for the elderly and other special needs populations.
•	Improve access to programs providing substance abuse intervention and prevention.
•	Provide opportunities for all residents to be involved in the decision-making process regarding the environment in which they live.

General Goals for Resident-Centered 
Neighborhood Development

•	Promote community building and resident participation in community life among all residents.
•	Promote and preserve diversity among residents of the area.
•	Preserve housing affordability for residents and promote housing mobility, including debt management and credit counseling, housing counseling and home ownership programs.
•	Reclaim and improve parks and other common areas shared by all residents, particularly children and youth.
•	Improve the physical condition of the existing housing stock and the physical condition of the neighborhood, including clean-up of vacant lots and alleyways.

Conclusion:

How can the eligibility requirements and planning requirements that govern housing programs be coordinated with non-housing programs (such as transportation, childcare, and health care) so that housing policy reinforces welfare reform to assist strong, self-sufficient families?

•	The role of Social Services Coordinators in affordable housing programs should be recognized and accepted as an integral component of responsible management and operations.  This role most simply defined is to provide "liaison” between housing programs and non-housing programs (such as transportation, childcare, health care).  

•	Incentives should be provided to nonprofit housing developers and/or owners to integrate a plan for social services coordination into the operation and management of affordable housing that they develop and/or own. This can be provided directly by the housing developer or through a contract for services with a community-based social services agency or other nonprofit or governmental agency

•	Social Services Coordinators are rarely funded through operating budgets in of affordable housing programs.  It is recommended that line item funding for  “social services coordinators” be considered an appropriate business cost associated with strong and responsive management - also promoting the development of strong, self-sufficient families.

•	Housing policy should be coordinated closely with community development initiatives, particularly where federal funding from a variety of departments is being accessed.  Priority for funding should be given to initiatives that include services coordination in a targeted areas for programs implemented with federal monies.

•	CDBG funding should also be targeted to housing-based and neighborhood-based initiatives, in which services coordination for all residents of a housing site or a neighborhood are primary goals. 

 CORE PRINCIPLES THAT INFORM PRACTICE

The following core principles provide a framework for designing programs that link housing and services.  They are based on the belief that effective programs focus on resident and community strengths and the improvement of economic and social wellbeing.  These principles have been crafted based on the knowledge gained from the historical and contemporary linkage of housing and services.  They are proposed as comprehensive, multifaceted, and interlocking.  The principles can be the catalyst towards a new perspective of housing plus services programs—a perspective that will improve upon the public discourse on housing policy.  

1.	Housing is a basic human need, and all people have a right to safe, decent, affordable and permanent housing.

2.	All people are valuable, and capable of being valuable residents and valuable community members.  The basic human rights of residents must be respected.

3.	Housing and services should be integrated to enhance the social and economic wellbeing of residents and to build healthy communities.

4.	Residents, owners, property managers and service providers should work together as a team in developing needed housing and community development programs and services.

5.	Programs should be based on accurate assessments of strengths and needs of the residents and community.  Continuous monitoring and evaluation should support program evolution. 

6.	Programs should continuously strengthen and expand resident participation to improve the community’s capacity to create change.

7.	Residents’ participation in programs should be voluntary.  However, outreach to the most vulnerable and isolated residents is a priority.  Engagement of residents must take place in a context of strengths and needs, with consideration of danger to self and others.

8.	Residents are members of the larger community in which the housing is located. Therefore, community development should be extended to the surrounding community and include the goal of integrating residents with the larger community.

9.	Assessment, intervention and evaluation should be multi-faceted, focusing on individual residents and the collective, because the health of individuals and the health of neighborhoods are interdependent.

10.	Services should maximize the use of existing resources, avoid duplication, and expand the economic, social, and political resources available to residents.