Item 3c - Lifeworks Presentation — original pdf

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Ending Youth Homelessness in Austin / Travis County March 2020 Mission LifeWorks is a fearless advocate for youth and families seeking their path to self-sufficiency. We are committed to innovative problem solving, shared accountability and a relentless focus on achieving real, sustainable and measurable results for the clients we serve. 10 programs: • Diversion • BSS+ Prevention • Street Outreach • Emergency Shelter • PORT (Permanency Through Outreach & Rapid Transitions) • Transitional Living Program • Young Parents Program • Rapid Rehousing • Permanent Supportive Housing • After Care Transition Services (ACTS) 5 programs: • Youth & Adult Counseling • Peer Support Services • Community-Based Counseling • Community-Based Psychiatry 5 programs: • Supported Employment & Education • GED/High School Equivalency • Life Skills Training • Teen Parent Services • Pregnancy Prevention • Resolution Counseling (REAL Talk) Measuring Success Including: Housing Employment Income Education Healthcare Coverage Mobility Mental Health Substance Use Legal Credit Life Skills Community Involvement Network Support Family Relationships Childcare …and 10 more domains 24 DOMAINS OF SELF- SUFFICIENCY LifeWorks Clients Served In 2019 1685 1167 Lifeworks overview: clients served in FY2019 4658* 2640 *unduplicated; does not include 864 clients served by Next Step (no longer offered) Housing Counseling Education & Workforce Austin’s Campaign to End Youth Homelessness • Build and sustain a community system that ensures that youth homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring by 2020 • The system involves deep collaboration with dozens of nonprofit and public organizations with the planning co-led by LifeWorks and ECHO 6 Austin participates in Chapin Hall’s Voices of Youth Count Austin is selected as one of 10 communities nationwide to serve as HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program site ECHO awards 3 grants to LW to implement priority strategies 25% reduction in youth homelessness; 56% reduction in unsheltered youth homelessness – PIT Count Austin reaches benchmarks for functional 0 July 2016 Nov. 2017 Oct. 2018 September 2019 June 2016 Jan. 2017 Mar. 2018 Feb. 2019 December 2020 Participates in the A Way Home America 100 Day Challenge to house 53 young people Austin’s coordinated community plan to end youth homelessness is approved by HUD Launch of PORT, Diversion and Rapid Re- Housing SAMHSA awards LW $4m to scale workforce services for this effort Team and Timeline 8 Key Elements of the System Diversion: Assists youth at imminent risk of homelessness with financial support and wraparound services. Youth remain connected to support systems, stabilize, and maintain current housing or connect to safe and supported housing options. Coordinated Assessment: An evaluation process used to determine the most appropriate housing intervention that best matches the needs of the client. Permanency through Outreach and Rapid Transitions (PORT): Temporary housing for literally homeless youth (18-24). Youth may live in this dormitory-style, 15-bed shelter while they navigate into permanent rapid re-housing apartments. Support Services: Wraparound support to build well-being and increase self-sufficiency. Supports include employment services, community-based counseling, peer support, and client-centered case management. Rapid Re-Housing: Time-limited financial assistance and targeted support services to connect youth experiencing homelessness to permanent housing. 8 Making Youth Homelessness Rare: Diversion 9 Making Youth Homelessness Brief: PORT 10 Making Youth Homelessness Non-Recurring: Rapid ReHousing 11 Understanding the Data -Targeted Assertive Outreach An effort to determine the housing status of every youth currently in our local HMIS • Coordinated Assessment records remain open for the youth, unless someone informs ECHO that a youth is no longer in need of services • The number of youth who are in need of services is likely overinflated, based on the number enrolled in HMIS (some may have relocated, self- resolved, or entered an institutional setting) • Involves systematic outreach efforts to every youth, including those who are not yet selected to receive housing Why? • Need a clear number to inform broader community engagement efforts, to inform fundraising goals, and to better understand our progress toward the federal benchmarks 12 Targeted Assertive Outreach 1 email per listed email address 3 phone calls per listed phone number (including backup contacts) Letter mailed to any listed mailing address Physical outreach to any listed day location or mailing address (in Travis County) Outreach to any service providers listed as backup contacts, mailing addresses, or day locations Starting in July, LifeWorks began engaging in a six- week push to systematically reach out to every unaccompanied youth in HMIS by mid-September • • If staff were unable to contact the youth after making these attempts (within 30 days), then the youth was be put on the Be on the Lookout (BOLO) list. After 30 days on BOLO, the record is inactivated. If the youth was contacted, then their housing status was assessed, and their record was either inactivated (if the youth self-resolved, relocated, or was subject to a long-term institutionalization) or they were referred to Diversion and/or Street Outreach services. Targeted Assertive Outreach: Results 18 youth (5.14%) were actively receiving other services, refused a Diversion referral, or were recently incarcerated Chart Title In total, LifeWorks staff reached out to 350 youth. A total of 233 youth (66.57%) were eligible for inactivation or BOLO’d. 99 youth (28.29%) were referred to Diversion services 90 youth (25.71%) were eligible for inactivation 143 youth (40.86%) were put on our community’s “Be On the Look-Out” list (BOLO) 14 Targeted assertive outreach: Results Youth passed away 1% Record closed prior to completion of Targeted Assertive Outreach 1% Long-term incarceration 5% Relocated 26% Among those whose records were eligible for inactivation (n = 90), the majority of records were closed because the youth self-resolved their homelessness episode. Housed 67% What will it take to End Youth Homelessness in 2020? • After accounting for the expected rate of inflow, self-resolution, relocation, and inactivation, we expect that we will need to serve 448 additional youth in 2020 • 244 youth through Diversion • 204 youth through Rapid ReHousing • Based on cost analyses, we expect that we will need approximately $4.9M to end youth homelessness • This number assumes a flat rate of self-resolution, relocation, and inactivation (after we address the backlog of youth and begin to exclusively handle inflow, this percentage will shift, which will affect the cost projections) • The $4.9m is a one-time funding surge that will allow us to address the wait list and reach a steady state between inflow and housing capacity that can be sustained by the current existing resources (HUD, City, etc). 16 What have we learned about the young women experiencing homelessness? From October 2018 through December 2019 LW served 244 young women: More young women experiencing homelessness than young men which may be related to higher vulnerability scores on the coordinated assessment as it relates to parenting. The majority of young women have had children but only about half of those are actively parenting. More than 50% of young women enrolled in housing programs are engaged in mental health services. • Approximately 63% of young people experiencing homelessness and enrolling in housing at LW are female. • Approximately 46% of young women identify as African American and 43% identify as Hispanic non-white. • Approximately 88% identify English as their primary language. • Just over 55% experienced foster care. • More than 50% of young woman have had children. • Currently there are 77 children being actively parented by young women exiting homelessness. • Approximately 65% have income <50% of FPL. • Approximately 61% engaging in mental health services: • 79 enrolled in community based counseling • 116 enrolled in peer support • 38 enrolled in community based psychiatry