| St. Louis Five Year Consolidated Plan Strategy | |||||
| Homeless Services |
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The City of St. Louis has a declining population of approximately 356,000 residents and it is a community of families (56% of persons in family households). Twenty-four percent (24%) of city residents live in poverty. Seventeen percent (17%) of its population reside in female-headed households and 65% of its female-headed households with children under age 5, live in poverty. St. Louis is 51% White and 48% African-American. African-Americans 25 years and older have educational levels beneath that of the general population, have higher levels of unemployment and under employment and are more apt to be long term welfare dependents.
Read the minutes from the round table discussions on May 11, 1999 and May 13, 1999. National statistics on homelessness indicate that families comprise the fastest growing group of homeless persons across America today, and that the typical homeless family is composed of a single mother, about 30 years of age with between 2 and 3 children averaging 5 years in age (Ten Cities 1997-1998, A Snapshot of Family Homelessness Across America, Homes for the Homeless & the Institute for Children and Poverty). The average age of a homeless person today is 9 years old and in St. Louis up to 5,500 kids are living on the streets, in shelters, with relatives or friends or in dangerous, uninhabitable places (Rainbow Days, Inc. 1993). Homelessness today is both a family and children's issue. Family homelessness continues to be one of the most misunderstood public policy issues today, in large part due to the scarcity of quantitative data. The City of St. Louis is also struggling with the issue of quantitative data on homelessness. National statistics profile the typical homeless parent as:
By all accounts, this profile closely mirrors homeless families in the City of St. Louis. According to the 1998 Annual Report on Homelessness developed by the Catholic Charities Housing Resource Center, some 51,300 household members received services via the Emergency Shelter Hotline resulting in calls from some 3,383 families in the City of St. Louis. Yet, there are numerous other subpopulations of homeless in St. Louis. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 3000 veterans in the St. Louis area are homeless and that an additional 5,000-6,000 are at-risk of homelessness. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, up to one-third of the adult homeless population suffers from mental illnesses. Further, the Federal Plan to Break the Cycle of Homelessness states that at least one half of the adult homeless population has a current or past substance abuse problem. The 1996 Missouri Association of Social Welfare (MASW) Point-in-Time Study reveals that 12% of the homeless population of Missouri are dually diagnosed with mental illnesses and substance abuse. The Missouri Institute of Mental Health funded study, "Homelessness and HIV Risk for Emergency Shelters in St. Louis City" (1992) concludes that substance abuse disorders are common among emergency shelter residents and that 2 in 5 participants in the study had either alcohol or substance abuse disorders. The study further concluded that mental disorders were common, abuse experiences were common and nearly one half of the participants had experienced violence. Not surprisingly, in its summary and conclusion, the study found that many persons staying in emergency shelter are at risk for exposure to HIV. Although rarely included in standard studies on homelessness, a substantial population of young adults and adolescents are homeless nationally as well as in St. Louis. While we do not have accurate numbers for this population, our reasonable best estimate is between 1,500-2,500 on any given night. Coordinated Strategy to Prevent Homelessness The Continuum of Care strategy developed by the City of St. Louis to alleviate homelessness is multi-layered and involves numerous not-for-profit organizations, faith-based initiatives, consumers and city, state and federal funding organizations and governmental entities. Our strategy represents maximum participation of community-wide agencies and providers to meet the full spectrum of needs of the homeless as well as to identify gaps and priorities in the provision of services to homeless persons. Three organizational efforts form the cornerstone of our growing success at meeting the needs of the homeless in St. Louis. They are the Homeless Services Network Board (HSNB)
The collaboration among these agencies has resulted in a coordinated approach to the problems of homelessness in the City of St. Louis. Critical components of the Continuum of Care include:
Outreach, Intake and Assessment Our outreach, intake and assessment process is one of the most notable examples of our continuum's high level of coordination. These services are designed to identify an individual's or family's needs and make connections to facilities and services. Housing Resource Center (HRC) operates the 24-hour Emergency Shelter Hotline and centralized point for intake, referral, assessment, and prevention and outreach activities. A single telephone number is published for homeless and at-risk of homeless families and individuals to access shelter and/or intervention services. The HRC outreach team is on the streets forty hours per week to assure the homeless get appropriate referrals and supportive services. The mobile outreach team works to establish rapport with the hard core homeless and to assist and monitor needs of street persons. Emergency Shelter There are currently eight social service agencies under contract with the City of St. Louis to provide emergency shelter for homeless people. The purpose of emergency shelter is to stabilize homeless individuals and families through a 90-day service enriched program, which initiates a wide range of services designed to assist clients in working toward independent living. Contrary to popular belief, homelessness is often not a brief situation for families caused by a temporary emergency. Most families return to emergency shelter again and again. Our long-term vision is that families would use shelters only for short periods of time. We believe that families will have significantly more long term successful outcomes if they utilize the shelter system as only the point of entry for assessment and use transitional housing as the stabilizing point from which to gain permanent housing. Transitional Housing The goal of transitional housing is to provide appropriate supportive services to help people reach independent living. The length of stay is not to exceed 24 months. Those transitional housing facilities under contract with the City of St. Louis offer a service-enriched program designed to increase client responsibilities while maintaining supportive services. Clients enter into a Life Plan Agreement which places an emphasis on education, employment, intensified skills building, parenting and alternatives to violence. Supportive Services These services are essential in efforts to move homeless persons to self-sufficiency and permanent housing A wide variety of services are needed on site and at community locations such as job training and placement, substance abuse treatment, short term mental health services, case management, legal services as well as living skills training, violence prevention and effective parenting. Permanent Housing Even if we were to develop world class emergency shelters, transitional housing programs and supportive services, we would be doing homeless persons a great disservice if we did not provide an adequate supply of safe, decent and affordable permanent housing in our community. The City of St. Louis is characterized by an aging housing stock with a high percentage of unoccupied buildings. Of the 194,919 housing units, 108,490 were built before 1939. The lack of affordable housing is a component of the continuum most in need of attention. Permanent Housing for People with Disabilities The main vehicle for providing permanent supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities is the Shelter Plus Care Voucher. The Department of Mental Health sponsored Shelter Plus Care Program now falls under the Continuum of Care of the City of St. Louis. This newly formed state and city partnership represents an opportunity to develop a collaboration to effectively serve homeless people with a multiplicity of needs. Funding of homeless programs and services is received from Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act Funds primarily and secondarily from City General Revenue Funds. The Homeless Services Division administers the Supportive Housing Grant, Federal Emergency Shelter Grant, Missouri Emergency Shelter Grant which is provided through the Missouri Department of Social Services/Family Services Division and the Homeless Challenge Grant which is Community Services Block Grant discretionary funds. During 1998, the Homeless Services Division administered $14 million dollars in funding to the following programs:
Major Lessons Major obstacles lie in the accuracy of data collection, quantitative data collection and the coordination of organizations charged with this element of the Continuum of Care. Additionally services have been skewed toward adult interventions rather than family interventions, which includes programming aimed at children and youth that face generational consequences of homelessness. Moreover, City demographics on homelessness suggest increased coordination of case management and clinical services for the segment of the homeless population with severe, persistent mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders as well as specific intervention programs to help shelter residents reduce their risk of exposure to HIV. Various sub-populations of homeless persons, such as those with HIV/AIDS, adolescent males, chronic substance abusers, veterans and the elderly require specific strategies targeted to long-range goals beyond emergency shelter. Life skills training tailored toward the typical homeless parent then suggests curricula aimed at young, female-headed households with some history of abuse, violence and low educational attainment. The Homeless Services Network Board has eight (8) specific focus groups designed to assist planning efforts to deliver effective, comprehensive services to the homeless. These focus groups include: Prevention and Intervention, Mental Health, Veterans, Legislative, Emergency Shelter, Multi-Cultural Issues, Transitional Housing and Children & Youth. These focus groups help to identify needs and gaps and prioritize services and funding. While this is an excellent planning mechanism, its usefulness is directly correlated to the data collected. Community and public education is another area important to keeping the issue of homelessness at the forefront. Increased public relations and advocacy efforts are paramount. Technical assistance and staff training and development for agencies involved in the delivery of services to the homeless marks another important factor. Conclusion The City of St. Louis has made great strides in combating homelessness. It has a unique community-based process via its Homeless Services Network Board that allows maximum participation of various organizations in the delivery of services. The centralized intake, assessment and referral system, Housing Resource Center, simplifies entry by all homeless persons via a single telephone number, and its Continuum of Care strategy has received attention from the U. S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. Yet, more remains to be done. Better coordination of existing resources, programming aimed at family homelessness, additional transitional and affordable housing, improved case management and follow-up services, diversified funding, increased advocacy and public relations and improved communication and technological advancements. Here is a list of some of our favorite links to web sites that discuss homelessness. We have collected these sites as we believe they will be of interest to the community in general. Of course, we can not vouch for the content on any site we do not maintain. At the time these links were put together, they were functional and appeared useful and informative. The National Coalition for the Homeless Homes for the Homeless Center for Community Change Center for Law and Social Policy Economic Policy Insitite The Electronic Activist--Links to Missouri's Legislators HUD's Definition of Homelessness WWW Virtual law Library | |||||
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