THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN ENDING THE CYCLE OF HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY THE FOLLOWING IS A TRAINING MODULE PREPARED FOR THE VOLUNTEERS OF ROOM IN THE INN A PROGRAM OF HOMEWARD BOUND OF WNC AUGUST 2013
MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of Homeward Bound is working with others to end the cycle of homelessness.
Our Vision Statement: We envision a day when the poor and the vulnerable among us will no longer be invisible and ignored but treated with compassion and decency. We envision a day when any homeless person, regardless of psychiatric disabilities, substance abuse problems, medical issues, or financial poverty, can move directly into service-enriched permanent housing and become a productive member of society.
OUR VALUES: We believe in the absolute value and worth of every single human being. We believe that housing is a basic human right, integral to self-worth and dignity. We believe that homelessness is a solvable problem. We believe that all services should be offered with respect, empathy, and in the spirit of hope and recovery. We believe that we are successful as an organization when one individual takes one step forward on the journey home.
Test Your Knowledge Be honest; How much do you really know about homelessness and the people who are experiencing it? Do you want to know more? In order to understand about the community that we serve you need to hear the facts. You will be moved by the facts and realities that you will learn today. THIS IS YOUR COMMUNITY
Homelessness affects our whole community: its economy, safety, health, and sense of well-being. When we end homelessness, what we see is resources freed up to meet other needs, local businesses and tourism faring better, and our neighbors Why y should ld I car care restored to lives of wholeness and dignity. about ho ab home mele less ssnes ness?
Many paths lead to homelessness: Job loss. Mental illness. Death of a family member. Addiction. Domestic violence. Why ? Medical emergencies.
Crisis The The onl only reason reason peop people le become homeless become homeless is is that hat their heir supp support ort sys system tem fails ails duri during ng a normal normal life life cr crisis is.
FACTS In Buncombe County, about 500 people experience homelessness on any given night, and more than 3,000 people experience it throughout the course of a year. 43% of them are veterans. 9% of them are children. Very few of them have come to Asheville homeless; 75% used to have housing in Buncombe County before they became homeless, and many of them are from this area originally.
Day to Day: Feelings: Reality: People don’t look you in Homelessness is often the eye or treat you with terrifying, exhausting, respect. and dehumanizing. Keeping appointments without transportation. Fearful and susceptible Supplying documents like to hate crime violence, my birth certificate or income verification, when I theft, and assault. don’t have a mailing address to receive them at Frustrated while trying or a safe place to keep to access services. them.
What about those who choose to be homeless? They don’t. It’s that simple. No child wants to be homeless as an adult, and no adult is proud of losing their housing and depending on others to meet his or her basic needs. Sometimes when people become homeless, the only thing they have left is their self-respect, and it’s important to them to assert that they’re not victims but that they’ve instead opted in to their way of life. And sometimes — most times — when people become homeless and remain homeless, it gets hard to see a way out.
No one chooses to. . . . Become entrenched in homelessness, like someone who becomes ‘institutionalized’ and doesn't know how to navigate the world outside of an institution. Being homeless requires a skill set that people in housing don’t have: you have to know where to find food & safe places to sleep, how to survive with almost nothing. Likewise, being housed requires a skill set that people who’ve been homeless for many years may have lost: grocery shopping, paying rent on time, dealing with loud neighbors. Sometimes, when someone’s been homeless for a long time, they may say they’re choosing it, because they no longer remember what it’s like to be in housing, and they’re scared of the prospect.
What is the solution? SUPPORTIVE HOUSING People become homeless It’s called the Housing because they lose their First model, and it’s a support systems & can’t national best practice and maintain their housing. proven solution; it’s cost- So when we provide effective, sustainable, and housing and put those humane. supports back in place, we solve homelessness, one household at a time.
**Let’s Compare** Homelessness costs: Housing costs: If we pay for someone’s In Asheville, it can cost as housing plus the case much as $23,000 for one management services to help person to be homeless for one them overcome the issues they face, it costs about year. Emergency shelter & jail $10,000 during their first stays, emergency room & detox year; after that, as people stabilize, the cost drops to an visits, and other high usage of average of $2600 per person expensive public services. per year.
And not only does it save our community money...it also works! Room In The Inn has had 43 clients move into housing over the last four years, and IT WORKS! has an 93% housing retention rate.
What exactly is Homeward Bound doing to end homelessness? SIX PROGRAMS . . . .
AHOPE Day Center AHOPE is often a person’s first entry point to homeless services in Asheville and serves as our initial opportunity to meet clients and engage them in services. A HOPE is the only day shelter in WNC, and in addition to providing desperately-needed basic services every morning, it also hosts community partners in the afternoons, facilitating a deeper level of engagement and better service delivery for clients.
PATH PATH outreaches people who are homeless and mentally ill on the streets, in parks and campsites, and at other community agencies. Through PATH outreach, team members build relationships that allow them to connect clients with crucial mental health care services, as well as basic needs and housing supports.
Women At Risk W@R Women At Risk is an outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment program for women at risk of going to jail or prison. With case management, court advocacy, and therapy groups, Women at Risk provides an alternative to incarceration.
Room In The Inn RITI is a mobile shelter serving 12 women each night. RITI is sponsored by over 45 faith communities who take turns hosting the women for a week, providing all of their meals, shelter, and evening activities. RITI is staffed by a director who works with both the faith communities and the women to move them out of the program and into permanent housing.
Pathways to Permanent Housing PPH a Homeward Bound continuum of service is a direct implementation of the Housing First model. In this program, case managers facilitate permanent housing for clients and continue their work with clients once housed to develop and enact housing stabilization plans that lead to independence and self-sufficiency.
Hope to Home H2H support teams come alongside Homeward Bound’s already successful supportive housing program and offer intentional relational support to help those people stabilize their lives and maintain their housing. Each team consists of 8-10 faith group volunteers who come together to support one individual or family as they move out of homelessness and back into their own independent housing.
LOCAL FAITH COMMUNITIES WORKING TOGETHER TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY SHELTER AND HOUSING FOR WOMEN
What happens when we work together? 12 Yea ears of of Mission on Ser ervi vice ce 4380 Be Beds Prov ovided ed 13140 40 M Mea eals 5000+ 0+ Vol olunt nteers eers = 80 800 0 + L Lives es Touch ched ed
People of faith: Be Inspired! People of faith: Be Inspired! Your mission or social action team has decided that your faith community is going to host the women of RITI for one or two weeks during the year. Room In The Inn provides an avenue for people of faith to do what they already do best: care for people in tangible ways and encourage and empower them to lead healthier, more stable lives.
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