The Homeless Documents LibraryThis collection of documents was created as a tool for advocates of homelessness and low-income affordable housing related to solutions for homelessness.
Advocates will find the information here helpful as a reference for statistics and data, terminology, strategies and solutions to end homelessness and best-practices and data driven evidence that support solutions to end homelessness with the "Housing First" approach. This library is excellent for advocates as a tool for blogging and public speaking. |
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"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts
to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Housing Trust Funds
California landmark legislation that created the Orange County Housing Finance Trust for the purposes of funding housing specifically assisting the homeless population and persons and families of extremely low, very low, and low income within the County of Orange, as specified. AB 448 was co-authored by California State Assembly Representatives Tom Daly and Sharon Quirk-Silva in 2017. Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law on September 11, 2018.
Visit the California Legislative Information website to see the Bill Analysis, History, Votes and more information regarding AB 448.
Visit the California Legislative Information website to see the Bill Analysis, History, Votes and more information regarding AB 448.
Housing trust funds are an exciting new model for funding critically needed affordable housing. Housing trust funds were created as early as the mid-1970s, but they did not really become a trend until the late 1980s and into the 1990s. There are now nearly 150 housing trust funds in cities, counties and states. Altogether they have spent nearly $1.5 billion building and preserving almost 200,000 units of affordable housing.
The purpose of this guide is to increase the understanding of the role that housing trust funds can play in addressing a community’s housing needs. The guide offers local officials information and resources they can use to design or institute a housing trust fund that is best suited to their community’s character and circumstances.
Housing trust funds began in the 1970s in California and Maryland, but with campaigns ranging from small communities to extensive statewide efforts, the movement is of sufficient proportion today to shift our perspective—asserting that good affordable housing is fundamental to the health of every community.
Housing trust funds are publicly funded programs to expand or preserve affordable housing options and address critical housing needs for low-income people.
The Housing Trust Fund Project provides technical assistance to organizations and agencies working to create and implement housing trust funds and maintains a clearinghouse of information on housing trust funds throughout the country.
In 1985, California was one of the first states to create legislation supporting a housing trust fund, which in theory would have funneled revenue from
offshore oil drilling to the production of affordable housing in the state.
offshore oil drilling to the production of affordable housing in the state.
Housing trust funds are distinct funds established by legislation, ordinance or resolution to receive public revenues, which can only be spent on affordable housing.
Inclusionary Zoning
“Inclusionary Zoning” as it has come to be known is a local zoning ordinance or land use policy which either mandates or encourages developers of housing to include a specified percentage of housing that is affordable to lower and/or moderate income households.1 With the price of housing continuing to climb in many parts of California, cities and counties increasingly are establishing inclusionary programs to help provide for the needs of fixed and lower income residents who live or work in their communities.
Since the 1970s, cities and counties in California have utilized inclusionary zoning (IZ) policies as a tool to increase the supply of affordable housing and promote the economic integration of communities. Such regulations require residential developers to designate a specific percentage of new housing units as income restricted. Such programs rose in popularity because they leverage private funds to promote economic and social integration. In 1994, 12 percent, of municipalities in California had an inclusionary zoning program. In 2003, the number jumped to 20 percent and continued to rise to 32 percent in 2007 (Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, 2007).
“Opening the Door to Inclusionary Housing” is a guide for municipal governments and affordable housing advocates to explore the feasibility of Inclusionary Housing as a tool to address the issue of affordable housing in their community.
Inclusionary housing has become a popular tool nationwide for addressing the shortage of affordable housing. 1 Inclusionary zoning requires developers to reserve a certain percentage of new residential development as affordable to low-and moderate-income households.
Officials can use inclusionary zoning as one of a number of tools to meet the housing needs of low- and moderate-income working families. Inclusionary zoning creates affordable housing units without isolating poor and working families into economically segregated communities.
In response to the nationwide affordable housing crisis, many local governments are turning to inclusionary zoning as an effective local tool for generating much needed affordable housing. In crafting an inclusionary housing program, every community faces a major decision: should the inclusionary housing program be mandatory or voluntary?
IH policies require new housing developments to include homes affordable to a wider range of incomes within a community. Effective IH polices strike a balance by providing incentives and flexibility to developers in exchange for housing that meets the needs of a whole community
Many city leaders are aware that vibrant cities rely on having a place for all members of the community to call home. Inclusionary zoning is one tool that cities and states can use to require that a portion of newly constructed housing units are created and operated as affordable housing.
Inclusionary zoning requires residential developers to set aside a portion of the homes they build as affordable for low- and moderate-income families. In addition to increasing the supply of affordable housing, inclusionary zoning disperses affordable housing throughout the growth areas of a region
Any new construction of a certain size (e.g. more than 10 units) must include a percentage of the units as affordable. It’s that simple. The affordable units would likely be priced between $140,000 and $200,000. The developer is given costoffsets or incentives (such as fee waivers, parking reductions, zoning changes) in return for the affordable units.
An alternative to inclusionary zoning. Basically, a city or county must grant a density bonus, concessions and incentives, prescribed parking requirements, as well as waivers of development standards upon a developer's request when the developer includes a certain percentage of affordable housing in a housing development project.
On May 4, 2017 "the California State Assembly approved legislation that will restore the long-standing authority of local governments to require affordable rental units in their local housing development ordinances," states the press release by Assemblymember Richard Bloom on the passage of his bill, AB-1505: Land use: zoning regulations.
Bond Measures, Ballot Initiatives and Referendum
You will find detailed information on the process; laws that govern Special District initiative and referendum petitions and more throughout this handbook. In addition, you can find added resources on our website by visiting ocvote.com.
The statewide initiative process is a well-known and frequently used way of making public policy decisions in California. What is not so well known is that California voters also use the initiative process at the local government level and that they seem to do so far more often than voters in the rest of the nation
The Swiss initiative and referendum process is similar, in many respects, to the system in California. Both California and Switzerland require a popular vote to affirm legislative amendments to the constitution, both allow an optional referendum on statutes passed by the legislature, and both permit citizens to pass their own constitutional amendments through the initiative process.
There are over 80,000 issuers of municipal bonds in the United States. The cumulative municipal bond market is currently around $3.7 trillion. That means that municipalities across the country have $3.7 trillion in debt outstanding to the bondholders. The Federal Reserve has data that indicates that the total municipal debt outstanding went from $1.60 trillion in 2001 to $3.74 trillion in 2011-a 133.8% increase.
Bond financing is a type of long-term borrowing that state and local governments frequently use to raise money, primarily for long-lived infrastructure assets. They obtain this money by selling bonds to investors. In exchange, they promise to repay this money, with interest, according to specified schedules.
Municipal bonds are one of the safest long-term investments. Because they're so secure, they usually carry interest rates that average a percentage point or two below the going rate for Treasury bills. But in early 2008, something happened that's only occurred in the U.S. twice since 1990 -- the interest rate for municipal bonds crept higher than for Treasury bills
Most bond measures assume that property values will rise and therefore the amount of tax that can be raised will increase. How do those assumptions compare with previous years and projections being made by other analysts?
Alameda County elected officials, policy makers, and community members have been collaborating to find a solution. The solution has emerged: An AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND
Homeless Deaths and Violence Against Homeless People
NEW LISTING! Vulnerable to Hate: A Survey of Bias-Motivated Violence Against People Experiencing
Homelessness 2016-2017
Homelessness 2016-2017
The main objective of this report is to educate lawmakers, advocates, and the general public about hate crimes and violence committed against the homeless community in order to bring about change and ensure the protection of civil rights for everyone, regardless of economic circumstances or housing status.
NEW LISTING! Feb. 19, 2019 Judge David Carter Requests Report From OC Coroner re: Homeless Deaths 2014 to 2019
In light of ongoing settlement negotiations and to understand the nature of the public health crisis in the County leading to the deaths of hundreds of people
experiencing homelessness, the Court REQUESTS that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department provide the causes of death of the homeless individuals who passed away in Orange County in 2018 and 2019.
experiencing homelessness, the Court REQUESTS that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department provide the causes of death of the homeless individuals who passed away in Orange County in 2018 and 2019.
NEW LISTING! Orange County Sheriff's DepartmentCoroner Division Homeless Mortality Report 2014 - 2018
For purposes of this report, homeless is defined as any decedent within the geographical boundaries of Orange County that lacks a permanent residential address at the time of death, limited to the jurisdiction of the Coroner Division. Orange County Sheriff’s Department reports involving these individuals include the designation, “No fixed abode.”
This organizing manual is intended to supplement other reports and to help concerned citizens and advocates educate those around them on the issues of bias-motivated crimes against homeless individuals; it includes both information and resources for citizens and advocates.
This study was conducted by the National Coalition for the Homeless. It documents the known cases of violence against homeless individuals by housed individuals in 2012. The report includes descriptions of the cases, current and pending legislation that would help protect homeless people, and recommendations for advocates to help prevent violence against homeless individuals.
The main objective of this report is to educate lawmakers, advocates, and the general public about hate crimes and violence against homeless people, in order to bring about change and ensure the protection of civil rights for everyone, regardless of economic circumstances or housing status. As part of its mission, the NCH is committed to creating the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to end homelessness. A large component of these changes must include the societal guarantee of safety and protection, as well as a commitment by lawmakers to combat hate crimes and other violent acts against people who experience homelessness.
Hate Crimes against the Homeless: The Brutality Unveiled documents the known cases of violence against homeless individuals by housed individuals in 2011. The report includes descriptions of the cases, current and pending legislation that would help protect homeless people, and recommendations for advocates to help prevent violence against homeless individuals.
People who are homeless are more vulnerable to attacks because they live outside in public spaces. Most of our communities do not have adequate, affordable housing or shelter space to meet the need, leaving many homeless people to live outside. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 41.8% of our homeless population is unsheltered
While the medical causes of deaths of homeless women have been examined extensively in medical journals, public health journals, and psychological journals, there is a paucity of political science literature that examines the geographic locations of the deaths of homeless women. Without detailed information about the locations of the deaths of homeless women, it will be impossible for policy makers, medical professionals, and advocates for the homeless to formulate effective preventative policy responses. Using public data from the Orange County Coroner’s office, this paper seeks to answer two questions: where are homeless women dying in Orange County, California? And, what implications do the locations of these deaths have for policy making and for local homeless services agencies in Orange County? Claremont Graduate University 2017
No Safe Place: A Survey of Hate Crimes and Violence Committed Against Homeless People in 2014 & 2015
The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) has documented 1,650 acts of violence against homeless individuals by housed perpetrators over the past 17 years (1999-2015). These crimes are believed to have been motivated by the perpetrators‘ biases against people experiencing homelessness or by their ability to target homeless people with relative ease. The crimes include an array of atrocities such as murder, beatings, rapes, and even mutilations.
Updated at 11:18 am 12/19/2016 178 names total.
A study by the L.A. Coalition to end Hunger and Homelessness that examined homeless deaths in L.A. and other cities between 2000-2007
What policy makers and the general public need to recognize is that the homeless are aging faster than the general population in the U.S. This shift in the demographics has major implications for how municipalities and health care providers deal with homeless populations.
Information from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Reporting Deaths of Homeless Persons, Annual 5 (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010)
Metro Public Health Department Division of Epidemiology. This project was undertaken at the request of the Director of the Downtown Clinic for the Homeless. The endeavor encountered many challenges, but provided insight into what is necessary for a full scale homeless mortality report to be produced at the local level.
Since 1990, the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) has sponsored National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day every year on December 21 – the first day of winter and the longest night of the year – to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness and to remember those who have died while living without a permanent home. This manual provides ideas and resources as well as sample flyers, programs and municipal proclamations that can help to make an event extra special.
Homeless Youth and Education
While student homelessness is on the rise, with more than 1.3 million homeless students identified during the 2013-14 school year, these students and the school liaisons and state coordinators that support them tell us that student homelessness remains an invisible and extremely disruptive problem, compounded by the lack of awareness of the issue in many communities.
NEW LISTING! More Than A Place To Sleep: Understanding the Health and Well-Being of Homeless High School Students
Homeless students face disproportionate burdens across the board—they are more likely to fall behind academically due to school transfers, absenteeism,
and other instability factors; they are more likely to be suspended; they are less likely to receive timely identification for special education services; and the list goes on. What this report reveals is that these students face yet another set of obstacles to educational achievement— their health and risk behaviors—that, if unaddressed, will make it harder for them to finish school, follow professional goals, and remain stably housed in their own adult lives.
and other instability factors; they are more likely to be suspended; they are less likely to receive timely identification for special education services; and the list goes on. What this report reveals is that these students face yet another set of obstacles to educational achievement— their health and risk behaviors—that, if unaddressed, will make it harder for them to finish school, follow professional goals, and remain stably housed in their own adult lives.
NEW LISTING! Compounding Stress: The Timing and Duration Effects of Homelessness on Children's Health
This new research suggests that interventions that focus on preventing child and family homelessness can be especially effective before birth. Rapid response to the needs of pregnant women at-risk of homelessness has the potential to reduce the likelihood of negative health outcomes, help support a child’s trajectory towards lifelong healthy development, and reduce public health expenditures.
America’s Youngest Outcasts reports on child homelessness within the United States in 2013 using recent federal data to estimate the number of homeless children. The report provides state profiles using more than 30 measures related to child homelessness for each state, including the number of homeless children over time, measures of well-being of children and the risk for child homelessness, and a summary of the state policy environment.
Since the launch of the Federal Framework to End Youth Homelessness, there has been an unprecedented increase in collaboration both among federal agencies and between the government and locally-driven efforts to end homelessness among unaccompanied youth under age 25. This document highlights some of the significant efforts underway, and how they are contributing to local, state, and national progress.
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)
Homelessness is an ongoing crisis that continues to displace and negatively impact the lives of millions of Americans each year. Homeless children and youth are among the most vulnerable and invisible groups in the United States. Lacking political power, homeless children and youth are subjected to policies that have lasting impact on their lives. National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty 2015
The Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, under Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (“McKinney-Vento”), requires states and school districts to remove barriers to education, ensuring that homeless children and youth are identified and can enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty October 1, 2016
Homeless Employment and Homeless Job Programs
NEW LISTING! Creating Opportunities For Homeless Jobseekers: Connecting Income, Employment, and Housing Supports
Employment and income are associated with improved quality of life among people experiencing homelessness. Income from work improves access to food, clothing, housing, and healthcare-increasing personal, family, and community wellbeing. Employment shows promise in supporting recovery from mental illness and addiction†, reducing recidivism, and reducing reliance on public benefits. Heartland Alliance
NEW LISTING! Supporting Job-Seekers Experiencing Homelessness: Best Practices for CoC & Workforce Board Engagement
Employment and income improve quality of life among people experiencing homelessness. Income from work increases access to food, clothing, housing, and healthcare-increasing personal, family, and community wellbeing. Employment (even part-time) supports recovery from mental illness and addiction, reducing recidivism, and reducing reliance on public benefits. The Heartland Alliance
NEW LISTING! Creating Economic Opportunity For Homeless Job-Seekers: The Role of Employers
and Community-Based Organizations
and Community-Based Organizations
In order to realize long-term benefits for individuals, employers, and communities, employers and community-based organizations serving people experiencing homelessness need to have tools, resources, and partnerships established to identify, recruit, prepare, and support people experiencing homelessness for employment success. This brief offers promising practices for employers and community-based housing and homeless
service organizations that want to maximize their success in creating pathways to employment and economic opportunity for homeless jobseekers.
service organizations that want to maximize their success in creating pathways to employment and economic opportunity for homeless jobseekers.
NEW LISTING! Employment Program Components:
Considerations for Modifying Programs For People Experiencing Homelessness
Considerations for Modifying Programs For People Experiencing Homelessness
Employment programs typically include assessment, job search assistance, work readiness training, occupational training, job placement, and retention services. Research and experience suggest that programs can best meet individual needs, strengths, and interests by modifying these elements to ensure flexible services that support each individual’s personal and developmental needs as they transition to employment. This best practice brief highlights a menu of enhancements and examples that programs may consider in providing supportive, flexible services for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
NEW LISTING! Working to End Homelessness: Promising Practices & Considerations in Promoting Employment
In order to realize long-term benefits for individuals, employers, and communities, employers and community-based organizations serving people experiencing homelessness need to have tools, resources, and partnerships established to identify, recruit, prepare, and support people
experiencing homelessness for employment success. This brief offers promising practices for employers and community-based housing and homeless
service organizations that want to maximize their success in creating pathways to employment and economic opportunity for homeless jobseekers.
experiencing homelessness for employment success. This brief offers promising practices for employers and community-based housing and homeless
service organizations that want to maximize their success in creating pathways to employment and economic opportunity for homeless jobseekers.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp program) is a critical federal safety net program that provides food assistance to low-income individuals and families. SNAP funding to states includes resources dedicated to employment and training services, with the intention of helping SNAP recipients increase their earned income in order to help them transition off of SNAP benefits.
Transitional Jobs (TJ) is an employment strategy that seeks to overcome employment barriers and transition people with labor market barriers into work using wage-paid, short-term employment that combines real work, skill development and supportive services.
Effective employment programs take special care when serving individuals facing these barriers and often draw on a number of population-specific strategies in providing individualized service. There are many ways in which programs address population-specific needs.
Most individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness want to work and a growing number of service providers and policymakers have taken notice. Although choosing the right employment program model can seem like a daunting task, research and wisdom from the field shows that multiple models have proven effective or promising in attaching the most disadvantaged jobseekers to work and helping them advance to employment options that meet their long-term needs and interests.
Drawn from more than a dozen interviews and site visits with rapid re-housing providers from across the country, this report shines a spotlight on why robust employment, training, and related supportive services are key to the success of rapid re-housing participants. The report offers program-level recommendations for enhancing the design and delivery of rapid re-housing with employment supports and puts forward bold policy ideas for helping to ensure that the rapid re-housing model can provide pathways to employment and economic opportunity for all families experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.
National Coalition for Homelessness recommendations for access of homeless people to workforce services
A 2009 report by the National Coalition for the Homelessness on Employment and Homelessness
Homelessness, Pets and Companion Animals
Animal companionship and homelessness has often been described as causing significant social exclusion: ‘Homelessness is a state in which people are not only excluded from basic shelter, but also from security, a place to belong, intimate relationships, neighbours, and all of the benefits of having a place to call one’s own’
A significant number of homeless people own dogs, with these animals contributing to the well-being of their owners by providing emotional support and in many cases, a reason for living as well as acting as what might be termed a social catalyst, improving bonds between their owners. Yet many consider that homeless people should not be allowed, let alone encouraged to keep a dog. They consider that living with homeless people must have a negative impact on the dog’s health and welfare compared to that of a dog owned by people with a home. Here we sought to determine the health and welfare of dogs owned by homeless people.
Many people intuitively believe that they and others derive health benefits from relationships with their animal companions, and numerous scientific studies performed over the past 25 years support this belief. Among other benefits, animals have been demonstrated to improve human cardiovascular health, reduce stress, decrease loneliness and depression, and facilitate social interactions among people who choose to have pets.
Miscellaneous Homeless Topics Research, Reports and Studies
These are the top ten things that a library employee should know about homeless patrons.
NEW LISTING! Investing in People to Save Counties Money: Best Practices for Moving People with
Disabilities from General Assistance to SSI
Disabilities from General Assistance to SSI
This report compiles information that leads to the undeniable conclusion that strategically investing in SSI (Supplemental Security Income) advocacy programs with modest rent subsidies can generate millions in savings for county governments while stabilizing housing for poor residents with disabilities and
dramatically improving their quality of life.
dramatically improving their quality of life.
Robert's Rules of Order is the standard for facilitating discussions and group decision-making. Copies of the rules are available at most bookstores. Although they may seem long and involved, having an agreedupon set of rules makes meetings run easier. Robert's Rules will help your group have better meetings, not make them more difficult. Your group is free to modify them or find another suitable process that encourages fairness and participation, unless your bylaws state otherwise.
To better understand provider experiences serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) runaway and homeless youth, this study reports on case studies of four local agencies receiving grants from the Administration for Children and Family’s Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) Program. The purpose of the study was to learn about programs’ strategies for identifying and serving LGBTQ RHY, the challenges programs face in understanding and addressing the needs of this population, and potential areas for future research.
This Issue Paper describes innovative approaches to establishing SSI eligibility.
A study by Alex Biggers as his Honors Thesis in 2013 at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. It shows how homeless people who were challenged with the task of saving money with goals to buy laptops, cars, etc. Subjects were immersed in financial education and rewarded with the prospect of earning matching funds in order to meet their savings goals.
Good strategies for selling the idea to communities
A very thorough and comprehensive study examining the costs of homelessness in Silicon Valley
Fact sheet for the Silicon Valley study on the costs of homelessness by Santa Clara County officials
Download this toolkit that includes talking points, tips for social media and sample press release.
This University of Washington Tacoma study from 2012 researches how chronically homeless individuals are characterized in newspapers and how discourse is used to persuade the audience to support Housing First as an approach to ending chronic homelessness.
A lawsuit filed by two homeless men in Fullerton that was settled at a cost of over $1 million to the city dedicated to affordable housing for the homeless.
Homeless Resources
NEW LISTING! 2018 Housing Resource Guide
This is the definitive guide for listings of housing programs throughout Orange County. If it's not in here it's not likely to exist. You will find programs to fit the needs of families and individuals including emergency shelters, transitional (bridge) housing, section 8, shelter plus, rapid-rehousing, etc. There are programs for youth, victims of domestic violence, recovery and detox, veteran's and more. Here is the list, all you have to do is find the program with available beds.
Central Service Planning Area
Northl Service Planning Area
South Service Planning Area
NEW LISTING! Community Homeless Resource Pamphlet: Orange County 2016
This list has information regarding emergency shelters, health clinics, job-seeking, legal services, mental health, substance abuse recovery, hot meals, misc. services and additional food, clothing and hygiene.
NEW LISTING! Search For Homeless Resources @ 211 - OC
Now you can search the same database that volunteers use when you call 211 for resources.
Homeless Health Care, Mental Health & Substance Abuse
The analysis finds stark differences between people who are unsheltered and people who are sheltered. Unsheltered people — especially unsheltered women — report profoundly greater health challenges, higher rates of experiences of violence and trauma, and longer lengths of homelessness than people who are staying in shelters. The higher rates of health conditions and vulnerability for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness begin even before people lose their housing and are also seen early in their experiences of homelessness. California Policy Lab
Objectives. We examined the longitudinal effects of a Housing First program for homeless, mentally ill individuals’ on those individuals’ consumer choice, housing stability, substance use, treatment utilization, and psychiatric symptoms. Conclusions. Participants in the Housing First program were able to obtain and maintain independent housing without compromising psychiatric or substance abuse symptoms. Research and Practice.
This report will focus on programs that provide effective behavioral health services for youth and adults. These programs are some of the critical building blocks in the construction of a system that works to keep the most vulnerable sub-groups of homeless Californians safe, secure and healthy. California Mental Health Planning Council
THIS IS A FACT SHEET --Many people stereotype the homeless population as all alcoholics or drug abusers. Although a high percentage of homeless people do struggle with substance abuse, addictions should be viewed as illnesses and require treatment, counseling and support to overcome. Substance abuse can cause homelessness, but it often arises after people lose their housing.
This paper discusses efforts that housing developers, advocates and local governments have made to promote supportive housing for people with mental health disabilities, suggests strategies for bolstering community support, and provides tools for addressing neighborhood opposition if it does arise.
A 2009 study by the National Coalition for the Homeless regarding mental illness and homelessness
