DHS NEWS July 2016
Preventing and Ending Homelessness by 2020 It’s a new initiative with a lofty goal; the development of a community wide strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness by 2020. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness defines an end to homelessness as every community having a plan in place that ensures homelessness is prevented whenever possible, or if it cannot be prevented, seeing that it is a brief and a non-recurring experience. “Bringing the entire community together to assess how well the homeless system is functioning as a continuum is an exciting opportunity,” said Abigail Horn, Senior Advisor at the Department of Human Services (DHS). With help from local foundations, DHS and the Allegheny County Homeless Advisory Board (HAB) completed a competitive RFP process, selecting Housing Innovations from Peekskill, NY to guide the process. The planning is designed to not only strengthen partnerships among homeless services and affordable housing agencies but to engage others who have not traditionally been a part of the process, including those who have experienced homelessness. “We can identify shared goals around homeless services and affordable housing, align funding to reach those goals and explore new and creative ways that the population’s complex needs can be met,” Horn explained. Over the next seven months, Housing Innovations will analyze our current homeless system while engaging stakeholders and the community to identify needs and gaps as well as best practices and public policy improvements. A community kickoff meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 3, at 9:30 AM in the Homestead Grays Room in the Human Services Building at 1 Smithfield Street. The general public, elected and community leaders, providers and anyone concerned or impacted by homelessness are invited to take part in the meeting and can RSVP by clicking here.
Summer books are a big success For the second year in a row, the SummerFood program has included efforts to strengthen childhood literacy through the distribution of free age-appropriate books. The program, which was piloted at 23 sites in 2015 was expanded to 84 sites this year. The books were received through donations collected during a drive in the spring that included the participation of Allegheny County employees, the Children’s Museum, the North Hills AAUW, and Deloitte. Generous donations were also provided by the Pajama Program which gave 3500 activity books, and Computer Aid, Inc. (CAI) which gave 1,000 new books and provided volunteers to help distribute them at a few of the sites. “The response from the sites has been fantastic, and the children absolutely love the books,” said Robert Rebholz, Administrator, Bureau of Family & Community Services, who oversees the SummerFood program. This year’s SummerFood program also included an expanded and healthier food menu, with hot and cold options and more varieties of fruits, vegetables and juices. “We are always looking for new ways to expand the program and reach more kids,” said Robert. “Whether it’s the option of a hot meal or the opportunity to get a new book, we’re going to keep looking for ways to get kids to come out.”
Activity books provided by Pajama Program, were an especially big hit.