September Project Homeless Connect

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** Homeless Prevention & Response System
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Weekly Digest


** Spread the word!
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** Homelessness services and resources will be available next week near Cuddy Park!
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The September Project Homeless Connect will be held near Cuddy Family Midtown Park ([link removed]) , on Wednesday, the 27th from 11 AM to 6 PM. At the event, ACEH and partners will be available to assist with services and Coordinated Entry updates (Coordinated Entry is the first step to receiving a housing referral). The following will given out while supplies last:
* food
* snack bags
* minor first aid
* hygiene items
* potable water
* harm reduction supplies
* tarps
* blankets & sleeping bags
* clothing



** Do you want to get involved?
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We need volunteers to help set up, hand out supplies, and pack up. If you are interested, please click the button below to sign up on the ACEH website.
Volunteer ([link removed])
Questions about volunteering? Contact Jessica Parks at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Local Highlights
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** Alaska Court System
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** Eviction Diversion Program
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A program benefitting both landlords and tenants.

This program can help you reach an agreement without having to go to court. This may:
* Give both sides the time they need. It may take weeks, or even months, for a landlord to go through the formal eviction process. Once a case is started, the judge may order the eviction quite quickly, but the rest of the process can take time. If you work out your own agreement, you both figure out a timeline that works for you.
* Save money. You can participate in this program without hiring a lawyer. If you reach an agreement, the landlord may not have to pay to start a court case.
* Be easier. Working out an agreement may be easier for a landlord than the formal process of removing a tenant from their rental unit. It can be stressful to fill out paperwork and argue in front of a judge. In this program, you can meet with a mediator in an informal environment instead.
* Help you find creative solutions. Every dispute between a landlord and a tenant is different. Mediation can help you work out an agreement that works for both of you. It takes each person’s situation into account. Your agreement may find a way for the tenant to stay, or it may be an agreement about when the tenant moves out.
* Prevent the bad effects of an eviction. Working out an agreement may prevent a tenant from getting an eviction on their record. An eviction may make it more difficult for the tenant to rent in the future. It also makes the tenant ineligible for Alaska housing benefits for 5 years.

Learn More ([link removed])


** Alaska Public Media
Does Alaska have an affordable housing crisis?
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Across Alaska, it’s a challenge to find affordable housing. Homebuilding and vacancy rates are down, while rent ([link removed]) , mortgage rates and home prices are up.

The lack of affordable housing drives people into overcrowded homes ([link removed]) , homelessness and out of state ([link removed]) . Some officials ([link removed]) have begun referring to it as a housing crisis ([link removed]) .
Read More ([link removed])


** Institute for Community Alliances (ICA)
HUD's HMIS Data Standards Updates Coming!
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** What are the HMIS HUD Data Standards Updates?
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Every two years, HUD releases major data standards updates. This is a major update year that affects the following client-level data elements:
* Race and Ethnicity (Element 3.04)
* Gender (Element 3.06)
* Exit Destination (Element 3.12)
* Enrollment CoC (Element 3.16)
* Living Situation (Appendix A)

NEW - Translation Assistance Needed/Language (Element C4, for CoC funded projects only)
Learn More ([link removed])
National Highlights
Collective Impact Forum


** How Homelessness is Solvable with a Collective Approach
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Complex issues like homelessness can feel unsolvable or intractable, but that does not have to be the case. Through a commitment to a collective approach and strategies, communities can end homelessness.
Listen to Podcast ([link removed])
Community Solutions


** Zoning and homelessness
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A case study on how data-sharing between health and homeless systems helped two communities serve their unhoused neighbors ([link removed])
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Understanding the connection between land-use regulations, local zoning ordinances, and homelessness ([link removed])
One of the leading drivers of homelessness is a lack of access to affordable housing.
Since 2008, the United States has experienced both an underproduction of new housing being built and a trend of deregulation of existing affordable housing. Demand for housing has outpaced supply.
Exclusionary zoning laws and land use regulations have played critical roles in limiting new housing developments. But cities, counties, and states can adapt or implement policies to lower housing costs and boost the affordable housing supply.
Learn More ([link removed])
Crosscut


** Is housing a form of health care? A Washington program says it is
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Washington is trying something new when it comes to housing: treating it as health care.

Apple Health and Homes is a multi-agency state program launched last year that focuses on providing housing to people with health and behavioral health challenges. What’s unique is that the program taps Medicaid dollars to pay for housing subsidies, tenant services and more.

“This is a big paradigm shift in how the system helps people with housing,” said Melodie Pazolt, managing director of the Office of Apple Health and Homes at the Department of Commerce.
Read More ([link removed])
National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)


** NLIHC Releases ERASE Cohort Stories as Supplement to 2022 ERASE Blueprint Report
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NLIHC released Emergency Rental Assistance in Action ([link removed]) , a collection of stories revealing how the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program has benefited the lowest-income renters around the country. Provided by members of NLIHC’s End Rental Arrears to Stop Evictions (ERASE) 2021/2022 Cohort, the stories highlight tenant and landlord experiences with ERA that align with important takeaways from the ERASE project’s 2022 report Emergency Rental Assistance: A Blueprint for a Permanent Program ([link removed])
Download the Resource ([link removed](report_erase_091423))
PowerSwitch Action


** Stable Rents, Rooted Communities
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**
A practical guide for building a local rent stabilization policy
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A thriving community is one where children can be stably housed as they learn and grow, where elders can age in place surrounded by a supportive community, and where all residents can live in communities without fear of being uprooted by rent hikes. Rent stabilization policies help create and maintain such communities.
View the Resource ([link removed])

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ACEH Weekly Digest
Please reach out to ** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACEH%20Weekly%20Digest)
if you have questions, suggestions, or resources you would like to share in the weekly digest.
Copyright © 2023 Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, All rights reserved.
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