September Project Homeless Connect

View this email in your browser ([link removed])

[link removed]


** Homeless Prevention & Response System
------------------------------------------------------------
Weekly Digest


** Thank you to our community partners for a great Mini Project Homeless Connect!
------------------------------------------------------------
The September Project Homeless Connect was today from 11 AM-6 PM near Cuddy Park. Service providers offered their assistance and aid. Partners and our amazing volunteer group gave out essentials including basic medical, food, clothing, etc. Showered in Grace offered our unsheltered neighbors the chance to freshen up with their shower trailer.

We admire the resilience of those who do not currently have a safe place to call home. Our appreciation goes out to our community for helping to make these events possible. ❤
Clothes piled neatly ready to hand out.

Jen with Showered in Grace in front of the shower trailer.

Ready to give out supplies!

ACEH Highlights


** Thank you for subscribing to our Weekly Digest!
------------------------------------------------------------
We appreciate your interest in this important mission and will continue to share relevant housing and homelessness updates with you.

The Weekly Digest will be shared in a limited capacity for the next few weeks. We will return to our regular newsletter on Wednesday, November 1st.

Please send all general inquiries and relevant updates to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
Local Highlights


** Alaska Public Media
Officials are aiming to move all of Anchorage’s homeless campers into housing or shelter in October
------------------------------------------------------------

Like last winter, the city’s current shelter plan includes reserving hundreds of hotel beds, and paying some nonprofits to provide extra space specifically for families and young people.

Unlike last winter, the plan does not include a mass shelter, like the one that was once run out of the Sullivan Arena where sometimes 500 people stayed.

City officials say they expect far fewer people will need a low-barrier, walk-in shelter this winter. Homelessness experts think the total number of people living outdoors has been trending down lately, after several hotels were converted into low-income housing this summer.
Read More ([link removed])
National Highlights
National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH)


** Data Snapshot: Older Adult Homelessness
------------------------------------------------------------


** The Alliance’s latest data snapshot ([link removed]) shows the rise in sheltered homelessness among adults over the age of 65, especially for those experiencing chronic homelessness.
------------------------------------------------------------
Recent news coverage of older adult homelessness:
* Why More Baby Boomers Are Sliding Into Homelessness ([link removed]) (originally published in Wall Street Journal, 9/12/23)
* ‘Unconscionable’: Baby boomers are becoming homeless at a rate ‘not seen since the Great Depression’ — here’s what’s driving this terrible trend ([link removed]) (Yahoo Finance, 9/23/23)
* Homelessness is still increasing. Older adults who can’t make rent are one reason why. ([link removed]) (San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/24/23)
* Homeless population grays in Clark County as more seniors end up on the street ([link removed]) (The Columbian, 9/23/23)

View the Snapshot ([link removed])
National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH)


** The Truth About Housing First
------------------------------------------------------------
* Housing First is not a program—it is an approach to housing and service provision, and it is a whole-system orientation and response, which can and should be applied across all elements of the homelessness response system.
* A Housing First approach can be successful for any person, regardless of actual or perceived need, provided that the resources that they need and choose are available and accessible to them. Fundamentally, Housing First means using a trauma-informed approach to meet people where they are, without preconditions or mandatory requirements. It means continuously engaging and being able to respond to what they say they need when they are ready.
* We’ve all heard the statement, “Housing First does not mean housing only” and it is true. To be effective, there needs to be both housing and supportive services (i.e., health care, behavioral health services, substance use disorder treatment, employment/education supports, etc.) that meet the needs and choices of the people being served. If both are not available and accessible, then a program is not actually using a Housing First approach.
* Housing First is about health, recovery, and the ability to thrive. In order to have success in all of these areas, everyone needs housing, while the supports and services needed to maintain that housing need to be individualized.
* Housing First is not always implemented with fidelity to the model’s principles. Barriers to implementing Housing First with fidelity include severe resource limitations of housing, services, and staffing capacity ([link removed]) . In some cases, programs that refer to themselves as Housing First may also be choosing to only follow some tenets of the approach.

View the Full Article ([link removed])
National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)


** Children’s Defense Fund Releases Report on Housing’s Impacts on Children
------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Defense Fund released a report, “The State of America’s Children ([link removed]) ,” that identifies housing and homelessness as key issues impacting child poverty. The report reveals that 1.1 million students experienced homelessness during the 2020-2021 school year, approximately 75% of whom were Black or Brown. The report also uncovers disproportionate impacts on students who are English learners and students with disabilities and shows that students experiencing homelessness are vulnerable to altered cognitive and physical development. More generally, the authors establish connections between the lack of affordable housing, discrimination in accessing housing, and income inequalities and make the case that these three factors combine to bring about the housing insecurity faced by many families with children. The authors argue that policymakers should address this urgent problem by adopting
solutions that advance racial equity, income equality, and greater access to housing resources.
Read the Report ([link removed])

============================================================
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
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.
You are receiving this e-mail because you have signed up to receive information from the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness.

Our mailing address is:
Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness
3427 E Tudor Road
Suite A
Anchorage, AK 99507
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]