Resources

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development is is proposing a drastic and immediate change to the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, the main source of federal funding to help end homelessness in Connecticut. This fact sheet outlines the statewide impact of these changes.

While communities strive towards providing permanent housing for all who need it, they are still faced with serving the existing unsheltered population, prompting the question: “What do we do in the meantime?” The strategies in this document explain how communities might respond in these situations.

Welcome Home, Neighbor supports property partners to operate profitable rental properties while removing barriers for our neighbors to regain safe and stable homes in their community.

Guidance to help local leaders and community partners act with urgency to successfully and compassionately address the crisis of unsheltered homelessness.

The Trump administration will increase the use of raids and other enforcement actions conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). This document, prepared by the National Homelessness Law Center and Crowell & Moring LLP, outlines what homeless shelters and other public service providers can do from a practical level to best protect clients and staff before, during, and after a raid.

This resource from the National Alliance to End Homelessness outlines a Housing-Focused Street Outreach Framework designed to help communities engage people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It provides strategies for connecting individuals to permanent housing quickly and effectively through person-centered outreach, case management, and system coordination.

The Emergency Shelter Learning Series provides guidance and tools to help shelters become more effective and accessible. Focused on a Housing First approach, it offers webinars and resources to improve shelter practices and better support people in crisis.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act provides for the delivery of services that remove barriers to the enrollment and retention of homeless children and youth in schools. This session will be beneficial and provide information to assist school staff in the liaison role.

These free training resources are part of our collaborative effort to affirm the work of RHY providers and RHY municipal coordinators working on the ground to end youth homelessness.

Effective diversion has never been more important than during the coronavirus pandemic. This webinar provides an overview of diversion, the best diversion practices, and how communities are implementing diversion to ensure that new federal COVID-19 homelessness resources are most effectively and efficiently targeted. Accompanying slides and resources are linked below.

This self-paced training is aimed at health centers that are new to the role of housing navigation. This course will walk through how to connect persons experiencing homelessness to housing and support services. As well as explore the role of a health center housing navigator.

Targetted to new PATH Outreach Workers in CT: A framework for doing outreach work with people experiencing homelessness

Homeless Outreach Webinar: Housing Location and Stabilization

Working with people who have experienced homelessness who are temporarily placed in hotels/motels.

This 11 module course will equip learners with a clear understanding of the context of modern homelessness and its effect on health; detail the core characteristics of Health Care for the Homeless model of care; and explore ways learners can get involved in the movement to end homelessness.

This webinar will explore strategies for reducing, mitigating, and responding to behavioral health emergencies involving individuals experiencing homelessness. The featured panelists will discuss cross-sector provider coordination and integration and best practices for effectively responding to crisis situations. They will also provide community examples of cross-sector coordination to improve health outcomes, and offer tangible approaches to ensuring comprehensive, culturally responsive services.

Shelter systems struggle to meet the needs of older unhoused adults and existing housing systems are not designed to support individuals who need assistance with activities of daily living or experience cognitive impairment. Existing community resources for seniors often have age limits that exclude those that could otherwise benefit based on functional need. The lack of adequate shelter, housing, and supportive services results in continued homelessness, and individuals often cycle through services that are not equipped to address their needs. This webinar will present an overview of factors impacting older adults experiencing homelessness and share strategies to support their housing needs.

This recorded webinar covers how to jumpstart a jail in-reach program that effectively identifies and targets those at the highest risk of returning to homelessness and perhaps re-incarceration.