HPRP was started as a pilot program across the country using
ARRA stimulus funds through the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD). Those funds of course have come to an end, but HPRP was so successful,
that HUD has shifted some of its traditional funding into starting a new
program using this model.
The goal of HPRP was to prevent long-term homelessness by
rapidly rehousing homeless families (or preventing them from becoming homelessness
in the first place) by providing short-term rental assistance. This is
obviously an important stabilizing benefit, but of more importance was that the
rental assistance was combined with intensive case management services. The
goal of the program was to make families housing stable by the time their
rental assistance ended, which was around nine months.
CANI has served hundreds of families with HPRP across eleven
northeast Indiana counties. These families are basically the hardest to serve,
because of their homeless situation, and the vast majority of these families
left the program with stable housing. It was imperative that we find a way to
maintain this program locally, and nationally as well.
I am excited to say that after a gap of about 10 months,
CANI is once again serving families using this model. The program does not have
an official name yet, although we have been referring to it as ESG (Emergency
Solutions Grant) because of the funding from HUD that goes by this name. The
program is smaller than before. We can only serve Allen County now, instead of
all of the counties in our service area. And the funding mix is much more
complicated, but still we consider it quite a victory to have been able to
piece this program back together.
We have many partners to thank for this effort. Most
notably, the City of Fort Wayne has combined funding from several of their
programs to serve clients from inside the city limits. The Indiana Housing and
Community Development Authority (IHCDA) is providing about half of the funding.
Our fantastic partnership with Lutheran Social Services continues with this
program, as they will be helping us provide the case management for the
program. Our local United Way, through
its 211 program, will be providing initial screening on potential clientele. And
we will be working with area housing shelters in close partnership, as they
help families move from their crisis situation into our program.
In total, this is a unique collaboration that combines the
services of many different organizations, and provides clients with two vitally
important pieces in their quest to become self-sufficient: housing and case
management. I am proud that CANI has a key role in providing this program in
our community.
The other program that has started is nearly a carbon-copy
of the program I've described above. It is called Supportive Services for
Veteran Families (SSVF). It too combines rental assistance with case
management, but with less rental assistance and heavier emphasis on case
management. I am really excited to be working with Veterans. I am a Veteran
myself, and I feel that communities need to do much more to help these families
with their very unique issues. We have long wanted to do more for Veterans here
at CANI, and this is a significant step.
I have written many times about the need to help families
meet their basic needs so they can focus on developmental goals. Shelter is at
the top of that list. I also believe that case management, and especially
CANI’s own Family Development model, is one of the most successful poverty fighting
programs that we have. Starting two new programs that combine these vital
services is a truly exciting step for our organization and the communities that
we serve.
