Latest news with #HomelessManagementInformationSystem
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Multnomah County launches by-name database for tracking homeless population
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Multnomah County has launched its long-awaited count of the region's homeless population — with each person tracked by name. The county's — formerly known as the — is now able track those who have stayed in a shelter, met with a street outreach worker, signed up for housing services or visited local day centers. 'Ticking time bomb': Oregon lawmakers consider funds for Cascadia-ready Columbia Boulevard bridge This information will be posted to the county's every month in order to provide the most up-to-date record of how many people have entered and exited homelessness, according to county leaders. 'This accurate and timely data is a major milestone that provides increased transparency and accountability while helping frontline workers, decision-makers, and the whole community make progress that we can more easily track and therefore achieve,' Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said in a statement. The dashboard shares how many people are currently receiving rent assistance on a monthly basis, whereas that data used to be shared every three months. It also tracks whether people were able to leave homelessness for housing. John Tapogna, the senior policy advisor for ECOnorthwest said housing data — including how much housing is currently available — is crucial to ending homelessness. 'The root of our homelessness crisis is housing affordability,' he said. 'Local governments have sheltered and housed more people than ever — outperforming the goals set under the ambitious Supportive Housing Services measure — but the need continues to outpace the available resources.' Pickup plows through Vancouver brewery; driver hurt This data, combined with Multnomah County's real-time shelter availability, will make it easier for the county to ensure those experiencing homelessness are receiving the care they need. Prior to the by-name list, county leaders used to rely on the Point in Time Count to record how many people were experiencing homelessness, as determined by the federally-required Homeless Management Information System. However, officials said this data county meant the same unnamed person could be counted more than once. Multnomah County took over the information system in March 2024, allowing them to gather fresh data with people listed by name to improve tracking. 'This is an important milestone and provides a path for actionable, data-informed decisions aimed at making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring,' Meghan Arsenault, the county's senior strategy lead for community solutions. The dashboard also reveals that the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased over the past year due to several factors, including housing shortages, evictions, expanded services, and better data collection. Oregon bill aiming to crack down on costly concert tickets gets 'do-pass' recommendation However, leaders say this increase is a sign that the county's data has improved by reflecting the number of people who have been 'experiencing homelessness all along, but had not previously been counted.' 'Our region has a new baseline from which to anchor strategy and performance,' Central City Concern CEO Andrew B. Mendenhall said. 'We are saddened, but not surprised by this data.' It also comes as the Homeless Services Department faces criticism for its projected in the next fiscal year. Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to cover the homeless crisis. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Homelessness is on the rise in Brown County. Here's what to know about the latest numbers
GREEN BAY - Homelessness is surging in Brown County, according to this year's State of Homelessness presentation. Carrie Poser, the executive director of the Balance of State Continuum of Care, a statewide association that works with coalitions in 69 counties to reduce homelessness, presented the latest figures during a presentation Wednesday at the Brown County Neville Public Museum. Balance of State is one of four Continuum of Care associations in Wisconsin that are part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Continuum of Care programs. Here's what Poser's presentation showed about how many people are experiencing homelessness in the area and what can be done to provide more permanent housing. In Brown County, 643 people are experiencing homelessness, as of the latest point-in-time count in January. The point-in-time count is an unduplicated count of people experiencing homelessness during one night and done every January and July. It tracks people who are in emergency shelters, transitional housing, unsheltered and domestic violence service providers. The January point-in-time count had the most people facing homelessness recorded since it began in 2014. In 2024, Brown County's total number of people in the point-in-time count was 622. The number of people in emergency shelters rose from 387 last year to 410, and transitional housing went up from 151 in 2024 to 165 in January. While residents in emergency shelters and transitional housing rose, the number of unsheltered residents fell slightly to 73 in Brown County in January, compared with 86 last year. Brown County made up 23% of the statewide's total unsheltered population, while the Fox Cities had the highest number at 80. In Brown County, for every 10,000 residents, 84 experienced homelessness in 2024. In comparison, 36 people were facing homelessness for every 10,000 residents statewide. The Brown County figures include a rise in households with children facing homelessness. As of April 3, 613 households overall were referred to the Coordinated Entry system housed within the Homeless Management Information System, a jump from 454 in February 2024. And 218 of those households had children. Black households are most likely to experience homelessness, about 13.7 times as likely to experience it compared to white households. But it varies between households with and without children – about 49% of the homeless households with children were white, while 35% identified as Black. On average, homeless residents in the county needed assistance for 84 days between October 2023 and September 2024 either in emergency shelters or transitional housing. That's compared to 88 days on average in the Fox Cities, and 64 days in La Crosse. The length of a household's stay has only grown in Brown County. Between 2022-23, the average amount of time was 83 days, and 76 days in 2021-22. What struck Poser the most was how many people on that referral list had been on the list for 200 days or more — 175, or 29% of the total number of people. Based on the number of people facing homelessness as of April 3, Poser said it would take 159 more permanent supporting housing options, 292 rapid rehousing with intensive case management to address substance use and behavioral health challenges, and 129 rapid rehousing to end homelessness. Poser said there is currently "a lot of uncertainty" in what federal funding will be provided for homelessness programs, so pointed to advocacy efforts as key to reduce homelessness in Wisconsin. "We are asking shelters to do all kinds of things and is sometimes the only intervention for someone and they don't have enough funding," Poser said. Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@ This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Homelessness is on the rise in Brown County, Wisconsin
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Morgantown to consider municipal identification program
Mar. 26—MORGANTOWN — Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffee stood before Morgantown City Council Tuesday evening and laid out the concept behind what he believes would be the first municipal identification program in the state of West Virginia. Based on the initial reaction, it appears council is interested in taking a closer look. While no details have been finalized, potential perks of the ID could include easier access and interactions with city services and personnel, access to bus and library services, discounts at participating city businesses, and even access to checking and savings accounts. Initial thoughts are the cards could be offered to residents starting at 14 years of age and include information like veteran status, donor status and allergies. Riffee said receiving an ID card would require a fee as well as multiple points of proof establishing both the individual's identification and residency in the city. However, the city could set up a mechanism through which the fee could be waived. Further, the list of identification accepted would be expanded beyond state and federal requirements to include things like registry in the Homeless Management Information System, or HMIS. "We've made it to where ; while we acknowledge that we need a process and we need to make sure we're collecting the right documents, we also don't want to create any more barriers, " Riffee said. "So, we've included pieces of information that we could use and verify as a municipality to help individuals who are in an unhoused situation." "Barrier " is a word that came up more than once during the discussion. While Riffee reiterated his belief that the program would ultimately be beneficial to all city residents, it was noted that its origin dates back to a program pitched by Councilor Brian Butcher to help unhoused individuals get established. Butcher said this program won't be a magic bullet in those instances, but it would be a step in the right direction. "There's still going to be difficulty with certain people in terms of proving residency and stuff like that, but it's to try to lower the barriers a little bit, " Butcher said. "Some municipalities have used these sorts of systems as a low-level bank as well. That's something that obviously would require a lot more infrastructure, maybe many years down the road, but up to $200 in a bank card that somebody could have, and that could be really useful for people. I think even just having it as a bus pass or library card to get into any number of our municipal facilities would be great as well." Obviously, the cards could not be used as a driver's license or any other form of federal identification. Riffee said he pulled aspects of the proposal from various municipalities across the country and spoke to representatives from cities ranging in size from Madison, New Jersey, with a population of 17, 000 to Detroit, Michigan, with a residency north of 630, 000. He said the program could likely be launched for approximately $2, 000. Each photo identification card would cost the city approximately 33 cents to produce and could include watermarks and a holographic component similar to state IDs. Among the major questions to be answered is who on the city's end would be responsible for vetting identification sources and running the program. "I'd like to emphasize that the Morgantown Municipal ID benefits all residents, regardless of age. Whether someone is a longstanding citizen or a newcomer, this program is designed to enhance accessibility, " Riffee concluded.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Over $16 million in federal funds going to local housing projects
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded over $16 million to support projects in Montgomery County. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] There are 26 projects in Montgomery County that are aiming to improve housing stability. TRENDING STORIES: Bird flu outbreak: Additional 3.8 million chickens, turkeys test positive in Miami Valley Firefighter arrested on prostitution, drug charges Ohio State celebrates national championship run amid change and farewells 'These awards will help our community assist citizens exiting homelessness and support coordinated entry housing programs and our Homeless Management Information System,' said County Commission President Judy Dodge. 'Our county's Continuum of Care works tirelessly to end homelessness and support affordable housing options. All our citizens deserve a safe place to live.' The grant money is from the Continuum of Care for the Homeless Awards, and will go to the City of Dayton, Daybreak, Eastway, Homefull, Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, Montgomery County, St. Vincent de Paul and the YWCA of Dayton. 'We appreciate the dedication of all our Continuum of Care partners who are working to address this issue and support people experiencing homelessness in our community,' said Jessica Jenkins, Director of Human Services Planning and Development. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
