1

Homelessness Prevention

In New York City

NAEH Conference, July 14 2011

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How do we target services?

Put services in the highest risk communities. One quarter of NYC’s communities contribute over 60% of all shelter entrants

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HomeBase Shelter Profile

Under 21yr

s

21yrs

to 2

9yrs

30yrs

to 4

4yrs

45yrs

and ove

r

0

40

80

120

160

200

240

37

213

131

40

Age of Head of Household

1 per

son

2 peo

ple

3 peo

ple

4 peo

ple

5 peo

ple

6 peo

ple

7 peo

ple

8 peo

ple

12 pe

ople

020406080

100120140160180200

Family Size (Number of Individuals)

Family Size

Nu

mb

er

of

Fa

mil

ies

1%

33%

51%

1%13%

Primary Tenant Reason for Home-lessness

Lockout

DV

Eviction

Crime Situation

Unlivable Conditions

8%

13%0%

10%

26%

37%

5%

Secondary Tenant Reason for Home-lessness

Domestic Violence

Eviction

Crime situation

Unlivable Conditions

Discord

Overcrowding

Financial Strain

PROFILE OF ELIGIBLE FAMILY SHELTER ENTRANTS

CD 203: Jan - Sep, 2006

How do we target services?

Provide services to families who have similar characteristics to families who enter shelter.

4

L

L

L

L

L

L

L

L

How do we target services?

Outreach to families who are most likely to end up in shelter.

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Planning

• Public awareness campaign with placements in high-demand communities

• Developed screening and referral service through 311

• Calls transferred to Homebase doubled

How do we target services?

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Targeting Tenants Affected by Foreclosure

• DHS purchased proprietary data in order to map buildings at risk of foreclosure

• Programs hired staff with foreclosure expertise to:

How do we target services?

– Outreach to tenants in at-risk buildings– Provide advice and assistance with tenancy rights, benefits,

utilities, and relocation

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PlanningHow do we target services?

Lessons:

•Invest in technology

•Make data useful for practitioners

•Use data for continuous quality improvement

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9

How do we allocate prevention resources?

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How do we allocate prevention resources?A

pp

lica

nts

HRA Homebase

Low

High

Service Need

$$$$

100%

10%

70%

Cost Per 90 Day Diversion:

HRA = $600

Hombase = $3,000

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How do we allocate prevention resources?

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PlanningHow do we allocate prevention resources?

Lessons:

•Offer a range of services that are progressively more intensive and expensive only after initial intervention doesn’t work•You can offer a universal service without “wasting” resources on low-risk households•Leverage TANF and mainstream resources

•Incentivize providers to achieve outcomes

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How do we know our strategy is working?

Match households served against shelter entrants to determine client impact.

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Family Shelter Entrants 2004 to 2007 Fiscal Year Comparison

  2004 2005* 2006 2007% Change2004-2007

Prevention CDs 1727 1946 1971 2190 26.81%

Control CDs 2830 3261 3433 3880 37.10%

All Other CDs* 6894 6399 7230 7971 15.62%

           

How do we know our strategy is working?

Compare communities served to communities not served by prevention to determine program impact

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PlanningHow do we know our strategy is working?

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PlanningHow do we know our strategy is working?

Commission evaluations to find a causal relationship between prevention and shelter entry.

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PlanningHow do we know our strategy is working?

Lessons:

•Random assignment trails are controversial

•Results take time

•Be realistic about the impacts