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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.
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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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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
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