Monarch Housing’s Blog!

With the passage of the Second Chance Act and the growing number of individuals exiting the jail and prison system, re-entry has become an important topic. The National Conference on Ending Homelessness hosted by NAEH presented successful strategies in working with jail diversion and re-entry issues. Francesca Martin of the Corporation for Supportive Housing in Connecticut and JoAnne Paige of the Fortune Society in New York spoke on programs in their respective state that have addressed the issue of re-entry.

The Corporation for Supportive Housing in partnership with the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and the Connecticut Department of Corrections and the Court Support Services Division is developing a Frequent Users of Jail and Shelter Pilot project. Still in the development phase, this project will create 30 units of enhanced supportive housing targeting those who have had 4 shelter stays and 4 incarcerations within the 5 years. The program will offer two years of enhanced services with housing located in the community through a scattered site model. Services will be funded through the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the collaborative hopes to partner with local Public Housing Authorities to obtain Section 8 vouchers for this program.

The Fortune Society located in New York City offers a variety of low threshold housing options for homeless individuals exiting the Read the rest of this entry �

Second Chance Act needs $70 million in 2009!

Key policy issue at Congressional Reception!

One of the three policy issues for the 2nd Annual Congressional Reception is adequate funding for the Second Chance Act. The position of the New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness advocates for Congress to provide $70 million for the Second Chance Act programs in fiscal year 2009.

Please read this entire policy position paper. To read it as a separate document click here. For more information on the Second Chance Act click here.

The Second Chance Act has been explicitly billed as a “first step” in developing a more effective federal response to the problem of people leaving corrections without adequate support. This act reauthorizes and revises an existing grant program within the Department of Justice, providing money to states for reentry programs, and it creates a federal interagency task force to study and coordinate policy. The act also commissions a number of research projects, including a study of barriers in federal policy to successful reentry, and authorizes grants from the Department of Justice directly to nonprofits for reentry programs.

Housing is a key part of any reentry strategy, and it is addressed in a number of ways in the Second Chance Act:

Under the state grants program, housing activities are eligible uses of program funds, from providing housing directly to assisting people in securing housing from the private market or other housing programs.

Another eligible use of funds is strengthening the capacity of prisoners’ families to provide stable living situations.

Housing is to be addressed in the strategic plan required of each state receiving funding.

Housing is one of the performance outcomes that each state receiving funding is required to monitor and report to the Justice Department.

Recommendation

The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness urges Congress to provide $70 million for the Second Chance Act programs in fiscal year 2009.

Read the rest of this entry �

More advocacy needed!

Congressional Reception could be crucial!

Click here to register to attend!

The following information is from the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Although this post is lengthy it is definitely worth reading in full as it provides a comprehensive overview of the budget issues that affect programs to end homelessness and expand supportive housing.

Appropriations - As we reported on June 24th, the House of Representatives, both the Transportation-HUD (T-HUD) and the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittees passed bills to fund the departments and agencies under their jurisdictions.

A full chart of the T-HUD Subcommittee’s funding levels may be found by clicking here.

The T-HUD Subcommittee suggested McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants be funded with $1.691 billion, an increase of $105 million over FY 08 and $55 million more than the President requested.

HUD’s proposed cuts to the 811/202 programs were rejected and instead received small increases.

Both the project-based and tenant-based Section 8 accounts received substantial increases.

Another round of $75 million for 10,000 new HUD-VASH vouchers was included in the legislation, as well as $30 million for 4,000 new vouchers for the disabled.

Unfortunately the HOPWA program was funded at the same level as last year — at the President’s requested level of $300.1 million.

The Senate T-HUD Subcommittee is scheduled to meet on July 10th to consider their version of the FY 09 Appropriations bill.

The Labor-HHS Subcommittee is responsible for funding the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), which administers several programs that benefit homeless individuals. CSH, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, NAMI, Enterprise, National AIDS Housing Coalition and other partners were successful in advocating for an increase to programs that fund services in permanent supportive housing. The victory was all the more significant in the face of proposed cuts to this account in the President’s budget.

The bill set to be voted will increase SAMHSA’s homeless programs by $21.4 million above the FY 2008 level for a total of $75 million. It appears that nearly all of the increase would go to fund services in permanent supportive housing. This would significantly expand SAMHSA grant funding for supportive housing.

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In this Sunday’s edition of the NY Times they had two article of interest. The first one was on the efforts of Mayor Booker of Newark to develop an effective prisoner reentry program. The second was about a former NY Giants linebacker who is now homeless.

The first article entitled “Seeking Employment for Ex-Cons in Newark” appeared on the front page of the metro section. To read the article click here.

The article notes “The situation epitomizes the way Newark’s two leading problems, crime and unemployment, are intertwined with the huge number of ex-convicts in the city. Some 2,300 men and women pour into the city from prison each year, and 65 percent are rearrested within five years. One in six adult residents of the city has a criminal record.”

It also makes a critical point when it states “With Newark’s unemployment rate stubbornly stuck at twice the state average of 4.9 percent — and criminal history and lack of education leaving many chronically unemployable — Mayor Cory A. Booker has tried to make prisoner re-entry a signature issue, aware that his twin promises of safety and economic vitality depend on it. He is part of a growing national movement of local and state politicians trying to tackle the problem; earlier this month, President Bush signed the Second Chance Act, allocating $165 million annually to their efforts. ‘Up until now, the focus has been putting ex-offenders back in jail,’ complained Fred Davie, president of Public/Private Ventures, a nonprofit group based in Philadelphia that has created prisoner rehabilitation programs in 15 cities and advised the Booker administration. ‘We need a national approach to what has become a national crisis.” To read the full article click here.

The second article appeared in the back of the business section. It was entitled “Help for Those Seeking a Job and a Home”. It focused on the efforts of Praxis Housing Initiatives, a nonprofit group Read the rest of this entry �

On March 11, 2008, after years of waiting for approval, the Senate approved the Second Chance Act. The House had approved the bill in November 2007. Because of the significant impact that reentry has and will continue not have in New Jersey, this is an important step that will not only address prisoner reentry but also assist in ending homelessness in New Jersey. In New Jersey all members of Congress voted for the bill except for Scott Garrett who voted no and James Saxton who did not vote. The total cost according to the Congressional Budget Office would be $2 for every person in the country for budget years 2008-2012. This is a modest cost compared to the benefits.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Second Chance Act has been explicitly billed as a “first step: in developing a more effective federal response to the problem of people leaving corrections without adequate support. This bill would reauthorize and revise an existing grant program within the Department of Justice, providing money to states for reentry programs; create a federal interagency task force to study and coordinate policy; commission a number of research projects including a study of barriers in federal policy to successful reentry; and authorize grants from the Justice Department directly to non profits for reentry programs.

Housing is a key part of any reentry strategy, and it is addressed in a number of ways in the Second Chance Act:

Read the rest of this entry �