What’s new with Capital Region Housing Collaborative (CRHC)?
(November 2018) After 31 years as the Greater Lansing Homeless Resolution Network, has undertaken a new strategic plan with a renewed name and a new mission.
Our commitment to trauma informed “integrated care” with a collaborative “housing first” approach is at the core of everything this network does to prevent and end homelessness.
We historically formed to use collaborative strength to secure funding to house and provide case management support to the homeless for Ingham County. Over time, our collaborative has grown to identify and address gaps in service and to break down barriers to stability for homeless individuals and families.
As a collaborative our mission is to prevent and end homelessness in the Capital Region. We do this with the strength of more than 25 community and collaborative partner members and hope that this collaborative membership will continue to broaden and grow in the effort to ensure that every community member in need has access to a safe, affordable permanent home.
What is Housing First?
Housing First is an approach to homeless assistance which prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness -- ending their homelessness and serving as a foundation from which each individual and family can pursue personal goals to improve their quality of life.
The vision of this approach is guided by the belief that as people’s most basic needs (like food and a place to live) are addressed they will be more willing and able to pursue the other “less critical” issues such as employment, household budgeting and/or attending to substance use issues.
Additionally, Housing First is based on the theory that an individuals ability to exercise personal choice is likely to encourage a client to better succeed in remaining housed and improving their life.
Our continuum works to assess each person’s individual needs with a trauma-informed approach, prioritizing and addressing each individual and family’s most chronic needs first.
For more information see:https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/Housing-First-Permanent-Supportive-Housing-Brief.pdf
History of this Collaborative
(April 2018) In 1987 Congress passed the first federal law (The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act) specifically addressing homelessness. Later renamed the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, this Federal mandate provides financial support for a variety of programs to
meet the needs of homeless individuals and families who are homeless. The housing programs authorized through this funding are administered by US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs.
At the time the McKinney-Vento Act was taking root at the federal level, organizations working with the homeless were beginning to collaborate more closely. In the late 1980s, approximately 10 Lansing area agencies were meeting on a monthly basis at what is now the Ingham County Department of Health & Human Services. These agencies were focused on simply sheltering homeless adults, families, and young people. By 1994, as HUD consolidated homeless plans nationally, localities, like the Ingham County/Lansing/East Lansing area were strongly encouraged to formally organize as recognizable Continuums of Care. With that mandate the group of agencies named itself and the Greater Lansing Homeless Resolution Network (GLHRN) was born.
From 1994 forward, the GLHRN has used its collaborative strength to secure a significant amount of funding to house and provide case management support to the homeless. This collaborative of agencies has identified and addressed gaps in service and barriers to stability for homeless individuals and families in the Ingham County/Lansing/East Lansing area, assisting thousands of community members.
In 2018, the number of agencies participating in the GLHRN has more than quadrupled, with approximately 30 formal members and 10-15 associated agencies from the Ingham/Lansing/East Lansing area. Funding for services in our community now has many sources, many of which we apply for cooperatively. More importantly, we have learned to effectively weave together our strengths as agencies to offer a solid foundation of assistance to those at highest risk in our community. Together we are clearing the path from homelessness to stability.
For more information regarding the McKinney-Vento Act see:
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/McKinney.pdf
