Tag: All Neighbors Coalition

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that the All Neighbors Coalition, a collective of over 140 organizations working in collaboration to solve homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties, will receive over $27 million in annual funding. This is a 23% increase over 2022 and a 44% increase over 2021, when Housing Forward, the backbone agency supporting the rehousing system, led the redesign of the approach to tackling homelessness by drawing on evidence-based strategies. The increase is a reward for the region’s united effort to end homelessness through cross-system partnerships with behavioral healthcare and housing agencies. The funding is part of HUD’s $3.16 billion homelessness assistance funding to communities nationwide through its Continuum of Care program which expands housing and services projects for families, survivors of domestic violence, and individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. 
 
President and CEO of Housing Forward Sarah Kahn said, “More funding means we can scale up what works for more reductions in homelessness. Public-private partnership, united by a laser-focus on unsheltered homelessness and a commitment to evidence-based strategies, have made it possible for the All Neighbors Coalition to house more people than ever before. In the last few years alone we’ve seen a 160% increase in monthly housing placements. Together we’re focused on helping families and individuals move back into permanent homes with access to needed services.” 
 
Board Chair of Housing Forward Peter Brodsky said, “HUD allocates funding based on performance. The increase in funding for our community reflects the efficacy of the strategy employed by the All Neighbors Coalition to tackle homelessness, as well as its hard work doing the day-to-day, person-by-person work of helping our unhoused neighbors move into homes and get the services they need to be able to stay housed. It is terrific to see the virtuous cycle of progress leading to increased funding, which will allow us to make more progress.” 
 
The All Neighbors Coalition has continued to demonstrate a solid commitment to ending homelessness resulting in a 14% reduction in unsheltered homelessness and 32% reduction in chronic homelessness last year. This funding opportunity will leverage partnerships with Dallas County, North Texas Behavioral Health Authority, and service providers to expand rehousing assistance and wrap-around services to families and individuals exiting homelessness. 
 
Carol Lucky, North Texas Behavioral Health Authority CEO and All Neighbors Coalition Board Chair said, “Housing and healthcare work together to prevent and end homelessness. North Texas Behavioral Health Authority is excited to continue partnering with the homeless response system to support long-term stabilization. As neighbors move back into permanent housing, connections to behavioral health and community based services ensures individuals and families never have to return to homelessness.” 

source: press release

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded new funding to build systems to end youth homelessness in 16 communities across the country, including four rural communities. The national award totaled $60.3 million, of which the All Neighbors Coalition received $9,392,854. The funding was awarded through HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) to support a wide range of housing programs, including rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, and host homes.  

“Our ongoing work and our community’s vision for ending youth homelessness focuses on centering racial equity, amplifying the voices of youth with lived experience in planning and decision-making, and robust cross-system partnerships. Over the next few years, we’ll be leveraging the ongoing partnerships and the YHDP HUD funding in creating a more coordinated approach to ensuring all unhoused youth are quickly identified and matched to needed resources, that we shore up our outreach, engagement, and crisis response services, and that we focus on increasing housing options that are paired with critical, wrap-around supportive services,” said Joli Angel Robinson, President and CEO of Housing Forward. 

Housing Forward will use this funding for a Youth Resource Center, a youth-focused intervention that will work to reunify youth with family, prevent their homelessness, or divert youth from crisis housing. Additionally, the Youth Resource Center will maintain a real-time inventory of crisis bed availability to assist youth in securing safe temporary shelter when needed, while also connecting young adults to the local Homeless Response System’s Coordinated Access System (CAS) for a match to more permanent housing assistance.  

This funding opportunity will support our community goal to effectively reduce youth homelessness. “This funding award is the result of year-round planning with critical partners in the fight to end youth homelessness. Service providers, local governments, advocates, and youth with lived experience of homelessness came together to examine the needs and gaps in our community and develop a Framework for Ending Homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties. This is truly a community-led approach to ending youth homelessness. Today’s announcement is further evidence that the system transformation work we began 3 years ago is leading to increased collaboration and funding, allowing us to serve & permanently house more people than ever before. We appreciate the partnership with HUD & the ongoing partnerships throughout Dallas & Collin Counties that have brought us to this day,” said Peter Brodsky, Housing Forward Board Chair. 

Elevate North Texas is a youth provider within the All Neighbors Coalition that aims to fill in the gap of youth homelessness with emergency shelter and provide a safe, affirming environment through access to immediate shelter and reunification with family, when possible. “At Elevate North Texas we know that every single night young people are going without safe, stable housing and that our unhoused youth face a multitude of barriers in finding emergency shelter and getting connected to resources. I am proud of the work of Elevate North Texas and proud of the work of our All Neighbors Coalition in continuing to focus our efforts on addressing youth homelessness. There is much work to do and this additional funding from HUD allows us to continue to do this critically important work,” said Jason Vallejo, Founder & Executive Director of Elevate North Texas. 

The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) supports selected communities in the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness. This community planning approach supports the foundations outlined in the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) All In report and will guide communities in designing solutions that match the needs of their community with special attention on creating equitable strategies to assist youth who are most vulnerable, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and differently abled youth. “Unfortunately, youth often experience the brunt of failed systems. This significant award will help us strengthen the services provided to youth, create and maintain a coordinated approach to addressing youth homelessness, and effectively reduce the number of youth that are represented in our overall unhoused population,” said Ashley Brundage, Previous All Neighbors Coalition Board Chair. 

“Every neighbor in our community deserves to have safe, stable housing. This necessary work is only possible with our incredible system partners, our youth service providers, and perhaps most importantly our Youth Action Board who lend their voices and experiences to ensure we are creating a system that effectively meets our unhoused youth’s needs,” said Joli Angel Robinson, President and CEO of Housing Forward. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $2.8 billion in annual funding to help people experiencing homelessness. The All Neighbors Coalition received $22 million through the annual Continuum of Care (CoC) funding program for renewed and increased programming across Dallas and Collin Counties, a 20% increase of funding from last year.

“This annual competitive funding process adds necessary financial capacity to our overall community, allowing us to further many of our system goals by providing housing and supportive services for our unhoused neighbors. Our CoC, the All Neighbors Coalition is thrilled about the opportunity to bring in additional funding that helps support ongoing efforts and allows us to expand critical services for our most vulnerable populations, including Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Rehousing. This increase in funding further demonstrates that our system is being recognized for the ongoing progress and effectiveness of our homeless response system to meet the needs of our unhoused neighbors,” said Joli Angel Robinson, President and CEO of Housing Forward.

The increased annual funding announcement builds on a $315 million first-of-its-kind package of resources that HUD awarded in January 2023, of which Dallas and Collin Counties received $22.8 million, to help communities provide housing and supportive services to people in unsheltered settings and people experiencing homelessness in rural areas.

A portion of the increased annual funds also includes $1.4 million to provide housing solutions for families fleeing domestic violence. “This new funding specifically for survivors fleeing domestic violence will help our homeless response system increase services across the All Neighbors Coalition for a vulnerable population who need additional support,” said Christina Coultas, CEO of
Hope’s Door New Beginning and Member of the All Neighbors Coalition Board.