| Housing Forward announced that Sarah Kahn has been named Interim President and Chief Executive Officer effective December 21, 2023. This follows the announcement that Joli Angel Robinson, who served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization since August of 2021, has accepted the role of Chief Executive Officer with Center on Halsted of Chicago, Illinois. Kahn has served as Housing Forward Chief Program Officer since September 2021, and has 21 years of experience in evidence-based homelessness solution and policy implementation. Prior to Housing Forward, she led the Homeless Assistance and Housing Practice at The Cloudburst Group, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Kahn catalyzed progress on ending homelessness, helping communities optimize public and private resources and accelerate rehousing efforts. She has worked alongside communities to improve homeless response systems in the U.S. and internationally with KPMG’s Government Advisory Services in Sydney Australia and Singapore; the Council to Homeless Persons in Melbourne Australia; and the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington D.C. Kahn holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas’ School of Social Welfare and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Northern Arizona University. She will be relocating to Dallas from Atlanta, GA. Board Chair Peter Brodsky said, “Sarah is exceedingly qualified to step in on an interim basis as CEO. She has the Board’s full support and we are confident that, under her leadership, Housing Forward will not miss a beat. Together with the deep bench of talent across the organization, including Housing Forward Vice President of Finance and Operations Mackeshia Brown, we will ensure Housing Forward will continue its record-setting work to house our most vulnerable neighbors, specifically those living unsheltered. Under Joli and Sarah’s leadership, we’ve reduced unsheltered homelessness by 14% and reduced chronic homelessness by 32%. And we are housing people faster than ever before, growing from housing 80 people per month to 207 people per month.” Brodsky added, “I also must take this opportunity to thank Joli for her visionary leadership over the past two years. She is leaving Housing Forward with an incredible record of accomplishment and having set up both the organization and our entire continuum of care for success in the future. Dallas’s loss is Chicago’s gain and I know she will accomplish great things. The Board joins me in wishing Joli all the best.” Kahn said, “Dallas and Collin Counties have made incredible strides over the past three years, increasing the pace of rehousing neighbors from 80 to 207 individuals per month. We’re standing on the shoulders of an incredible advocate and leader in Joli Angel Robinson and we’re strongly positioned to sustain that pace. I am committed to working alongside our incredible service providers and partners to build on that progress together.” Robinson commented, “Having worked closely with Sarah as chief program officer, I have every confidence in her ability to take on the additional role of interim CEO. Housing Forward has an incredibly dedicated team who, together with Sarah, the rest of the management team, and our Board, will continue to drive Housing Forward’s success.” Kahn has served as Housing Forward Chief Program Officer since September 2021, and has 21 years of experience in evidence-based homelessness solution and policy implementation. Prior to Housing Forward, she led the Homeless Assistance and Housing Practice at The Cloudburst Group, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Kahn catalyzed progress on ending homelessness, helping communities optimize public and private resources and accelerate rehousing efforts. She has worked alongside communities to improve homeless response systems in the U.S. and internationally with KPMG’s Government Advisory Services in Sydney Australia and Singapore; the Council to Homeless Persons in Melbourne Australia; and the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington D.C. Board Chair Peter Brodsky said, “Sarah is exceedingly qualified to step in on an interim basis as CEO. She has the Board’s full support and we are confident that, under her leadership, Housing Forward will not miss a beat. Together with the deep bench of talent across the organization, including Housing Forward Vice President of Finance and Operations Mackeshia Brown, we will ensure Housing Forward will continue its record-setting work to house our most vulnerable neighbors, specifically those living unsheltered. Under Joli and Sarah’s leadership, we’ve reduced unsheltered homelessness by 14% and reduced chronic homelessness by 32%. And we are housing people faster than ever before, growing from housing 80 people per month to 207 people per month.” Brodsky added, “I also must take this opportunity to thank Joli for her visionary leadership over the past two years. She is leaving Housing Forward with an incredible record of accomplishment and having set up both the organization and our entire continuum of care for success in the future. Dallas’s loss is Chicago’s gain and I know she will accomplish great things. The Board joins me in wishing Joli all the best.” Source: Press Release |
Tag: Housing Forward
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Housing Forward appoints interim CEO
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All Neighbors Coalition houses 2,700 unhoused neighbors in record time
Housing Forward and All Neighbors Coalitions are pleased to announce that
after launching the R.E.A.L. Time Rehousing initiative in October of 2021, the effort has rehoused 2,700 (and counting) of our neighbors experiencing homelessness. This initiative is housing individuals faster than before. The success of the work accomplished has been possible through the private and public partnerships that served to eliminate inefficiencies and overcome obstacles in real time.R.E.A.L. Time Rehousing continues to rely on support from our private and philanthropic community for flexible funds to ensure we can remove all barriers to housing. The success would not have been possible without the Funders Collaborative, a group of private funders led by the Meadows Foundation who made initial investments in system transformation and helped us partner private dollars with one time public dollars from across the region to launch this $72 million transformative initiative.
The success of this program is having a big impact on reducing the number of unhoused neighbors in the Dallas region and on the amount of dedicated federal resources the region receives to sustain and expand these efforts. In the first year of the initiative, chronic homelessness decreased by 32% and unsheltered homelessness by 14%. The next Point-in Time (PIT) count conducted in January 2024 will reveal the full extent of this strategy. Over the last year, the All Neighbors Coalition has been awarded an additional $36.4 million in new federal funding, resulting in a 70% increase in annual funding going forward. As a result, the All Neighbors Coalition and Housing Forward will continue their accelerated rehousing efforts and have set the next milestone at 6,000 individuals by 2025.
“The R.E.A.L. Time Rehousing initiative is a game-changer. Today we celebrate an accomplishment that has been years in the making. We are grateful to the private funders, our Housing Forward team, the homeless response system, and our incredible direct care service providers in the R.E.A.L. Time Rehousing initiative who have made this success possible,” said Joli Angel Robinson, CEO of Housing Forward.
This progress would not be possible without the direct care service providers who participate in the All Neighbors Coalition, but specifically those involved with the R.E.A.L. Time Rehousing Initiative. “The R.E.A.L. Time Rehousing Initiative gave us an incredible opportunity to reduce homelessness in our community and it is producing results. The City of Dallas will continue to invest and support solutions that are proven to reduce homelessness in our city,” said T.C. Broadnax, City of Dallas City Manager.
source: press release
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Dallas, Collin County homeless service agencies get huge federal boost
Housing Forward recently shared that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a first-of-its kind package of resources to help communities implement a coordinated approach to ending unsheltered homelessness. The national award totaled nearly $315 million, of which the All Neighbors Coalition received $22.8 million. The All Neighbors Coalition is made up of more than 120+ partner organizations across Collin and Dallas Counties that provide critical resources and support directly to individuals, Veterans, youth, and families experiencing homelessness.
Dallas and Collin Counties are one of a small group of communities across the country receiving this unprecedented level of new funding to provide housing solutions to vulnerable neighbors.
“As we have seen an increase in our chronically unsheltered population, our community set a goal to significantly reduce those numbers. Through a greater alignment of resources, enhanced partnerships, and a focus on racial equity, we are housing more people than ever before. This historic funding allows our homeless response system to greatly expand and further that work. This award is a tremendous nod to the work of The All Neighbors Coalition as we continue to demonstrate that we are a system working together toward shared goals in our effort to find permanent solutions to ending homelessness,” said Joli Angel Robinson, President and CEO of Housing Forward.
This historic funding opportunity will support coordinated encampment outreach and expand housing and services to help neighbors move back into a safe home and improve their health and wellbeing, “Our focus on reducing unsheltered homelessness, the most visible form of homelessness in our community, will be greatly aided by this new funding. Dallas Housing Authority and Dallas County have both committed critical resources to be paired with this HUD funding and we have worked to build and strengthen partnerships with local healthcare providers and nonprofits providing street outreach. This allows us to engage more neighbors living in encampments across our community and help them access housing with critical wrap-around supports,” said Peter Brodsky, Housing Forward Board Chair.
This award helps the local homeless response system expand Diversion efforts that prevent people from becoming unsheltered and increases the availability of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). PSH provides access to affordable housing through rental subsidies with necessary supportive services. This special funding opportunity leverages partnerships with Dallas Housing Authority, Dallas County, North Texas Behavioral Health Authority, and Parkland Health.
Funds will go directly to several leading homeless service providers to deliver these proven solutions to homelessness. “We have seen the impact of collaboration through our local initiatives. This unsheltered funding opportunity allows us to deeply collaborate with existing partners to amplify housing and healthcare resources and create permanent housing solutions for our neighbors experiencing homelessness,” said Ashley Brundage, All Neighbors Coalition Board Chair.
Community Partners selected to receive funding to implement PSH through the All Neighbors Coalition funding competition are:
The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center
This funding initiative is also the first in which HUD has coordinated grants and housing vouchers. In response to the competitive special Notice of Funding Opportunity, Continuum of Care (CoC) collaborative applicants were asked to formally partner with public housing authorities to leverage access to housing resources. Public housing authorities partnering with awarded CoC grantees will receive priority for approximately 4,000 Housing Choice “Stability” Vouchers that allow people experiencing homelessness to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing.
” Every neighbor in our community deserves to have safe, stable housing. This award enables us to increase support and build capacity across our system so that we can provide the necessary housing and services many of our unhoused neighbors need,” said Joli Angel Robinson, President and CEO of Housing Forward.
About Housing Forward and All Neighbors Coalition: Housing Forward, formerly Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), was founded in 2002 to serve as a collective voice for homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties. Housing Forward has the expertise, partnerships, and resources to lead a system-wide, data-driven strategy to solve homelessness in our community. Housing Forward works together in collaboration with the All Neighbors Coalition to lead system-wide strategies for ending homelessness in our community.
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All Neighbors Coalition seeking partners for unhoused family diversion
On behalf of the All Neighbors Coalition, Housing Forward (formerly Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance) received a $1.25 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund, a program of the Bezos Day One Fund. Housing Forward leads in the development and implementation of an effective homeless response system to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in Dallas and Collin Counties.
The Day 1 Families Fund issues annual awards to leading organizations employing needle-moving work to help families achieve housing stability. The grant provides $250,000 for Housing Forward to provide backbone support for the family homeless response system, as well as $1,000,000 for agencies providing direct assistance to families.
The All Neighbors Coalition will use these funds to expand Systemwide Diversion for Families, which is one of the Coalition’s top priorities for reducing family homelessness. Hailed as a national best practice, Diversion draws on creative problem solving and families’ strengths to help families avoid having to enter shelter or experience unsheltered homelessness by finding safe alternative housing options.
Register for a Mandatory In Person Information session here on January 11, 2023 at 3 PM
Interested partners can apply for the Request for Proposal (RFP): Systemwide Diversion for Families here through Amplifund.
Deadline for submitting an application: February 1, 2023.
For more information visit the funding page on our website here.
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MDHA announces rebrand
MDHA (Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance) has completed a full rebranding process.
In an effort to better represent all the people and communities it serves, the organization has moved over the past year to become Housing Forward.
Founded in 2002 to serve as a collective voice for homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties, Housing Forward employs its expertise, partnerships, and resources to lead a system-wide, data-driven strategy to solve homelessness in the community.Housing Forward works together in collaboration with the All Neighbors Coalition. The All Neighbors Coalition comprises more than 100 partner organizations across Dallas and Collin Counties that provide resources and support directly to individuals, Veterans, youth, and families experiencing homelessness.