This Week in Homelessness (TWIH) - April 16-22

Permanent Housing for Veterans in San Diego, California

Veterans experiencing homelessness in both San Diego and Carlsbad, California may soon see an increase in opportunity to be permanently housed. Affirmed Housing Group, a leader in the field of housing, has made acquisitions to expand affordable housing for those experiencing homelessness in the city - specifically veterans. The housing group plans to renovate a former motel, located in the Grantville neighborhood, to include 85 housing units, complimented by extensive support services. In addition, another housing facility of about 80 apartments is expected to be constructed to provide even more opportunities for veterans experiencing homelessness to receive housing in the Grantville area. In another California city, Carlsbad, new housing facilities are also expected to be developed. “Providing housing with services for our veterans has become a mainstream issue and one that we take to heart", says James Silverwood, President and CEO of Affirmed Housing Group.

Read the full article here.

Chile 2017 Homelessness Census

According to social director of Hogar de Cristo, Paulo Egenau, there has yet to be a census conducted to gather data on the occurrence of homelessness in Chile. Gathering the necessary information about the men, women and families living on the streets of the South American country has been difficult for a number of reasons. Some factors that make this a challenge include difficulty in locating people experiencing homelessness at given times of the day and struggling to get this vulnerable population to open up to people they don't know and share the details of their day to day lives. To combat these roadblocks, specially educated teams of people were designated to retrieve information from hostels to complete the census. Egenau says that with this census, he and his colleagues hope to inform the citizens of Chile about the demographics and day to day lives of people experiencing homelessness in their country.

Read the full article here. (This article's original text is in Spanish)

Glasgow, Scotland Receives Funding to Help Homelessness Project

Opportunity is on the rise for people sleeping rough in Glasgow, Scotland. The City Ambition Network (CAN) is a collaboration between Simon Community Scotland, Glasgow City Mission, The Marie Trust and the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, all making efforts towards helping those experiencing homelessness or sleeping rough. Thanks to funding from the Oak Foundation, the network will now extend a current project that is addressing the issue of growing homelessness. There is an estimated 1,000 people sleeping rough in Glasgow. CAN is expected to use the funding to increase staff and researchers to support the need for a “consistent and intensive approach” to tackling rough sleeping.

Read the full article here.

New Report Addresses Next Steps in Combating Homelessness in Sarasota, Florida

A new study conducted by the Florida Housing Coalition reached conclusions that government, nonprofit and private agencies can all use to improve their approach to eradicating homelessness. The conclusions drawn from the study, commissioned by the city of Sarasota, placed emphasis on more coordination, better data collection, a need for specific targeted outcomes or goals and more housing. In addition, the coalition recommends that Sarasota and Manatee counties abandon plans to construct a new shelter and, instead, rely on existing agencies to carry out assistance to those experiencing homelessness. With these conclusions and the recommendations that have stemmed from them, the coalition aims to propel all agencies in the same direction to allow for improved coordination of resource and assistance. Susan Pourciau, Project Manager of the Florida Housing Coalition and the driving force behind the recommendations, believes that "with coordinated entry and improved data collection, all of the agencies working on homeless issues could have standardized information available to track and work toward tangible, specific outcomes".

Read the full article here.

Japan's Homelessness Network Seeks Continuation of Support Law

This week, a meeting was held to discuss the need for an extension of the Homeless Autonomy Support Law in the country of Japan.

This law currently serves as the foundation for the promotion of local and national projects that address the issue of homelessness in Japan. It is also the primary guide for investigation of the conditions of those experiencing homelessness, as well as planning future measures to tackle the issue. During the meeting regarding the extension of the law, leaders expressed their concern that in previous years, when the law was abolished, measures that are usually carried out to gather data on homelessness came to a halt. Homelessness is a significant issue on local, national and global levels. Thus, it is essential that measures to address the issue are continuously supported.

Read the full article here. (This article's original text is in Japanese)

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