Homeless Services Network of Central Florida

This month’s Continuum of Care meeting, originally scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, April 23, has been cancelled.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, at 9am. We will announce the location in the next couple of weeks.

For the past few years Homeless Services Network has helped coordinate the Seminole County Veteran Stand Down. This year is no exception. We are expecting 125-150 veterans in attendance this year and we need 125 volunteers to make it a successful event.

When: Saturday, May 18th, 2013 (9am – 1pm)

Where: Seminole County Health Department, 400 W. Airport Blvd., Sanford, FL 32773

To register as a volunteer for this event: Visit the Volunteer Registration web page

• Volunteer Training: Wednesday May 15th, 2013 (12pm – 1pm or 6pm – 7pm)
• Volunteer Training Location: American Legion Post 53, 2874 S. Sanford Avenue, Sanford, Florida 32773 (more…)

This month’s Continuum of Care meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 29th, at Goodwill Industries of Central Florida.

Typically, the monthly Continuum of Care meeting is held on the fourth Tuesday of every month. However, two factors led us to take advantage of a rare fifth Tuesday available this month.

1. We just completed the annual CoC application for funding from HUD. We’ve been up to our eyeballs Obviously, this activity takes top priority over just about everything else we do here.
2. Monday, January 21, is the federal holiday commemorating the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King and our office is closed.

Postponing the the CoC meeting until 1/29 gives us more time to prepare for the meeting.

So please join us on the 29th at Goodwill Industries (7531 South Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32809). We’ll be talking about the just-submitted CoC application as well as the annual Point in Time Count, which this year takes place on Wednesday, January 30.

As usual, the meeting starts at 9am, but feel free to arrive as early as 8:30am for refreshments and peer networking.

For the past few years Homeless Services Network has helped coordinate the Orlando Veteran Stand Down. This year is no exception. We are expecting 325-350 veterans in attendance this year and we need 325-350 volunteers to make it a successful event. Last year’s Stand Down was a wonderful success with spectacular volunteers. But this year we have worked hard to make it even better.

These rates were measured on July 18, 2012, using a combination of HMIS data and telephone survey data. Please direct inquires to Joel Remigio, joel {at} hsncfl(.)org, or 407-893-0133 x106. (more…)

To my fellow veterans and friends of veterans:

The new issue of the “Azimuth” newsletter is available for download. It is produced by the Veteran Volunteer Program and The Homeless Services Network of Central Florida. It is intended to help veterans with housing, utility, educational or employment challenges. It includes real clients with real requests.

Not included in this issue is a true story that I would like to share. I received a request from a friend a couple weeks ago. She told me that her husband’s brother had been in an incident and asked if I could help her find resources for her brother-in-law (We’ll call him Steve). So I looked into the matter. Steve lives in another state with his wife and 24-year-old daughter. Steve’s friends and neighbors were quoted as saying “Steve was a quiet, nurturing, caring husband and father.” Steve served in the Marine Corps in the early 80’s as a sniper. He had done a tour in Beirut and Lebanon. From 1985 to now he had battled minor symptoms of PTSD, but was “toughing it out”. After all, he was a tough Marine. (more…)

HSN’s new Veteran Volunteer Program has a newsletter out called “Azimuth”. For those that don’t know, “Azimuth” is a term used in the military to describe a compass bearing. This edition includes articles on the SSVF program, Veteran Volunteer Program, HSN, and spotlights of real veterans, and upcoming events. The next edition will include veteran employment opportunities and challenges. If you would like to be included in the direct email list for this newsletter, please email Sean Gibbs, Veterans Services Coordinator, at sean.gibbs {at} HSNCFL(.)org. Please include your name and organization, and then type “Newsletter Email List” in the subject heading.

“Azimuth” is available for download from the Homeless Services Network web site.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $200 million in new project funding to support over 15,000 beds and supportive services in communities across the country. The majority of funding will provide housing and services for homeless persons who are disabled, including 8,700 persons in families, and 5,600 persons who are chronically homeless.

Locally, the 2011 funding competition resulted in a $547,927 award to the Homeless Services Network for two new permanent supportive housing projects.

For a local summary of the grants announced today, visit HUD’s Homelessness Resource Exchange (What’s New section) or HUD’s website (Featured News)

Last month, we unveiled our new data quality monitoring tool: the Data Completeness Report Card. This new report not only examines a wider range of data elements required for collection by all HMIS participants, but also boils down the effort into a simple letter grade.