30 Jun 10 Veterans Stand Down 2010
The Department of Veterans Affairs is hosting a Veterans Stand Down:
Saturday, September 25, 2010
9:00am – 2:00pm
Downtown Orlando Recreation Center
649 W. Livingston Street
Orlando, FL 32801
The event will offer medical care, haircuts, VA benefits, dental screening, showers, food, tax assistance, clothing, shelter information, employment and more to the Orlando veteran population.
To sign up as a volunteer, please fill out the Volunteer Registration Form.
29 Jun 10 Domestic Violence 101: “Recognize, Respond, and Refer”
Our June CoC meeting featured a compelling presentation from Harbor House, the primary domestic violence victim service provider in Orange County. CEO Carol Wick and her staff provided us with important data that highlights an increasing trend in domestic violence incidents, which was all too relevant given a recent spike in fatal incidents in the Orlando area.
Those in attendance were provided with tools to assess clients for domestic violence, a practice in which HSN hopes all providers in the CoC will engage, as well as resources for referrals. In case you missed the meeting, we have made the materials available for download here.
Harbor House also conducts a monthly seminar, “Recognize, Respond, and Refer”, to help individuals learn how to recognize abuse, respond to victims, and how to get them the help they need to be safe. This training is held on the first Tuesday of every month. For more information, please contact Natalie Beightol, Administrative Coordinator at 407-886-2244, x221.
Tags: domestic violence
16 Jun 10 Obama Administration to Unveil National Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness
The following announcement comes from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH):
USICH is excited to announce the release of the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness titled Opening Doors: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness on Tuesday, June 22. Opening Doors will serve as a roadmap for joint action by Council agencies to guide the development of programs and budget proposals towards a set of measurable targets.
Each night, 640,000 men, women, and children in the United States are without housing. The HEARTH Act, signed into law by President Obama in May 2009, mandated that USICH produce a “national strategic plan” to end homelessness to Congress. Beginning in January 2010, USICH held regional stakeholder meetings, organized federal working groups focused on specific populations, solicited public comment through an interactive website, and engaged experts from across the country to develop an action plan to solve homelessness for veterans, adults, families, youth, and children.
USICH will announce the historic plan at the White House on June 22 at 9:00 AM EDT with three Cabinet Secretaries: HUD Secretary and USICH Chair Shaun Donovan, Labor Secretary and USICH Vice Chair Hilda Solis, and VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.
We invite you to join us for the announcement by watching it live on www.whitehouse.gov/live. Opening Doors will be available at www.usich.gov and www.hud.gov. We will also be hosting a live webinar to have a more in-depth discussion with Assistant Secretaries from HUD, Labor, HHS, and VA about the specifics of the Plan. We will release information about the webinar on the USICH website in the coming days.
14 Jun 10 2010 CHALENG Meeting
The following announcement comes to us from the Orlando VA:
The Health Care for Homeless Veterans program is excited about the opportunities we have to work with our community partners and provide services for our Veterans.
The CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) meeting gives us an opportunity to get feedback from our community partners regarding the services we provide. It also allows us to identify the needs of our Veterans.
Please join us for presentations, discussions and networking
Tuesday, June 29, 2009 from 8:30-10:30 at The Orlando VA Medical Center, 5201 Raymond Street, Auditorium A
Light refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP by June 21. To RSVP or for more information please contact: Trish Lysaght, Program Support, Patricia.lysaght {at} va(.)gov or (321) 397-6613
Tags: veterans
11 Jun 10 Project Homeless Connect, Osceola County, Sept. 17, 2010
Project Homeless Connect is the Homeless Services Network’s outreach to the homeless in Seminole, Orange, and Osceola Counties. It is a one day event offering more than 50 services that are critically needed by homeless persons in one convenient location.
Services offered include showers, meals, shelter, employment opportunities, mental health and substance abuse services, ID cards and driver’s licenses, birth certificate applications, access to Social Security for claims and replacement cards, job training programs, job interviews, legal services, medical care, and bus passes.
HSN will be holding the next Project Homeless Connect in Osceola County on Friday, September 17th, 2010. The location is at the Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Hall:
1901 Chief Osceola Trail
Kissimmee, FL 34744
HSN is grateful for the support of the Osceola Board of County Commissioners and the Osceola County Veteran’s Council for our event this year. In 2009, Project Homeless Connect served 360 clients in Osceola County. In 2010, we expect to serve 500.
In order to make this event a success, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! If you would like to volunteer, please fill out the Volunteer Registration Form.
10 Jun 10 192 Operation Outreach Family Services Fair
192 OPERATION OUTREACH FAMILY SERVICES FAIR
Friday, June 25, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Osceola County Human Services is hosting a Family Service Resource Fair for families living in the hotels on West Highway 192. The primary goal of this event is to bring community resources to the individuals and families residing in extended living facilities, in an effort to obtain assistance, referrals, and information on various programs and services in Osceola County. This event will allow families residing in hotels and motels the opportunity to participate in the process of empowering themselves by obtaining the resources they need to move forward. Many of these families are at risk of becoming homeless and are often living in inhabitable situations.
Local governmental, Social Services, Community-based and Faith-based agencies have rallied together to host this outreach on Friday, June 25, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Food, recreational activities for the children, applications for food stamps, housing, referrals, other programs and services will be just some of the opportunities available to the community. The event will be located at The Rock Church, 5515 West Highway 192 Kissimmee, Florida 34746. Please contact Osceola County Human Services at (407) 742-8400 for further information.
Please click on the link below to download the Volunteer Registration Form:
192 OPERATION OUTREACH Volunteer Form
27 May 10 Interview w/Sanford HOPE Team on Homelessness
The Carroll McKenney Foundation for Public Media has continued its series “On Being… Homeless in Seminole County”. In part 1, HSN’s own Cathy Jackson was featured. In part 2, the focus is on three homeless people living in a camp in Seminole County and also features the Sanford HOPE Team, a project of Homeless Services Network, Seminole Behavioral Healthcare, and Healthcare Center for the Homeless:
In part-2 of the feature “On Being…Homeless in Seminole County,” we meet 3 local homeless people in their ramshackled, undisclosed and unlawful camp in Seminole County, FL. Accompanied by a team of 2 outreach specialists known as the HOPE Team of Sanford, we hear these men’s stories and gain their perspective on being homeless. And we’ll talk with the head of HOPE’s local outreach initiative as she toils with a mixture of business skill and compassion to offer pride and hope for those homeless and un-housed.
25 May 10 Job Available: Case Manager, Shepherd’s House, Catholic Charities of Central Florida
The following job opportunity comes from Catholic Charities of Central Florida:
The Case Manager is responsible for the Social Work functions of Shepherd’s House, a Transitional Housing facility for mothers with young children under the age of eight, to ensure efficient and effective delivery of the highest quality transitional and support services for previously homeless women. Services to clients are intended to aid them in improving their social, economic, cultural or educational status Responsibilities include providing intake functions, coordination of program activities; development and implementation of specialized programming such as job placement and retention, family budgeting, enforcement of policies and guidelines set by the program for residents; facilitate communication between residents, case manger and Program Coordinator to ensure the provision of quality services. The position requires a flexible work schedule to meet the needs of the department and the clients served.
For more information, please visit the Catholic Charities web site.
Tags: Jobs
24 May 10 May CoC Meeting, Tuesday, 5/25/2010
Quick agenda for tomorrow’s Continuum of Care meeting:
- Availability of 2010 Homeless Housing Assistance Grants (HHAG) from DCF
- East Orange Prevention Center update
- HSN’s partnership with Orange County Corrections for their Re-Entry Program
- Follow-up on topics from April’s CoC meeting
As usual, the meeting will be in the Dr. Phillips conference room at the Heart of Florida United Way (1940 Traylor Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32804). We’ll start at 9am, but feel free to arrive as early as 8:30am for refreshments and peer networking.
Tags: CoC Meeting
19 May 10 Homelessness Research
Two new resources pertaining to homelessness are available through SAMHSA:
- Permanent Supportive Housing: An Effective Strategy For Ending Homelessness Among Persons With Co-Occurring Disorders addresses how permanent supportive housing is a recovery strategy that can help people who have co-occurring disorders and are homeless.
- Homelessness Among Youth: Understanding the Population and Designing Targeted Interventions discusses how there are relatively few studies of homelessness among youth. However, this document defines homeless youth, and touches on foster care and intervention.
