Welcome and introductions: Bakari Burns welcomed the 40 participants who introduced themselves.

Available beds were noted at CENTAUR (clients with HIV/AIDS); Coalition for the Homeless via First Steps (transitional housing for men) and the WRCC (transitional housing for women & children).

Approval of March 2011 minutes: Bakari Burns requested a motion to approve the minutes from the last CoC meeting, which had been distributed prior to the start of this month’s meeting. Sindy Connell of the Salvation Army of Orlando made the motion and was seconded by Norma Walter of Anthony House. The motion passed unanimously.

EFSP funding status: Sarai Cabrera of the Heart of Florida United Way (HFUW) on yesterday’s announcement by the HFUW regarding the federal Emergency Food & Shelter Program (EFSP). She noted that applications are being accepted from agencies wanting to distribute these funds and that each county has its own board to which agencies must apply if they wish to serve residents of that county. She also noted that while the money has been allocated by Congress, it is still possible some local jurisdictions may not receive an allocation of EFSP funding and that agencies should bear this in mind when applying.

Client etiquette workshop: Carole Mason of the Wayne Densch Center spoke about the etiquette training program they have developed at WDC that they now require attendance by not only clients, but staff, as they are all representatives of the WDC who can set an example for the community. The program reviews basic points of etiquette and emphasizes the notion that how one behaves has a direct effect on how people treat one another. The presentation is available to be shared with any other program wishing to implement it at their own program.

HMIS Update: Joel Remigio, HMIS Program Manager at HSN, provided attendees with a quick recap of the discussions that took place in March among representatives from HMIS-contributing programs. HSN is opening up the HMIS in order to streamline service delivery for clients and facilitate better coordinated case management among service providers. HMIS contributors are required to obtain a signed release of information from their clients and can expect to see information sharing being implemented throughout the month of May.

Transitional Employment Opportunities: Marilyn Gordon of Goodwill Industries announced an opportunity for clients in transitional housing to obtain transitional employment while they continue to search for more permanent job opportunities. This new program, an adjunct of HSN’s Employment Program partnership with Goodwill, will provide work for up to 20 hours/week at $7.25/hour for 60-90 days. Clients in the program must participate in Goodwill’s Job Club in order to be eligible and must continue to actively seek permanent employment. The program may be accessed not only through HSN’s Employment program, but also through Goodwill’s Self-Sufficiency Centers.

Seminole County Jail Survey: Joel Remigio updated the CoC on the status of this project which was originally scheduled to take place April 6-8. HSN’s partner in this study, the University of Central Florida, is required to comply with national Institution Review Board standards which entails a review of the survey instrument and specially-sanctioned training for everyone involved in administering the survey. HSN expects a new project date soon which will be communicated via the HSN newsletter and will include a renewed appeal for volunteers.

Announcements: Bakari Burns opened the floor to anyone who had any program announcements. Norma Walter of Anthony House informed the CoC that Anthony House is on the path to re-opening as a shelter under the auspices of Lifestream Behavioral Healthcare, hopefully later this year. Christie Bhageloe of the Orange-Osceola County Public Defenders Office announced that they are assisting in the first Osceola County Veterans Stand Down to take place 11/11/11 and handed out a flyer with more information. Amanda Halle of Habitat of Humanity of Osceola announced “Mission Continues”, an employment program for post-9/11 veterans.

Suggestions: Bakari Burns opened the floor to suggestions for future CoC meeting topics, which included the following:

• Development of permanent housing resources for non-special needs clients
• Credit repair
• What to do about clients with felony convictions
• Briefing by and audience with the Regional Commission to End Homelessness
• Development of a homeless resource guide (who does what, where, and when)
• Jail discharge planning
• Outreach team activities
• Homeless court update

The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m.

Thank you to Lakeside Behavioral Healthcare for assisting us in solving this last-minute logistical challenge caused by space issues at HFUW!

Meeting topics will include:

• Mustard Seed Workshop to update case managers on the new services, inventory and procedures at Mustard Seed to assist our homeless clients in obtaining critically-needed household goods and furniture as clients move into their new community-based housing.
• Participants’ recommendations on potential Challenge Grant funding uses (bus passes, Homeward Bound, ID expenses?)
• Information on HHAG mandatory workshops for October 1, 2010 deadline
• New HSN website features highlighting your agencies — how you can become a featured agency
• Speaker’s Bureau update — let us help you tell your story to the community!

8:30 — coffee, donuts and networking

9:00 — 10:30 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.

Here’s a quick recap:

The minutes from the April meeting were approved.

The Healthcare Center for the Homeless would like feedback from the Continuum as it conducts its strategic planning process. Stay tuned for a quick, online survey coming to your inbox.

Vivian Bryant of the Orlando Housing Authority spoke about what they do. Because of the great deal of interest in the OHA by the meeting attendees, the OHA staff intends to put together a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) booklet to address the many issues and questions raised.  Stay tuned for more on that soon.

HSN intends to apply for DCF Challenge Grant funding to offset the loss of DCF’s Grant In Aid funding and we are going to need your help.  We are asking all agencies in the CoC to provide us with documentation of the private income that you have received for delivering homeless services. A letter will be going out to all agencies to formally request this information which will serve as leveraging for our Challenge Grant application.

HSN is helping put together Project Homeless Connect and Veterans Stand Down events, scheduled as follows:

• Veterans’ Stand Down, Sanford, August 8
• East Orange PHC, probably September
• Veterans’ Stand Down, Orlando, September 26
• Discovery Church PHC, probably October
• Downtown PHC, 12/4

HSN will be conducting a Violence Against the Homeless survey over the summer the will help us understand how we can better meet the needs of people who are homeless in Florida. Thank you for your feedback on the survey and would appreciate any help you can give in administering it.  We’ll have the updated survey available soon.

Next meeting, Tuesday, July 28, 2009.

• March 2009 CoC Meeting Agenda
• February 2009 CoC Meeting Minutes
• Sanford HOPE Team FAQ
• Homelessness Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) FAQ
• 2009 HSN Board Roster
• HSN Board Meeting Schedule 2009-10