Goals for Today
1. Provide an Overview on the FCHC
2. Highlight FCHC Successes
3. Review Project RUSH basics
4. Review Key Data Findings
5. Share Areas of Strategic Focus
6. Inspire further involvement!
FCHC Overview
Fox Cities Housing Coalition (FCHC)
• Established 1995
• Currently over 30 organizations strong
The mission of the FCHC is to ensure that all
people in the Fox Cities have decent,
affordable housing.
FCHC Officers
President: Chris Lashock, Homeless Connections
Vice-President: Joe Mauthe, Housing Partnership
of the Fox Cities
Treasurer: Tony Gonzalez, United Way Fox Cities
Secretary: Jessica Fleek, Prosperity Center
FCHC Committees
Gaps and Services
– Address the needs of individuals with enough
flexibility to avoid unnecessary duplication of services
Streamlining
– Streamline process for gaining access to services
provided by Coalition agencies
Communications
– To ensure effective internal and external
communication
2015 Accomplishments
Website Upgrade and Redesign
www.fchc.net
2015 Accomplishments
Website Upgrade and Redesign
– J. J. Keller “Give Camp”
Coordinated Intake and Assessment
Point In Time Count and Resource Fair
– Every January and July
Shelter Utilization
140
120
Individuals
100
80
60
40
20
0
2009
2010
2011
Homeless Connections
2012
2013
2014
2015
Fox Valley Warming Shelter
Homeless Students (Under 18)
500
450
400
Students
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Outagamie
2009
2010
2011
Winnebago
2012
2013
2014
What We’ve Seen
• Consistently high and increasing homeless
count numbers
• An increasing demand for affordable housing,
coupled with a lack of availability
• A need to go upstream and understand the
struggles and barriers of those on the “fringe”
of homelessness
Project Set-Up
Research to Understand and Solve…
Purpose: To First Understand
– What are the characteristics of the “hidden
homeless”?
– What are their barriers to stability?
– How do these groups differ? How are they alike?
Project Supporters
“Anchor” Grant
Supplemental funding to ensure project success
Project Supporters
In-kind Sponsors
Survey Development
Housing Aspect: Community Partners Research
• Housing stock analysis
People Aspect: Amherst Wilder Foundation
• Professional social science tool
• Survey design: Face-to-Face
• Compare different types of housing instability
“Categories”
“Sweet Spot”: Who We Know
• Unsheltered homeless
• Sheltered homeless
“Hidden Homeless”: Who We Don’t Know
• Doubled up
• Precariously housed
*Please refer to your summary booklet for definitions*
Survey Categories
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Current Housing Situation
Demographics and Housing History
Transportation
Income, Employment, and Education
Physical and Mental Health
Domestic Violence and Trauma
Family-Based Questions
Home Environment Growing Up
Support Network
The Results
Project Coordination
• Project Manager
• 17 sites throughout Fox Cities
Location Sites
ARCW
County Veteran Service
Organization
Fox Valley Technical College
Goodwill
Harbor House
Habitat for Humanity
Housing Partnership of the Fox
Cities
LEAVEN
Loaves and Fishes
Mission Church
Outagamie County
Economic Support
PCH Dental Clinic
PCH Medical Clinic
Riverview Gardens
Salvation Army
Step Industries
St. Joe’s Food Pantry
The Results
Project Coordination, continued:
• Project Manager
• 17 sites throughout Fox Cities
• Professional volunteer recruitment assistance
• 125 volunteers
Volunteer Training
The Results
Project Coordination, continued:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Project Manager
17 sites throughout Fox Cities
Professional volunteer recruitment assistance
125 volunteers
900 hours worth of “survey time”
600 surveys conducted
“Solving” Stage
Expectations for remainder of presentation
• Review of key findings
• “Lessons Learned” summaries
• Highlight of supporting data
• Strategic Areas of Focus
Shift in Understanding
Assumptions:
• “Categories” would reveal significant differences
– About the types of people from one category to the
next
– About the types of solutions required to
end/prevent homelessness
Reality:
• Individuals are more similar in experiences,
history, and current barriers
Permeable Model*
*NOT TO SCALE
Next Steps
Our community must look DEEPER into
common risk factors in order to develop
integrated strategies to address these
adverse experiences
We have a greater change at helping
individuals achieve self-sufficiency when
we address all the risk factors that
undermine the opportunity for stability in
their lives
Risk Factors
Physical Health
Employment and
Education
Mental Health
Unaffordable Housing
Trauma and Adverse
Experiences
Risk Factors
Physical Health
Physical Health’s Story
• Impacts other more “root cause” issues, like
employment, education, and housing.
• High need for physical health care coupled with
inability to access or navigate care
• Impacting daily functioning in a greater way than
previously understood
Physical Health Statistics
Limits daily functioning
• 49% have a physical or other health condition that
limits the kind or amount of work they can do
High Need for Services
• 52% need to see a dentist
• 40% need to see a physician
and YET
Almost 40% unable to access health care due to:
• Lack of money (32%)
• No insurance (20%)
• Transportation barriers (12%)
Have Used Emergency Care in Past 6 Months
50
45
40
Percentage
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
General
Population
Unsheltered
Sheltered
Doubled-Up
Precariously
Housed
Physical Health Summary
• Little to no focus on prevention
• Significant struggles with accessing available
health care in community
• Struggles with physical health negatively impact
daily functioning and stability
Incorporate physical health into
resource planning and supportive
services
Risk Factors
Physical Health
Mental Health
Mental Health
Mental Health’s Story
• One of the most drastic contrasts between surveyed
population and general population is the degree and
prevalence of mental illness
• Especially when coupled with limited access to or
follow-up with professional treatment and support
Diagnosed Significant Mental Health Condition
70
60
Percentage
50
40
30
20
10
0
General
Population
Unsheltered
Sheltered
Doubled-Up
Precariously
Housed
Mental Health Statistics
Only 50% with diagnosis receiving treatment and
support needed
– 20-30% have been in a residential facility
– 33% have received outpatient care in past 2 years
Further complicated by substance dependency
issues
– 63% EITHER mental illness OR chemical dependency
– 25% BOTH mental illness AND chemical dependency
Attempted Suicide
30
25
Percentage
20
15
10
5
0
General
Population
Unsheltered
Sheltered
Doubled-Up
Precariously
Housed
Mental Health Summary
• Impacts population surveyed significantly more than
general population
• Mental health struggles, if untreated or unsupported,
have the potential to undermine opportunities for
stability (i.e. employment, housing)
Emotional and behavioral health must
play a significant role in conversations about
homelessness/housing instability solutions
Risk Factors
Physical Health
Mental Health
Trauma and Adverse Experiences
Trauma’s Story
• For many, homelessness is merely the latest of a chain
of adverse experiences that often begin in childhood.
• Impact how individuals view and interact with others
and community
• Must be examined from 3 perspectives:
• Childhood Trauma
• Environmental Influences
• Current experiences
Physical and Sexual Mistreatment
45
40
35
Percentage
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
General
Population
Unsheltered
Sheltered
Physically Mistreated as Youth
Doubled-Up
Precariously
Housed
Sexually Mistreated as Youth
Environmental Factors
Taken together, the various home life situations paint a
picture of home instability:
• 36% moved out of their family home prior to age 18
• 15% had a parent in prison during childhood
• 13% have been incarcerated in a juvenile detention
center
• 10% have lived in a foster home
Current Experiences
Domestic Violence
• 40% have stayed in an abusive relationship
because they had no where else to go
Sexual Exploitation
• 20% of currently homeless and doubled up
participants have exchanged sexual activities
in order to obtain clothing, food, and shelter
Involvement in Criminal Justice System
90
80
Percentage
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
General
Population
Unsheltered
Sheltered
Doubled-Up
Precariously
Housed
Current Experiences
Relationship with friends and families….
• Source of strength (48%)
• Someone who cheers them up (58%)
However,
Highly isolated from community and support
networks
• Never attend community social events (49%)
• Never attend social events with friends or family (26%)
Trauma Summary
• Adverse experiences are traumatic and negatively impact an
individual’s ability to process, cope with, and overcome daily
stressors.
• Individuals struggling with housing instability report a higher
incidence of traumatic experiences than the general population
Must be thoughtfully approached and incorporated
within service delivery to maximize the impact of
support received.
“Aftercare” or follow-up support services that are
more accessible and available for a longer period of
time need to be considered.
Risk Factors
Physical Health
Mental Health
Trauma and Adverse
Experiences
Employment and
Education
Employment and Education
Employment and Education’s Story:
• “A decent paying job is the best defense against
homelessness”
• Employment leads to a stability that majority of the
surveyed participants did not have.
• Education must align with employment needs
Employment and Education
• 66% have a high school degree or higher
• Yet only 30% are employed
– 44% are unemployed and looking
– 26% are unemployed and not looking
• Of those 26% unemployed and not looking
– 86% have a limiting mental or cognitive health
condition
– 47% have a limiting Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
diagnosis or symptoms
Employment and Education
• 90,000 jobs available in Wisconsin, but many require
specialized training and education.
• 51% would like to pursue advanced education
• Biggest barriers include:
 Cost of enrolling
 Health problems
 “Not even able to consider it due to everything else
happening in their lives”
• The result is a lack of sustainable income, both current
and potential
Average Monthly Income
$5,000
$4,500
$4,000
$3,500
$3,000
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
Appleton
Unsheltered
Sheltered
Doubled-Up
Precariously
Housed
Employment and Education Summary
• Steady employment is both a crucial key to individual
success AND a possibility here in the Fox Cities.
• The presence of mental and/or physical health issues,
along with multiple “risk factors” create substantial
barriers to education and employment.
Education services that focus on barrier
removal will result in increased employment
opportunities and advancement.
Risk Factors
Physical Health
Mental Health
Trauma and Adverse
Experiences
Employment and
Education
Unaffordable
Housing
Unaffordable Housing
Unaffordable Housing’s Story:
• Growth continues in the Fox Cities – for both high
income and low income households.
• The rental market continues to grow, but primarily in
middle and high income units. Low income rentals
remain in high demand.
• A high number of renters and homeowners are “cost
burdened.” This impacts quality of life and other risk
factors.
Statistics
• 94,000 households in Fox Cities
– Adding 700 households per year through 2020
– 31% of households are renters
• 8% growth in number of extremely low income
households (less than $25,000 per year)
• “Cost Burden” – paying more than 30% of income
toward rent or mortgage
– 40% of renters (11,066 households)
– 21% of home owners (14,224 households)
Rental Unit Supply and Demand
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
<$250
$250-499
$500-649
$650-899
$900-1249
$1250+
Rental Unit Supply and Demand
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
<$250
$250-499
$500-649
$650-899
Units Available
$900-1249
$1250+
Rental Unit Supply and Demand
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
<$250
$250-499
$500-649 $650-899
Renter Households
$900-1249
$1250+
Rental Unit Supply and Demand
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
<$250
$250-499
$500-649
Units
$650-899
$900-1249
Renter Households
$1250+
Unaffordable Housing Summary
• The cost of housing itself is simply out of reach for
many experiencing homelessness or doubled up
situations.
• The Fox Cities is facing a significant undersupply of
affordable rental units for low-income families
attempting to establish housing stability.
Our community must come together to
review and plan for creative housing options
that will address this mounting issue.
Pathways Out of Housing Instability
Economic Stability
Support and Services
Affordable, Safe
Housing
Strategic Areas of Focus
1. Share Project RUSH data broadly within the
community
– promote comprehensive and collaborative
approaches to addressing this complex issue
2. Streamline current services to maximize
value delivered.
Strategic Areas of Focus
3. Focus on barrier removal to enhance
opportunities for increased education and
employment advancement.
4. Promote and/or create opportunities for
ongoing supportive services and case
management.
Strategic Areas of Focus
5. Promote and/or create opportunities for
trauma-informed care, response, and
programming.
6. Place special focus on childhood and young
adults success
Strategic Areas of Focus
7. Increase affordable, permanent housing
opportunities.
8. Engage community to promote social
inclusion and eliminate stereotypes and
misperceptions
Next Steps
Get informed!
• Download full reports at our website (www.fchc.net)
Get involved!
• Be a part of the continuing conversations
• Drop your business card in the desired “get involved”
box at the back of the room
Get invested!
• To financially support the development and
implementation of solutions, use the donation
envelopes on the table
Thank you
for attending today!