Continuums of Care (CoCs), Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) recipients and subrecipients, and CoC recipients –
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with the support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is pleased to announce a new training opportunity for Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) practitioners and crisis response system planners! This is HUD-approved training. This means, while there is no registration fee for this training, the costs associated with travel and staff time to attend are approved CoC and ESG Program costs. However, space will be limited as discussed below.
The VA, in close partnership with HUD, our technical assistance providers, and other national partners, are currently planning two Rapid Rehousing Institutes for the fall of 2017. These events, which will be identical to each other in content and agenda, will bring together RRH practitioners and planners from around the country for an intensive, two-day training focused on two separate tracks: a Practice Track and a System Track. We expect RRH project staff and stakeholders from the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF), CoC and ESG Programs to all be represented at the events.
The Practice Track will focus on direct training to RRH direct service practitioners. Some topics in the practice track will include an overview of the Core Components of RRH, Strategies for Engaging Landlords, Creating Housing Plans, Evaluating and Improving Performance and System Planning, among others.
A separate System Track will focus on Community Coordination, RRH planning, Coordinated Entry/Prioritization, RRH Management and other community wide practices relevant to successful implementation of RRH as a primary response to homelessness. Attendees will be required to select a track during the registration process – more detail about each track will be sent prior to registration.
This new training opportunity aims to help standardize strong RRH practices across funding streams and provide an avenue for RRH practitioners and other stakeholders across the country to learn from one another and from our technical assistance specialists and faculty.
Due to space limitations, there will be a limit to the number of individual attendees per Continuum of Care. Most CoCs will be limited to up to 3 participants (including any ESG recipients or subrecipients interested in attending), while CoCs with Annual Renewal Demand amounts over $20 million will be able to send up to 8 participants. Slots will be provided on a first come first serve basis and there are only 200 slots per institute. Once registration opens act fast to ensure your CoC will be represented.
With all this in mind, we encourage CoC and ESG recipients to coordinate and work with their RRH providers to identify whether there are programs/staff interested in attending these trainings.
While the site locations are still being confirmed, we anticipate the following schedule:
- East Coast Rapid Rehousing Institute: October 24-25, 2017 (City TBD)
- West Coast Rapid Rehousing Institute: October 31 - November 1, 2017 (City TBD)
We will continue to provide information as registration and travel logistics come into focus. In the meantime, questions related to these events can be sent to the SSVF program’s technical assistance address at ssvf@tacinc.org.
This event is being sponsored by the VA, with primary support from HUD and our partners The Technical Assistance Collaborative, Abt Associates, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
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