Homefront: Including Voices of Lived Experience

In this Newsletter New Voices to Join Speak Up! in LA Stories of Lived Experience on Dateline Speaking Up in Illinois RFP for OH Supportive Housing Development The Absolute Essentials Join the FUSE Community RFP for Health & Housing Evaluator Click here for Our Newest Job Postings New Voices to Join Speak Up! in LA CSH Speak Up! advocates develop storytelling skills to take listeners through their journey: from the struggles and challenges of being homeless and navigating complex programs, to thriving in supportive housing. Speak Up! advocates have become instrumental in promoting supportive housing throughout Los Angeles helping secure unprecedented funding and voter support for supportive housing. We are thrilled to announce a second class of 13 Speak Up! advocates begin their storytelling journey next week. This is the first year we will have overlapping classes of Speak Up! and is a testament to the power of sharing stories of lived experience.  Stories of Lived Experience on Dateline  Dateline on NBC focused on the state of homelessness in Los Angeles. The story went beyond  the scale of homelessness by featuring people still living on the street and those who are now thriving in supportive housing. CSH Speak Up supportive housing advocate Emily Martinuk was featured in a conversation with Craig Melvin and LA Family Housing President & CEO Stephanie Klasy-Gamer. Speaking from her apartment, Emily spoke to how she was once in a desperate situation but in addition to having a place to sleep she now has access to health care and other services thanks to supportive housing. If you missed the story, you can watch it here.  Speaking Up in Illinois  In 2017 CSH launched a Speak Up program in Illinois. Last week our Illinois advocates traveled to the state capitol for the Supportive Housing Providers Association annual Residents' Conference. The conference is an opportunity for residents to share advocacy activities happening around the state. After a trip to the State Fair and networking with other residents of supportive housing, our group participated in a day of workshops focused on resident advocacy. CSH Program Manager Johnna Lowe, along with four of our advocates, gave a presentation on the Speak Up! curriculum. Patrick, a graduate of the 2017 Speak Up! program, shared his personal journey as the finale to the workshop. You can follow our advocates community activities and advocacy on social media with the hashtag #CSHSpeakUp.   RFP for OH Supportive Housing Development CSH has announced a new opportunity to scale supportive housing development in Ohio. Selected supportive housing development teams will receive intensive technical assistance to create supportive housing that advances local efforts to end and prevent homelessness; addresses housing needs identified through the Stepping Up initiative; and/or stabilizes vulnerable youth and families facing separation and homelessness. Interested development teams need to complete and submit the application by August 31. CSH is looking forward to the creation of new supportive housing throughout the state. The Absolute Essentials The CSH Supportive Housing Training Center is offering a series of 6 instructor-led webinars covering the essentials of successfully serving supportive housing tenants. Participants will gain a basic understanding of the Housing First Model and key clinical practices for supportive housing: Harm Reduction, Trauma Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing, and Assertive Engagement. Also included are practical strategies for coordinating with property managers and landlords to ensure housing stability and eviction prevention. Our first session is on September 5, don't miss out! Click here for complete details on Essentials for Providing Services.  Join the FUSE Community Communities waste millions on uncoordinated and expensive service responses as people without housing frequently cycle between shelters, hospitals, jails, and the streets. Your community can end this costly revolving door. How? By being one of approximately 20 communities selected to participate in the new, one-time only CSH FUSE (Frequent Users Systems Engagement) Learning Community. Held from September 2018 to January 2019, the Learning Community will cover: FUSE stakeholder engagement, cross systems data matching/data driven targeting, supportive housing resource creation and scaling, and offer opportunities for peer discussion among communities. If your community is interested in applying, complete our survey by Thursday, September 6, 2018, 7pm CT. Please contact fuse@csh.org with any questions. RFP for Health & Housing Evaluator CSH, the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities and UnitedHealthcare Community and State have partnered to explore how the housing and healthcare sectors work together at the local level to improve health outcomes for low-income and vulnerable populations served by both systems. Following a national scan of overlap between UnitedHealthcare Medicaid State Health Plans and CLPHA member agencies, we will jointly develop population health priorities and work-plans to improve outcomes in communities with diverse healthcare environments. As part of this initiative, CSH is seeking a research partner to evaluate the success of this effort. Responses to the RFP are due by 5:00pm PT on September 15. All details are available here.