Community Advisory Council on Homelessness Quarterly Meeting

March 6, 2024

1:00pm - 3:00pm

Virtual

Today's Agenda

  1. Welcome & Introductions
  2. OPEH Updates
    1. FY25 Budget
    2. Home Illinois FY25 & 26
    3. Home Illinois Senior Policy Advisors
    4. State Application to HUD Youth Homeless System Integration Grant
    5. Home Illinois Workforce Pilot
    6. CACH Open Seats
    7. Homelessness Racial Equity Roundtables
    8. Evicted Exhibit
  3. Home Illinois Summit Planning Committee, Jennifer Hill
  4. New Arrival & Homeless System Alignment
  5. Discussion: Hunger & Food Access Study with University of Illinois at Chicago - Institute for Research on Race & Public Policy 
    1. Dr. Karlia Brown, University of Illinois at Chicago
  6. Discussion: Site Visits & Community Based CACH Meetings
  7. Closing

OPEH Updates

FY25 Proposed Home Illinois Increase

Program FY25 Home Illinois
Court Based Rental Assistance $35M
Access to Counsel $2M
Racial Equity Roundtable Implementation $13M
Total GRF Proposed Increase $50M

FY25 Proposed Budget: Home Illinois

FY25 Proposed Increase FY25 Budget Growth
Court Based Rental Assistance 35,000,000
Access to Counsel-New 2,000,000
Black Homelessness Disparities Report Implementation 13,000,000
FY25 Continuing Programs
Homelessness Prevention 16,200,000 5,400,000
Emergency & Transitional Housing 42,000,000
Supportive Housing Services Program 4,150,000
Youth Homelessness Program 4,500,000 1,500,000
MI Supportive Housing 2,350,000
Shelter Diversion 3,700,000 1,250,000
Rapid Rehousing 25,000,000
Scattered Site PSH 12,500,000
Shelter & Other Services 67,300,000
Medical Respite Capacity Building 3,500,000 1,100,00
Access to Counsel-Continuing 3,000,000
Home Illinois Pilots & Research: Housing Navigator-Emergency Room Pilot, Guaranteed Income Pilot, Homeless Emergency Rental Assistance Pilot, Statewide Referral Network Pilot, Homeless Training & TA Center, Racial Equity Roundtable Research, Program Evaluation/Research 16,100.000
Total 250,300,000

Home IL FY25-26

  • Completed listening sessions in October & November
    • Bloomington
    • Chicago
    • Decatur
    • East St Louis
    • Joliet
    • Quincy
    • Springfield
    • Suburban Cook
    • Statewide Virtual
  • At Interagency Task Force on Homelessness Meeting (ITFH), OPEH will review process for submission of agency commitments to the plan
  • Plan submitted to Governor and General Assembly by June 30th

Home Illinois Senior Policy Advisors

IHDA

HFS

IDOC

IDPH/DCEO: Coleen Mahoney

IDHS: Kylon Hooks

HUD Youth Homelessness System Improvement Grant Application

  • Two grants from Illinois: one submitted by Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY), second submitted by Illinois Office to Prevent & End Homelessness (OPEH)/IDHS
  • Proposed work advanced through Youth Homelessness Prevention Subcommittee
  • Data Linkage
    • Goal: understand multi-system youth involvement within homeless, child welfare and juvenile carceral systems
    • Link data among Homeless Management Information System and DCFS and IDJJ, with potential expansion to IDOC and IDHS-mental health
    • Inform
  • Youth Development
    • Replicate IDJJ internship program at DCFS and OPEH
    • Creation of state level youth advisory (board) committee

Home Illinois Workforce Pilot

The pandemic had a significant impact on the number of individuals experiencing housing insecurity. Therefore, the Department is partnering with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness to Prevent and End Homelessness.

Intent: The Pilot program will be implemented in three to five Continuum of Care areas throughout the state that connect people who are experiencing homelessness to employment. The intended result of coordinating to improve employment opportunities is to improve the financial stability of individuals and their ability to afford permanent housing in their community.

Who Can Apply: Entities eligible to apply for a grant award under this NOFO must be either:

  • (A) the lead entity of the Continuum of Care (COC) organizations, including private nonprofit organizations (which may include a faith-based organization). COC's that are governmental units are ineligible to apply as a lead applicant; or  
  • (B) federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) administrative entities (Local Workforce Innovation Area grantees of the Department).

Partners: At a minimum, the pilot programs must have a partnership between the lead agency of the COC in the area, the Local Workforce Innovation Area(s) ("LWIA"), and one or more organizations that operate an RRH program or shelter in the area.

Anticipated Funding:

  •  Total NOFO amount: $5,000,000
  •  Award Range: Not to exceed $2,000,000

SAVE THE DATE

  • Meet & Greet for LWIA/COC
  • Date: Wednesday March 20 Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm

Community Advisory Council Open Seats

  • Help needed in recruiting applicants to the CACH
  • Statewide behavioral health advocacy organization
  • Local unit of government
  • Member at large: housing developer
  • Four seats for providers of the homeless response system, inclusive of but not limited to emergency shelter, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, homeless youth programs, homeless prevention
  • https://govappointments.illinois.gov/submit-an-application/

Racial Equity Roundtables

  • Anticipated release of Black Homelessness report at the end of March
  • CACH will be invited to the launch event
  • Racial Equity roundtable on Latine Homelessness will launch in Spring
    • Geographic diversity
    • Interested roundtable participants, please e-mail homeless.office@illinois.gov to express interest
  • Black Homelessness Roundtable participants:
    • Lived expertise
    • Public Housing Authority
    • Public Library
    • Enterprise - Community Development Finance Institution
    • Faith Community
    • Illinois General Assembly
    • National organizations: Health, public policy

Evicted Exhibit

  • Exhibit currently at National Public Housing Museum Offices until March 10th
  • Moving to Quad Cities for a May opening

Home Illinois Summit

Home Illinois Summit

  • June 4-5, 2024
  • Springfield, Wyndham Hotel
  • Session proposals due on Friday
  • Call for nominations for Recognitions of Service, released next week

New Arrival & Homeless System Alignment

One System Initiative

  • Goal: Create one system of crisis response for persons seeking shelter in Chicago
  • Launch Planning Team: OPEH, State of Illinois Asylum Seeker Response Team, City of Chicago Department of Family & Support Services, All Chicago
  • Consultant Team: IL Homelessness Training & Technical Assistance Center administered by SHPA
  • Vision & Purpose
    • Leverage Investments: Leverage New Arrival response investments to enhance shelter and permanent housing resources for people experiencing homelessness.
    • Workforce Expansion: Shift permanent shelter management to the non-profit workforce, potentially reducing expenditure rates and strengthening the primary crisis response network.
    • Investment in Proven Models: Allocate funds to proven housing and shelter models to meet documented unmet needs.
    • Policy Enhancement: Update policies to address future homelessness and displaced populations, focusing on improved language access in shelters
  • Webinar Overview on Thursday, March 7th at 3:00pm

Public Comment

Hunger & Food Access Study

Site Visits & Community Based CACH Meetings

Planning for Site Visits & Community Based CACH Meetings

  • CACH advised to create opportunities for site visits for ITFH
  • Agenda item on March ITFH on community engagement & site visits
  • CACH held hybrid meetings in the community, where host provides an overview of homelessness in their community and local innovations
  • Break up into small groups for discussion
    • Please identify a note taker who will report back to the group
    • What sites would you want the Interagency Task Force Members to visit?
    • Are you looking to engage specific agencies or the whole Task Force? If specific agencies, which ones?
    • How do we elevate the voices of persons experiencing homelessness on a site visit?
    • How many people are ideal for a site visit?
    • The CACH/Task Force have held in-person meetings in Chicago, Springfield, Greenup, Hillside and Peoria. Where should we aim to hold in-person meetings this year?
    • What agencies have the space to hold an Interagency Task Force and/or Community Advisory Council Meeting?