Change of Leadership Announcement

Communications Admin • Jan 04, 2012

HOUSTON (Jan. 4, 2012) – The Board of Directors of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County announces a leadership change. Marilyn L. Brown has joined the Coalition as President and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Brown is an attorney with over 30 years in nonprofit leadership.

Nancy Frees Fountain, Chairman of the Board stated, “The Coalition’s Board of Directors, staff and alliance of homeless service providers thank Ms. Connie S. Boyd for the strides made over the past year and wish her the best in her future endeavors. We are pleased that Ms. Brown has assumed the helm and will continue the vital work of the Coalition.” Ms. Brown will utilize her expertise in organizational leadership, strategic planning and communications to strengthen and expand the Coalition’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness. “I am excited to join in the work of the Coalition and further its efforts to create a homeless service system that will ultimately reduce new homelessness, the length of homeless episodes, and returns to homelessness throughout the Houston/Harris County region,” said Ms. Brown, President and CEO. “We will continue moving forward with the homeless system improvements underway to comply with changing federal legislation and to secure resources for homeless programs in our community.”

In 2011, the Coalition experienced a number of successes that will gain momentum in 2012 and make a

difference in the lives of homeless men, women and children. These successes include:

Collaborating with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and their technical assistance providers to assess community needs across the Continuum of Care and leading the application process that will create 100 new permanent supportive housing units and 221 new beds for 124 adults and 97 children;
Cultivating a housing nonprofit organization to sponsor 70 permanent supporting housing units that otherwise would have been lost to the community;
Administering Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and decreasing duplication by 90%;
Convening community stakeholders to self-select four major community priorities including: coordinated intake; provider performance measurement; targeted prevention; rapid re-housing expansion and leading subsequent planning and implementation groups;
Developing a database of permanent supportive housing providers detailing sites and services;
Cultivating relationships with housing authorities and providers to facilitate the increase of housing vouchers designated for homeless clients.

First priority for the new year will be leading the January 2012 Homeless Count. Performed on three consecutive Tuesdays beginning January 17, Coalition for the Homeless utilizes teams of volunteers to scour Harris and Fort Bend Counties in an effort to obtain an accurate record of the number of homeless in our community. These numbers aid the Coalition, City and County to receive federal funds. Last year’s count educated the community on the facts that one in every 300 individuals in Harris and Fort Bend Counties is homeless and that on any given night, 8,500 homeless men, women and children are living on the streets.

< Older Post Newer Post >