http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs117/1102600045022/archive/1113287695209.html

http://www.sunny99.com/pages/houstonpa.html?article=11274589

http://www.khou.com/community/Taking-count-of-Houstons-homeless-207632691.html

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/05/15/mayor-parker-releases-new-data-on-houstons-homeless-population/

Houston leaders are working to get the city’s more than 2,000 chronically homeless citizens into permanent housing.

http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1368633144-Houston-Places-More-Chronically-Homeless-Into-Permanent-Housing.html

“In Houston, we don’t just dream, but we achieve, and Registry Week is the first step towards achieving the goal of virtually eliminating chronic homelessness in Houston,” said Mayor Parker.  “I am proud that as a community we have come together to align our resources and develop a comprehensive, compassionate plan that puts a face and name to the problem of homelessness and saves the taxpayers’ money.”

National studies show that chronic homeless individuals account for only 25% of a major city’s homeless population, but consume 75% of the homeless resources.  In Houston, there are approximately 2,500 chronic and near-chronic homeless individuals, costing an estimated $103 million in public resources per year.

Houston Registry Week is the first of a three-prong, comprehensive, community-driven plan to reduce chronic homelessness in Houston that includes: (1) identifying and prioritizing the most vulnerable homeless individuals, (2) placing them into permanent housing, and (3) providing needed services and treatments.

Houston Registry Week is part of the national 100,000 Homes Campaign – a grassroots movement of over 175 communities to find and place chronically homeless individuals into 100,000 homes across the nation.  As part of the campaign, volunteers are using a 33-item questionnaire to gather targeted information on the individual’s health status, institutional history (jail, prison, hospital, and military), length of homelessness, patterns of shelter or mission use, and previous housing situations.

“Registry Week is an exciting opportunity to create a comprehensive database of people living on our streets and in our shelters, enabling us, as a community, to know the homeless by name, to understand their stories, and to identify their needs,” explained Neal Rackleff, Director of the City’s Housing and Community Development Department.  “The information gathered is crucial to our ability to place our most vulnerable into permanent housing with supportive services to break the cycle of homelessness.”

Under Mayor Parker’s leadership, Houston Registry Week is an initiative of the City of Houston in partnership with the Harris County Housing Authority, SEARCH Homeless Services, The Beacon, Coalition for the Homeless, Houston Housing Authority, Continuum of Care and other integral community partners.

“The Houston Housing Authority is committed to fighting homelessness in Houston and we are glad to work with great community partners that share our vision,” said Tory Gunsolley, Houston Housing Authority’s President & CEO. “By working with community partners we were able to get 101 homeless veterans housed in 100 days, and with this campaign we will be able to do even more to help Houston’s homeless receive the housing and supportive services that they need.”

Mayor Parker is scheduled to present the findings from Houston Registry Week immediately following the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on May 15, 2013.

Mayor Annise D. Parker and Coalition CEO Marilyn L. Brown

Attendees were discreetly dabbing at their eyes with tissues as Mayor Annise D. Parker shared a not often told story on Friday, April 5, at the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston and Harris County Three Decades of Achievement celebration about how she and her life partner Kathy Hubbard rescued a young man from living on the streets. The sold-out crowd of 350 at the Doubletree by Hilton Houston Downtown was silent as Mayor Parker emphasized how her personal insight would inform her actions to protect and house our community’s most vulnerable citizens. Mayor Parker received the Friends of the Homeless – Peg Dudar Individual Advocate award that recognizes an individual’s success in inspiring the community at large to become more involved in the fight to end homelessness.

“This is personal for me because it affected my family and affects the lives of so many others,” said Mayor Parker. “I appreciate the award and everyone at the Coalition for their support. We are a community, and together we will help those most in need of life’s basic necessities.” Click this link to watch Mayor Parker’s keynote address at the Coalition Three Decades of Achievement celebration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=f3yzotPwD6U

Coalition Board members, both past and present including Stephen L. Williams, Nancy Frees Fountain, Thomas Verhagen and his wife Ashley, Pastor Rudy Rasmus and Linda K. May were in attendance for this “magical” event. Several of the Coalition co-founders in attendance included, Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, Reverend William A. Lawson, and former Harris County Judge Jon Lindsay, whom were all jubilant about the accomplishments of the Coalition and Houston-area homeless service providers. Other notables in the crowd included: David Ruiz of Bank of America, the corporate honoree who received a Friends of the Homeless Award; Diane Hasell Englet and Lucretia Ahrens of CenterPoint Energy; Mandy Chapman Semple, Special Assistant to the Mayor for Homeless Initiatives; Friends of the Homeless Award Honoree Media/Journalist recipient Lisa Falkenberg, columnist for The Houston Chronicle; Robert M. Eury, President of Central Houston, who brilliantly summarized the Coalition’s 30+ year history in 8 minutes; and the event’s two superstars: Achievers of the Year, Friends of the Homeless honorees, Shane Schlemeyer and Twaunette Sharpe, both of whom were formerly homeless and are now active, engaged members of the community.

Marilyn L. Brown, Coalition President & CEO, concluded the luncheon program with the release of the preliminary results of the 2013 Point-in-Time Homeless Count. She shared the good news regarding a 27% drop in homelessness as many formerly homeless individuals have been transitioned to permanent supportive housing during the time period of January 2011 to January 2013. She also shared that the program to house 100 homeless veterans and/or chronically homeless individuals in 100 days, is now in its fourth phase having housed 487 veterans and chronically homeless individuals to date. Brown announced a special Collaborative Award for homeless service providers by honoring Mark Thiele of the City of Houston, Houston Housing Authority, who spearheaded the 100 in 100 campaign in Houston.

To recap, the honorees of the Friends of the Homeless Award Honorees recognized at the event were: Achiever of the Year — Shane Schlemeyer and Twaunette Sharpe; Business/Corporation — Bank of America; Foundation – The Frees Foundation; Peg Dudar Individual Advocate – Mayor Annise D. Parker; Media/Journalist – Lisa Falkenberg, The Houston Chronicle; Sally Shipman Service Provider Staff – Eva Thibaudeau-Graczyk, SEARCH Homeless Services.

Sponsors and partners involved in Three Decades of Achievement included: Marilyn L. Brown; City of Houston, Health and Human Services Department; The Frees Foundation; Harris County Department of Education; The Greensheet; Diane and Tim Horan; Houston Downtown Management District; The Lee Group; Martha and Aris Macris; Kimberly Sterling/Sterling Associates; Ashley and Thomas J. N. Verhagen; Houston Housing Authority; New Hope Housing; The University of Houston Graduate School of Social Work and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.

The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County was established in 1982, incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1988, and has evolved to be the lead agency coordinating the community response to homelessness in Houston. Under the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, passed in 2009, an entire community rather than individual service providers must demonstrate success in preventing and reducing homelessness. In 2011, HUD named Houston as a priority community. This designation recognizes the great need to transform Houston’s existing homeless service system and the tremendous opportunity to make significant advances due to the commitment of homeless service providers and key community stakeholders, including both private and public contributors.

Coalition friend and ABC-TV Channel 13 anchor Melanie Lawson will emcee the lunch. Lawson’s father, Rev. William Lawson, was one of the co-founders of the Coalition along with Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, Rabbi Samuel Karff, Mayor Kathy Whitmire and County Judge Jon Lindsay. Speakers at the Three Decades luncheon include:  Robert M. Eury, President of Central Houston Inc. sharing the Coalition’s history; Stephen L. Williams, Coalition Board Chair presenting the 2013 Friends of the Homeless Awards; and Mayor Annise Parker providing the keynote address sharing her personal connection to homelessness. Marilyn L. Brown, Coalition President & CEO, will conclude the luncheon program with the release of the results of the 2013 Point-in-Time Homeless Count.

The Friends of the Homeless Award Honorees to be recognized at the event include: Achiever of the Year — Shane Schlemeyer and Twaunette Sharpe; Business/Corporation — Bank of America; Foundation – The Frees Foundation; Peg Dudar Individual Advocate – Mayor Annise D. Parker; Media Outlet/Journalist – Lisa Falkenberg, The Houston Chronicle; Sally Shipman Service Provider Staff – Eva Thibaudeau-Graczyk, SEARCH Homeless Services.

Sponsors and partners involved in Three Decades of Achievement include: Marilyn L. Brown; The Frees Foundation; Harris County Department of Education; Diane and Tim Horan; The Lee Group; Martha and Aris Macris; Kimberly Sterling/Sterling Associates; Ashley and Thomas J. N. Verhagen; Housing for Houston Housing Authority; New Hope Housing; and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church

The Three Decades of Achievement Host Committee members include: David Benson, Council Member Ellen Cohen, Ira C. Colby, Clara B. Cooper, Travis Courville, Renee D. Cross, Cathy Crouch, Shelly Cypress, Stephan Fairfield, Nancy Frees Fountain, Tory Gunsolley, Celes Harris, Cathy Henderson, Donna J. Herron, Tim Horan, Frances Isbell, Brenda Kirk, Lynn Lohr, Martha Macris, Linda K. May, Dennis W. Nelson, Charles J. O’Connell, Timothy N. Oettmeier, Gordon J. Quan, Pastor Rudy Rasmus, Gayla Rawlinson, Steven B. Schnee, Ph.D., Robert Sohns, Clarissa Stephens, Kimberly Sterling, Thomas J.N. Verhagen and Stephen L. Williams.

Tickets for the event are available on-line at http://www.homelesshouston.org/three-decades-of-achievement/ or by contacting Jeff Sokoloff, Coalition Director of Development, at 832-531-6005.

The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County was established in 1982, incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1988, and has evolved to be the lead agency coordinating the community response to homelessness in Houston. Under the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, passed in 2009, an entire community rather than individual service providers must demonstrate success in preventing and reducing homelessness. In 2011, HUD named Houston as a priority community. This designation recognizes the great need to transform Houston’s existing homeless service system and the tremendous opportunity to make significant advances due to the commitment of homeless service providers and key community stakeholders, including both private and public contributors.

Press release

Click here to view more information about the event in
The Three Decades of Achievment Brochure (PDF)