Thursday, July 31, 2014

DeMarco Management Corporation - Housing Opportunities


 
DeMarco Management Corporation currently Manages a number of affordable housing communities throughout the State of Connecticut.  I am pleased to announce that we are currently accepting applications for two newly constructed properties.  I recognize that they are not located in the immediate New Haven area, however please feel free to share with those individuals and families you are currently working with.
 
Francis Xavier Plaza, located in Waterbury CT.  Francis Xavier offers 1,2, and 3 bedroom newly renovated apartment homes.  There will be 20 RAP vouchers available that are administered through the Department of Social Services  through the Permanent Supportive Housing Initiative.  Qualified applicants must be at or below 50% AMI for the Waterbury region and at risk of homelessness.  We will be accepting applications for this community through August 31, 2014 and have attached an application for your convenience.
 
Jefferson Commons, located in New London CT.  Jefferson Commons is a newly constructed Family property offering 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartment homes that are 811 PRAC subsidized for low income individuals with chronic mental illness and their families, the application deadline for this property is July 31, 2014.  This property consists of 12 units, of which:
 
·        Six units will be for Youth Aging Out (YAO) of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) system. These young adults are between the ages of 18 to 23 years old and have children. They are transitioning from residential treatment or foster care and are at imminent risk of homelessness and have an income at or below 50% the AMI for the Harford region.
 
·         Eight units will be for adult DMHAS clients with special needs experiencing chronic long term or repeated homelessness, having an income at or below 50% the AMI for the Harford region with a history of mental health issues, substance abuse, and/or trauma.
 
·         The remaining 10 units will be for will be set aside for the homeless veterans of the United States military in accordance with the requirements of the program.
 
In addition, we are accepting applications at our Norwalk Property located at 40 South Main Street.  We do currently have a waiting list for this property, however there is a Veteran Preference honored.  40 South Main Street offers efficiency style apartments with all utilities included with an affordable rent at $424.00.  Eligible applicants must be at or below 60% AMI for the Fairfield County Region.  The property has an available unit which can be immediately housed based on the Veteran preference, a target population recognized as at-risk of homelessness.


Links to the application packages for the above described properties are located below. 
 
Applications for all of our communities are available via email at compliance@demarcomc.com or by calling DeMarco Management at 860-951-9411.  I will also share your contact information with our local New Haven Property Managers with a request to forward property specific information, waitlist status and application packages.    
 
Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like a listing of all of the DeMarco Managed properties.   I hope you find the attached applications helpful.
 
DeMarco Managed Properties
To apply, use the link(s) below:   
 
 
 
 
 

Monday, July 28, 2014

Vernon Section 8, Wait List Opening, NUStart, Pet Assistance for Low-Income Families, etc.



AIDS Connecticut



Apologies for any duplication.

Vernon Section 8 Voucher Program Accepting Preliminary Applications
Date and Time: Tuesday, July 29th
The Vernon Housing Authority will be accepting Preliminary Applications for their Section 8 Voucher Program on July 29th. VHA will use random-draw lottery system to determine the order of each preliminary application on the waiting list and a minimum of 400 applications will be drawn. TO BE ACCEPTED APPLICATIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED BETWEEN JULY 29, 2014 AND JULY 31, 2014. All applications must be mailed. Click for applications in English and Spanish.

Opening of Waiting Lists for the RAP and the State's Portion of Section 8
The Department of Housing will open their waiting lists for the state Rental Assistance Program (RAP) and the state's portion of the Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) program for a two-week period, beginning August 4 and ending August 18th. Applications for the waiting list will become available on August 4th. Click here for details.

CL&P is Offering NUStart. Spread the Word!
CL&P has revised their NUStart program. Eligible CL&P customers with account balances over $100 and at least 60 days overdue, may eliminate their entire outstanding balance in as little as 12 months. If they agree to make on-time payments, CL&P will make up the difference to help return their account to good standing. To begin your NUStart, call 800-286-2828 or go to www.cl-p.com/nustart. Click here for the flyer.

Pet Assistance for Low-Income Families
CT DSS is partnering with the CT Dept. of Agriculture to offer a spay and neuter program for dogs and cats owned by low-income families. The program offers vouchers for vaccination and sterilization of dogs and cats that families who participate in DSS eligibility programs can utilize to cover the basic costs of these procedures. Approved households may receive up to 2 vouchers, which provide a benefit of $50 for a male cat, $70 for a female cat, $100 for a male dog, or $120 for a female dog. Some veterinarians may require additional services with these procedures, and the pet owner is responsible for paying any associated costs. Click here for the application.

Building Stronger Families
Date and Time: Wednesday, August 6th, 11 AM to 1 PM
Location: Southside Family Center, 15 Newfield Ave., Hartford. Do you know what it takes to keep a family strong? Come learn about Resilience, Relationships & Knowledge. Support and Communications - 5 protective factors. Refresh, reflect and rejoice. Build a network with other parents. Free childcare. Lunch provided. To register please call the Southside Family Center at 860-953-0113. Click here for the flyer.

Coordinated Access Weekly Update

Hello Followers,

If you were unable to open the Weekly Update that was posted on Saturday, please try again.  We inadvertently did not set the sharing options correctly.

Thanks for your understanding.

Your Blogging Team

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Coordinated Access Weekly Highlights Week #1



July 25, 2014

Welcome to the first edition of the Greater New Haven Coordinated Access Weekly
Highlight. The highlights are intended to provide updates on how to assist clients with
accessing  Greater New Haven’s Homeless Services and housing resources targeted for
individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Many of you have probably heard of the 100 Day Challenge that began with Registry Week
on May 12, 2014. This was the kick-off event that would help the community to
restructure entry into homeless services by matching people to resources based on an
individual or families vulnerability. Read more about the highlights of Registry Week &
the 100 Day Challenge below.

Click to read full issue...

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

U.S. libraries become front line in fight against homelessness

The San Francisco Public Library, seen here, is frequented by so many homeless people that a social worker was added to the staff.


 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - George Brown, a homeless man in Washington, has a simple answer when asked how often he uses a public library.
 
"Always. I have nowhere else to go," Brown, 65, said outside the U.S. capital's modernist central library after a morning reading sociology books. "When it's hot, you come here to stay out of the heat. When it's cold, you come here to stay out of the cold."

Brown is among the hundreds of thousands of homeless people who have put the almost 9,000 U.S. public libraries, the most of any country in the world, in the forefront of the battle against homelessness.

Moving beyond their old-fashioned image as book custodians where librarians shush people for talking too loud, libraries have evolved to serve as community centers, staffed with social workers and offering programs from meals to job counseling.

Homelessness is an especially acute issue for libraries as the United States slowly emerges from the 2007-2009 recession and deals with stubborn poverty, experts said.

Libraries are magnets for the homeless since they are public, free, centrally located and quiet. They also are safe, a major draw given that 337 homeless people have been killed in hate crimes in the last 15 years, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.

"(Libraries) are on the front line whether they want to or not," said Jeremy Rosen, director of advocacy at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, an advocacy group.

The upturn in homeless outreach is part of an overall 47 percent increase in library programs from 2004 to 2011, according to a June report by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

OCCASIONAL COMPLAINTS
Libraries' openness is not without critics. Donald Root, head of the main Philadelphia library, said he has received occasional complaints from patrons about homeless people who are smelly, loud, asleep or who appear mentally ill. Other library officials reported similar experiences.

In online comments in a Yelp review, San Francisco's main library drew complaints from patrons about homeless people who were sleeping, bathing in restrooms, made sexual comments or were monopolizing computer terminals.

"Amazing library ruined by the army of homeless that come to sleep and shower here," one patron wrote.

Libraries can have their own guidelines, like Washington's six-page rule book barring alcohol, bare feet, oversize bags and an odor that can be smelled six feet (two meters) away.

Rules for behavior have been influenced by a 1991 appeals court decision that said libraries were limited public forums, allowing them to put limits on patrons' behavior.

VARIETY OF PROGRAMS
About 610,000 Americans were homeless in January 2013, almost half of them in big cities, according to a one-night head count by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Hundreds of programs to help the homeless have been set up in libraries across the United States.
The Queens Library in New York City offers a summer reading club and is developing an online application to help people find services.

Greensboro, North Carolina, libraries have offered haircuts, meals, blood pressure screening, and job and business counseling, said Brigitte Blanton, director of the city's libraries.

Philadelphia's central library, where scores of homeless people line up before opening every day, features a cafe staffed by homeless people. The homeless also police bathrooms to ensure that they are not used for bathing or washing clothes.

Libraries in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington have hired social workers.
"Someone told me before I started working here, 'Oh, librarians are just social workers.' And I laughed about it, and it's true," said Jean Badalamenti, the Washington libraries' social worker.
A Madison, Wisconsin, library, installed a parking lot for shopping carts and other baggage.
"What some of the libraries are doing is phenomenal," said David Pirtle, who was once homeless and now gives speeches for the National Coalition for the Homeless.

He said libraries were more welcoming than a decade ago, when some sought to limit access for the homeless. The homeless also are more willing to work with librarians and security officers, Pirtle said.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Scott Malone and Eric Beech)

Monday, July 21, 2014

PUBLIC NOTICE





THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND ITS CONTRACTOR J. D’AMELIA & ASSOCIATES



       Will open the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and State Rental Assistance Program (RAP) waiting lists statewide on August 4, 2014.  

Pre-applications will be accepted by mail and  must be postmarked between the dates of August 4, 2014 and  August 18, 2014.   Online applications will also be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on August 18, 2014. 

Filling out the pre-application form will put a household in a lottery for possible inclusion on the waiting lists for both programs.  

 Five Thousand (5,000) applications will be chosen by lottery for the Section 8 waiting list. Three Thousand (3,000) applications will be chosen for RAP.

      The pre-application form and notice announcing the opening of the Section 8 HCV Program and Rental Assistance Program waiting lists will appear in area newspapers for three consecutive days starting August 4, 2014. Pre-applications will also be available at the Connecticut Department of Housing Website, www.ct.gov/doh.    

Friday, July 18, 2014

Core Components of Rapid Rehousing


Rapid re-housing is an intervention designed to help individuals and families to quickly exit homelessness and return to permanent housing. Rapid re-housing assistance is offered without preconditions (such as employment, income, absence of criminal record, or sobriety) and the resources and services provided are typically tailored to the unique needs of the household. The core components of a rapid re-housing program are below. While a rapid re-housing program must have all three core components available, it is  not required that a single entity provide all three services nor that a household utilize them all.

Read entire document

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Exciting News for 100 Day Challenge


 

As you know, Opening Doors of Greater New Haven is working diligently to achieve ambitious goals get people housed through the Rapid Results Team.  Housing Liaisons and Housing Coordinators collaborate to match people who are homeless to safe, affordable housing.  Sometimes, a small expense can pose a huge obstacle in this process. 

 
The Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (YHHAP), Yale University and the Melville Charitable Trust have contributed a total of $25,000 to establish a Flex Fund exclusively for use by the 100 Day Challenge Team.  Flex Funds may be for Security Deposits, fees related to identification, furniture, moving expenses and household items.  Housing Liaison Team members are authorized to submit requests for these funds.  Columbus House, Inc.  serves as the fiduciary these funds.
 

If you are serving a person who is being housed through the 100 Day Challenge and you are aware of a need for funds for these purposes, contact the Housing Liaison to assist the person you serve.   Columbus House, Inc. has developed an expedited process to prepare checks made out to 3rd parties to secure approved services and goods.

Resource to Community



The New Haven Free Public Library &
Liberty Community Services, Inc.
is pleased to announce


Housing & Services
Office Hours


 

Starting  July 21, 2014
Days & Times
Mondays: 3 PM to 4 PM
Fridays:  12 Noon to 1 PM

Location
Ives Branch 133 Elm Street
Lower Level
Tech Center
For more info call 946-7431




A representative from Liberty Community Services, Inc. will be available to help you find answers to your questions about housing and services in Greater New Haven.  Appointments will be on a first-come, first served basis.