Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness 77 Buckingham Street Hartford CT 061061 P (860) 721-78761 F (860) 257-11481 wwwccehorg

What Is A Ten Year Plan to Prevent amp End Homelessness

A ten year plan is meant to transform your communitys homeless assistance system and how you (the community) responds to someone facing a housing crisis or addresses the needs of someone who is currently homeless

A ten year plan sets clear numeric goals timetables and identifies funding and implementing bodies to ensure you move from planning to action

A ten year plan is effective because it is developed and driven by people like you who have a vested interest in the community including businesses government non-profits faith-based and civic organizations individual residents and people who are currently or formerly homeless

In the ten year plan you outline a wide range of strategies depending on the gaps and needs you have identified in your community including

bull creating and using data systems bull preventing homelessness - both emergency prevention and looking at

risk factors such as utility costs employment or childcare barriers bull outreach to homeless people to get them back into housing bull shortening the time that people spend homeless by using strategies to reshy

house people quickly bull creating permanent housing options for homeless people bull and once homeless people become housed linking them to services and

to programs that will help them boost their income and increase their ability to afford housing in the future

Ten Year Plans to Prevent amp End Homelessness are part of a national movement introduced through the National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference of Mayors and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to address home less ness on a state and local level

Nationally over 300 communities have developed and are implementing plans In Connecticut there are currently 9 Ten Year Plans in various stages of implementation

Think Change Be Change Lead Change

Connecticut Coalition to End HomelessnessAaH 77 Buckingham Street Hartford CT 061 061 P(860) 721-78761 F (860) 257-1148 1 wwwccehorg

Community Snapshot

Homelessness in Meriden and Wallingford According to the most recent annual report from the Department of Social Services between October 2006 and September 2007 1

bull 665 clients were served in Meridens homeless shelter (Shelter Now) including 68 families with 147 children

bull Children between the ages of birth and 5 years of age made up 12 of all homeless clients served

bull 45 of all adults were high school graduates bull 42 of adults stated that familyfriend eviction or family breakup was the primary reason

for their homelessness bull 35 of adults stated that substance abuse or mental illness was a contributing factor to

their homelessness During that same time period at Wallingfords emergency shelter (Wallingford Shelter)

bull 93 clients were served at the Wallingford Emergency Shelter bull 48 of all clients were between the ages of 21-25 bull 44 of adults were high school graduates bull 63 of adults stated that their reason for homelessness was a familyfriend eviction bull 67 of adults stated that unemployment was a factor in their homelessness bull 46 of adults stated that substance abuse was a factor in their homelessness

Many more remain at risk of homeless ness In addition to the hundreds of people who experience homelessness each day in the Meriden and Wallingford community there are many more who are living right on the edge of becoming homeless

bull In Wallingford there were over 800 applications for fuel assistance during 2007 In both Meriden and Wallingford there were a combined 1586 utility mediations in just six months in 2007 with 20 of those mediations originating in Wallingford

bull In Meriden and Wallingford there was a 5 increase in the total number of WIC applications for 2007 with a total of over 2500 people

bull Statewide an individual must earn $2111 an hour 40hrweek to afford a modest two bedroom apartment at fair market rent including utilities In the Meriden-Wallingford area that figure rises to $2196 an hour or $45680 per year2

bull Statewide from June 2007 to June 2008 the percentage of mortgages in foreclosure has nearly doubled to 31 A recent report by the Hartford Courant cited that in Wallingford there were 242 foreclosures and an additional 741 in Meriden

bull The top 5 types of calls into the 2-1-1 Infoline for Wallingford during 2008 were HelplineslWarmlines Utility Assistance General Information Food Stamps and Food Pantries

bull The top 5 types of calls into the 2-1-1 Infoline for Meriden during 2008 were Utility Assistance General Information Food Pantries Homeless Shelter and Temporary Financial Assistance

1 Department of Social Services Annual Homeless Demographic Report for FFY 2007 October 2006shySeptember 2007 2 National Low Income Housing Coalition Out of Reach Report 2007-2008 2008