On the path to more perfect housing
Participants listen in at the Coordinated Entry training conference at The Nave on Feb. 28, 2024.
A tool to provide a path to housing for our unhoused neighbors is getting even better.
We’re talking about Coordinated Entry, a collaborative system to assess individual housing needs, prioritize those who are most vulnerable, and match them with the right housing. It results in a structured, by-name list of people experiencing homelessness in the Municipality of Anchorage.
The Coalition in February hosted our first Coordinated Entry training conference to help service providers more effectively use this person-centered system. The conference built on the existing introductory training through deeper learning, the exchange of ideas, and a heads-up about a new feature to help people keep housing.
More than 20 different organizations took part in the hybrid event with most people in person at The Nave in Spenard. Coalition team members led training sessions that included Q & A, instant polls and a trivia game. Almost half of those attending had experienced homelessness, one poll found. Around 75 people attended in person.
Among the takeaways:
Assessments are essential. Through the interviews, clients are placed on the prioritization list for housing, with their level of vulnerability determining their spot on the list. Clients also can be medically elevated if they don’t otherwise rank as high needs. Accurate data leads to faster and more successful housing referrals.
In case conferencing, agencies work together to match the most vulnerable clients with the right housing.
Anchorage needs more Access Points, the places where people go for an assessment and enrollment into Coordinated Entry. We are asking organizations who would like to serve as Access Points to reach out to Mac Lyons, Coordinated Entry director, at mlyons@aceh.org.
“Each question in the assessment has a purpose to help find a more perfect housing solution for the client,” Lyons said.
A system designed to help
Ziona Brownlow, one of the Coalition’s Coordinated Entry specialists, emphasized the importance of service providers and the strength found in collaborative efforts.
Anchorage began using Coordinated Entry in 2017. It is a federally mandated program that levels the playing field, restructuring services so that those with the highest needs are the priority, not those who are easiest to help, said Terria Ware, the Coalition’s senior director of policy and system planning.
Streamlining the experience
With a central intake system, the experience is streamlined and efficient for clients and service providers, Ware said. Clients don’t have to go from agency to agency trying to find one that can assist with housing. On top of those benefits, the homelessness response system can use the data collected to inform decision-making and identify the need for new services. (Pictured: Terria Ware speaking to the audience.)
One change will put new focus on helping individuals who have been housed stay housed through a new monthly housing retention case conference, Lyons said. The first one will be in mid-April. Due to the sharing of sensitive information, this is reserved for housing partners. If you are interested in attending, reach out to Lyons at mlyons@aceh.org.
Another new meeting will provide regular Coordinated Entry updates, addressing technical assistance needs and any changes to assessments or prioritization.
All of the conference presentations as well as additional resources can be found here: https://www.aceh.org/ce-conference.
Anyone with ideas about Coordinated Entry and housing prioritization can reach out to the coalition to attend the Coordinated Entry Committee meeting.
In addition, the conference will become an annual event. If you have ideas on what kind of training you would like to see or how the Coordinated Entry training could be even better, let us know!
Connect with the Coalition at communications@aceh.org or 907-312-9530.
Thanks to all who took part!
Pictured: Sasha Zimmerman, communications director, and Mac Lyons, Coordinated Entry director.
The conference drew staff from Alaska Mental Health Consumer Web, Anchorage Housing Initiatives, AWAIC, Bean’s Cafe, Catholic Social Services, Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Covenant House Alaska, Family Promise Mat-Su, Graceful Touch Transitional Services, Henning Inc., Institute for Community Alliances, Municipality of Anchorage, NeighborWorks Alaska, Restorative & Reentry Services, Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Sala Medics, Southcentral Foundation, the State of Alaska, United Way of Anchorage, Veterans Affairs and Volunteers of America.