46 Near Death are Housed
46 people who faced homelessness and were at the greatest risk of death in the Greater Hartford area have been successfully housed since May of 2010. Last May, Journey Home led150 volunteers to conduct hundreds of surveys of the homeless population to identify those who had the greatest medical challenges and were most at risk of premature death. The results from these surveys are being used to prioritize these individuals for housing and supportive services.
The survey uses a new tool called a ‘Vulnerability Index’ that examines eight health risk factors, and is quickly being adopted by communities across the nation. As a result of the survey, Journey Home was able to identify and help document names and faces of 367 individuals facing homelessness. Of the 367, there were 176 identified as ‘vulnerable’. The list of vulnerable individuals was shared with shelters, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. The Immaculate Conception Shelter, The Veterans’ Administration, and other City and State agencies have been leaders in prioritizing these individuals by placing them at the top of their waitlists for housing subsidies and other services. The Vulnerability Index was created by the national 100,000 Homes campaign and is quickly becoming the cutting-edge way to target services better to those most in need. Additionally, by housing these individuals most at risk of death, there is a great amount of savings of public spending on emergency room costs and hospital visits. Each participating community across the nation was asked by the 100,000 Homes Campaign to set a goal for the end of the year 2010. The Capitol Region area set a goal of at 40 vulnerable individuals housed by December 2010 and met that goal in December! This year Journey Home plans to house many more with new strategies and collaborative efforts.
The survey was a collaborative effort by many agencies in the Greater Hartford area including nine shelters, Hands On Hartford, Common Ground, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Hartford Public Library, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and Corporation for Supportive Housing. Volunteers that gave the surveys were recruited by Hands-On-Hartford.