Greater Hartford CAN Meeting 12/30/15

In Attendance:

Natasha Baldwin - Salvation Army Marshall House
Cordelia Brady - The Open Hearth
Gail Budrejko - Tabor House
Traci Burdick - Community Health Network
Marcel Cicero - CRT / East Hartford Shelter
Roger Clark - ImmaCare
Stephanie Corbin - Community Health Network
Catherine Damato - Community Renewal Team
Jacqueline Farmer - Veteran's Inc.
Amanda Girardin - Journey Home
Tenesha Grant - Mercy Housing
Mollie Greenwood - Journey Home
Mark Jenkins - Blue Hills Civic Association
Aaron Jones - U.S. V.A.
Brittany King - The Open Hearth
Gerilyn Maciel - Salvation Army Marshall House
Philomena McGee - Community Health Resources
Matt Morgan - Journey Home
Malika Nelson - Community Health Network / PATH
Roxan Noble - Chrysalis Center / Soromundi Commons
Yolanda Ortiz - CRT / SSVF
Heather Pilarcik - South Park Inn
Cathy Shanley - Columbus House
Chris Robinson - Chrysalis Center
Jessica Russell - Town of Enfield Social Services
Rob Soderberg - Community Health Resources - Supportive Housing
Sandra Terry - CRT / Supportive Housing
Ymonne Wilson - CRT
Tamara Womack - My Sisters' Place

1. Welcome and Introductions - At our last Greater Hartford CAN meeting of 2015, we have a really exciting announcement.  At the beginning of our 100 Day Campaign, our goal was to house 100 chronically homeless households.  As of this week, we have finally reached that goal, and currently 102 chronically homeless households have been housed through the Greater Hartford CAN.  This has been a long and busy year, but this is a huge achievement for our whole community.
2. Housing Referral Group - 
1. We discussed two 3-bedroom openings that have been open for awhile with Shelter Plus Care out in Manchester.  A couple of past referrals have fallen through for these openings, and we need to fill them quickly.  Right now, no chronically homeless families have been identified in our region, and so we are seeking literally homeless families with high service needs (as indicated by the VI-SPDAT).  For Permanent Supportive Housing a family member must have a disability.  At this point, we have not identified families who meet this criteria and are document ready, and so case managers working with the top families should do everything they are able to assist these families in obtaining necessary documentation for all family members.
1. Because there are no chronically homeless families that have been identified in our region at this point, it is essential that shelters are working with literally homeless families can assist them to become document ready.  
2. Right now, in order to gather as complete of a registry as possible, Journey Home pulls data from VI-SPDAT assessments and CAN assessments in HMIS, and from the Universal Housing Application in an effort to quickly identify and add households to our registry.  However, if staff are completing paper copies that are not going into HMIS, or if this information is being put in immediately before a CAN meeting, it will not be possible for Journey Home to identify households for possible prioritization and/or referral.  For this reason, we urge all agencies to enter data as quickly and accurately as possible into these databases.  
3. Concerns were raised that not all agencies are HMIS users, or Universal Housing Application users, and so there are some agencies who feel they are being held responsible for more data entry than others.  In coming months, we will be working with the Corporation for Supportive Housing to develop by-laws and participation agreements, so that there will be clear guidelines about what it means to participate in Coordinated Access, and to work with housing referrals through our CAN system.
2. In order to try and clarify the document readiness process, the Initial Document Checklist has been updated.  This form now reads more like a checklist, so when staff are working towards document readiness with a household they can use this form to guide what pieces are still needed for each household.  The new form is available at www.journeyhomect.org/provider-resources 
3. We also discussed two chronically homeless veterans who are currently on our registry, and identified possible housing resources for each of them.
4. Finally, we discussed current openings in supportive housing programs for individuals.
3. Future Meeting Structure -
1. Journey Home has received some feedback that the current meeting structure, particularly sections in which we spend time reviewing lists, or getting by-name updates of each particular case.  While we do plan to continue using CAN meetings as an opportunity for case conferencing, we will be modifying the structure in future meetings.
2. Starting next meeting, January 13th, we will be having a little time for full-group announcements, but will be splitting into smaller action groups for sections of the meeting.  Housing providers will have the opportunity to discuss specific housing-related issues, shelter providers can discuss specific shelter access or data related challenges or improvements.  In this way, we hope to have more productive and efficient meetings, where we can address a wider array of discussions.
4. Zero: 2016
1. Goals and Progress- 
1. Chris Robinson announced the Landlord Breakfast we were hoping to host in the next few weeks, and asked that any contact info for landlords that we would want to invite should be sent to himself and Jamie Randolph, who will be coordinating RSVP's for this event.  We are still tentatively exploring different locations, and working to plan programming for this event.  We hope that this will be a good step to increasing landlord engagement, explaining the process for some of our supportive housing programs, and increasing the number of landlords willing to work with our community.
2. The Zero:2016 Team is also working to increase outreach coordination by having regular monthly meetings, and anyone wishing to participate in those outreach meetings should contact Janet Bermudez at jbermudez@handsonhartford.org
5. VI-SPDAT 2.0 Training - Register on www.cceh.org
1. For the past year, the whole state of Connecticut has been using the VI-SPDAT triage tool as a preliminary needs assessment.  We have been using version 1, the original version of the tool.  Since then, OrgCode, the developers of the VI-SPDAT have made some modifications to the VI-SPDAT, making it shorter, clearer, and easier to convert between the full SPDAT assessment.  These changes are reflected in an updated version of the tool- VI-SPDAT 2.0.  Connecticut will be switching over to utilizing VI-SPDAT 2.0 in the coming months, and HMIS will implement version 2.0 as well.  In preparation for these changes, the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness is offering a variety of trainings.
2. Currently, CCEH has a couple of in-person trainings being offered on the VI-SPDAT version 2.0 in New Haven and Middletown.  A representative from CCEH also offered to make a training option for the city of Hartford if there was interest.  A raise of hands showed 23 interested staff (with a couple of people raising hands on behalf of their coworkers).  Mollie will follow up with CCEH staff, and share information about any additional training times and locations.
3. In addition to the in-person training option, CCEH currently has one webinar training planned for Friday, January 8th at 11:00 AM.  To register for this webinar, visit www.cceh.org.
6. Announcements:
1. The Navigator RFP is due to Amanda Girardin by email, or hand-delivered by Tuesday, January 5th at 4:00 PM.
2. The Partnership for Strong Communities is seeking consumers to particcpate in their Reaching Home Advisory Committee.  You can contact Amanda Girardin for more information.
3. The next GH CAN meeting will return to our regular location at Sue Ann Shay Place Apartment,s 76 Pliny St., Hartford.  Thanks, CRT, for hosting our December meetings!
4. Tenesha Grant said that Mercy's Catherine's Place Transitional Living Program on Church Street currently has openings for women with substance use who are willing and able to work.
5. Happy New Year!

Greater Hartford CAN Meeting 12/16/15

In Attendance:

Janet Bermudez - Hands On Hartford

Cordelia Brady - The Open Hearth

Aisha Brown - CHR Enfield

Manual Burnias - CRT Security Deposit Guarantee

Crane Cesario - DMHAS, Hartford COC

Marcel Cicero - CRT East Hartford Shelter

Roger Clark - ImmaCare

Melinda Clarke - CRT

Stephanie Corbin - Community Health Network

Joel Cox - Town of Enfield Social Services

Tylon Crump - CRT McKinney Shelter

Catherine Damato

Anna Ebora - Journey Home

Jacqueline Farmer - Veterans Inc.

Valorie Gaines - CHR PATH

Shihan Ghazi - Mercy Housing

Amanda Girardin - Journey Home

Tenesha Grant - Mercy Housing

Mollie Greenwood - Journey Home

Amber Higgins - CHR

Mark Jenkins - Greater Hartford Harm Reduction Coalition

Aaron Jones - US Department of Veterans Affairs

Brittany King - The Open Hearth

Philomena McGee - CHR Enfield

Matt Morgan - Journey Home

Patrice Moulton - CRT East Hartford Shelter

Meghan Pellerin - My Sisters' Place / The Open Hearth

Heather Pilarcik - South Par Inn

Patricia Pollicina - Chrysalis Center

Cathy Shanley - Columbus HOuse

Lionel Rigler - City of Hartford

Chris Robinson - Chrysalis Centeer

Amy Robinson - US Department of Veterans Affairs

Iris Ruiz - Interval House

Michelle Simon - Catholic Charities

Rob Soderberg - CHR

Sandra Terry - CRT Supportive HOusing

Jose Vega - CRT McKinney Shelter

Ymonne Wilson - CRT

Tamara Womack - My Sisters' Place

1. Welcome and Introductions- Today we have some exciting news regarding funding for the Greater Hartford CAN.
1. As we announced at a previous meeting, the Department of Housing recently made some funding available to each CAN throughout the state to help support essential functions of the GH CAN such as meeting facilitation, administrative functions, coordinated entry, and navigation.  In our region, the amount of funding we received from the Department of Housing was roughly $170,000.  While helpful, many agency leaders did not feel that this funding would be sufficient to continue implementing the necessary changes in our system, and so a dozen GH CAN agencies put together a collaborative application to the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for additional CAN funding.  We received confirmation yesterday that Hartford Foundation would be awarding the GH CAN an additional $190,000 to add additional needed capacity around CAN administration, navigation, and shelter triage.  
1. Journey Home is the fiduciary agency for this funding and will be posting a Request for Proposals to hire navigation staff on the Journey Home website by the end of this week.
2. In addition to this update, 211's most recent monthly report shows that call wait times for shelter or housing related calls are at an all-time low, with an average call wait time of two minutes, and a longest call wait time of 19 minutes. 
2. Housing Referral Group - 
1. Hudson View Commons received a referral at the last GH CAN meeting, but was denied by the property manager, and needs a new referral at this time.  
2. We need to figure out a better method for reviewing pending referrals, rather than going name-by-name down the list.  One suggestion was to have housing staff review the list before or after the GH CAN meeting and provide feedback where needed- another option was to have a conference call.  By next meeting we hope to have a better way to structure these check-ins.
3. Chronic Homeless Final Rule - 
1. HUD has released a final rule on the definition of chronic homelessness.  In many ways, the definition is the same, but there have been a few key changes.
1. Households need to have a homeless history of either one continuous year of homelessness, or four occasions of homelessness in the past 3 years which total to twelve months.  This means that people who have a short history of homelessness, but multiple occasions, will not be considered chronically homeless unless their occasions total to 12 months.  
2. HUD did not set a minimum number of days that constitute an occasion of homelessness, but did clarify that a break between occasions needed to be 7 days or longer where an individual was not literally homeless.  
3. For January 13th, Journey Home will evaluate our registry and see how this definition has impacted the prioritization of households who are chronically homeless.  
4. Hartford COC Vote to Join Balance of State
1. At this month's Hartford Continuum of Care meeting, the continuum voted to join Balance of State.  This means that moving forward Hartford will become a sub-COC.  
2. This change will mean that for some housing programs whose certificates were designated for use only in Balance of State communities, these housing programs may be able to use their certificates within the City of Hartford in the future.
5. CT HMIS Release of Information
1. In the past, HMIS was a closed database system, where clients had the ability to choose how to restrict the sharing of their information between different agencies. The previous HMIS Release of Information reflected this option to restrict data sharing.  
2. As we have switched to a Coordinated Access Network system, it is no longer as practical or feasible to have a variety of sharing restrictions, because HMIS is becoming a more open system in order to better collaborate and prevent duplication.  To better reflect this change to an open system, Connecticut's Homeless Management Information System database (CT HMIS) has created an updated release of information, which is an opt-in or opt-out for data sharing.  This release was recently approved by the state Attorney General, and is available on www.cthmis.com.
3. You do not need to get new releases for all current clients, as the previous release is good for 3 years from when they are signed.  These releases will also be valid three years after signing.
4. As a best practice, you should only be using the new releases moving forward, and if you continue to work with a client they are able to sign the new release if they are interested.
5. Spanish versions of the release will be emailed out as soon as possible.  Thanks to CCEH for sending those to us so quickly!
6. CAN Policy Subgroup Representation-
1. There has been a statewide group meeting to discuss governance and policy as it relates to the CANs in the state.  This group did a lot of work with the Department of Housing in order to seek funding for the CANs, and currently the group is focusing on bylaws for CAN, determining what participation in CANs means, and how to become a member of a CAN.  
2. Each CAN in the state currently has two votes, and we have had a number of representatives for Greater Hartford.  Matt Morgan of Journey Home, Crane Cesario of DMHAS, Tenesha Grant of Mercy Housing, Fred Faulkner of The Open Hearth, and Mollie Greenwood of Journey Home have all attended some or all of these meetings on behalf of our CAN.  
7. Diversion Training
1. CCEH is working to put together a training on how to do diversion without any financial resources.  The focus of the training is on utilizing natural supports, mediation, alternative housing solutions, and mainstream resources.  CCEH is seeking the same training that other agencies in the state have had around these diversion techniques, and the training was popular in other areas.
2. 22 staff from Greater Hartford CAN indicated an interest in possibly attending this training.
8. Announcements:
1. Lionel Rigler shared some information about the City of Hartford ESG Prevention Program.  This is a program available to individuals and families in the City of Hartford who are not yet literally homeless, but who are not in stable housing, like people staying doubled up who are not lease holders.  In order to be screened for the program, which is short term financial assistance with case management, clients should call 211, dial 3, then 1, and ask to be screened for the program.  Households must have strong employment history, and be able to become self-supporting by the end of the program.  In the past year, about 25 households have been served by this program.
2. The Point In Time Count is coming up in January, and we will be doing an unsheltered count again this year.  Cat Damato of CRT is the City of Hartford PIT contact, and Yasmine Ali of Journey Home is the Greater Hartford BOS PIT contact (covering the part of our CAN that is not the City of Hartford).
3. Data Quality Cases- There is a known error in CA HMIS regarding Data Quality.  Mollie is working with Nutmeg and CCEH to try and resolve the situation.  Soon, all cases from more than 6 months ago will be removed from the data quality report, which will greatly reduce the number of errors showing on our report.
4. CCEH will be administering training on the VI-SPDAT 2.0 in the coming months.  Everyone who will be administering VI-SPDATs should attend either an in-person training or a webinar.
5. The Annual Homeless Person's Memorial will take place Sunday, December 20th.  Nate Fox of Center Church is collecting the names of anyone who passed away this year who was enrolled in shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, or staying unsheltered in the past year.
6. Sara Salomons of Journey Home has a large number of donated items including clothing and housewares for case managers to take after the meeting.  She will meet you in the parking lot outside!
7. Enfield has secured a location for a warming center in Enfield from the end of January to the end of February.  The warming center will be open every night, and will have capacity for about 15 people.  The hours will be 9 PM- 7AM with volunteers working overnight. 
8. Our next GH CAN meeting will be held at CRT's Lumsden Center.

Greater Hartford CAN Meeting 12/2/15

Greater Hartford Coordinated Access Network

Meeting Agenda

Wednesday, December 2^nd, 2015

Next Meeting: Wednesday December 16^th, 2015

Our next meeting will be held at CRT’s Lumsden Center

In Attendance:

Janet Bermudez - Hands On Hartford

Aisha Brown - CHR Enfield

Traci Burdick - Community Health Network

Manuel Burnias - CRT Security Deposit Guarantee

Crane Cesario - DMHAS

Marcel Cicero - CRT / East Hartford Shelter

Roger Clark - ImmaCare

Catherine Damato - CRT
Anna Ebora - Journey Home
Jaqueline Farmer - Veterans Inc.
Bryan Flint - Cornerstone Shelter
Amanda Girardin - Journey Home
Tenesha Grant - Mercy Housing
Andrea Hakian - CHR Manchester
Amber Higgins - CHR Manchester
Mark Jenkins - Greater Hartford Harm Reduction Coalition
Aaron Jones - VA
Steve MacHattie - ImmaCare
Gerilyn Maciel - Salvation Army Marshall House
Malika Nelson - CHR Manchester
Theresa Nicholson - Chrysalis Center
Roxan Noble - Chrysalis Center/ YWCA Shelter
Yolanda Ortiz- CRT SSVF
Heather Pilarcik - South Park Inn
Jamie Randolph - CHR
Chris Robinson - Chrysalis Center
Amy Robinson - VA
Michelle Simon - Catholic Chairties
Rob Soderberg- CHR Manchester
Ymonne Wilson - CRT
Tamara Womack - My Sisters' Place
Gail Budrejko - Tabor House
Shannon Oliver- Salvation Army Marshall House
Marcia DuFore - North Central Regional Mental Health Board
Troya Scruse - Salvation Army Marshall House

1.  Welcome and Introductions

a.      There is a known issue with Data Quality for CAN appointments at this time.  Duty Services Coordinators should be continuing to close out all completed appointments and mark their no-shows.  As soon as we have an update from Nutmeg on the data quality situation, we will let you know.

2.     Housing Referral Group  – Amanda Girardin

a.      See attached packet

b.      5 additional people have been housed bringing the number of chronically homeless individuals housed in November to 10, which is good progress for the region. 

c.       Pending referral updates

                                                              i.      Theresa Nicholson of Chrysalis expressed that they had been having a lot of difficulty using Balance of State certificates to house individuals out in the suburbs.  This was a problem echoed by other housing programs outside the City of Hartford.

                                                            ii.      One idea was to try and switch out certificates from outside the city and inside of the city, so that individuals who are challenging to find housing for outside of the city have the option of locating a unit inside of Hartford.

d.      We discussed the ongoing challenge of not having clients at the top of the priority list who were document-ready for housing.  The funding for CANs from the Department of Housing is expected to be disseminated to CANs soon.  Some of this funding has been designated to hire a couple of navigators for the region.

                                                              i.      In addition to the DOH funding, a number of GH CAN agencies submitted a collaborative grant application to Hartford Foundation for Public Giving which included additional funding for navigation staff.  We hope to have an  update on those funds by mid-December.

e.      We discussed a few different families for possible referral to a number of PSH programs in the City of Hartford.   At the time of this meeting, no chronically homeless families had been identified and so prioritization for family PSH units started with highest vulnerability families as determined by the VI-SPDAT.

f.        Referrals for all individual PSH openings were taken from the Priority List. 

g.      Finally, we discussed a number of individuals who had completed the VI-SPDAT multiple times, and whose disparate scores put them in different priority levels for housing.  Staff who worked with these households volunteered to complete full SPDAT assessments with them.

3.     Grievance and Appeals Process – Crane Cesario

a.      The GH CAN has received its first grievance, so Crane shared her experience working with Shelter Plus Care grievances, and provided advice on a process for the GH CAN.

                                                              i.      First, if the grievance is with a local agency, it should be handled by that agency’s existing grievance procedures.  If the grievance is with the CAN, we need to determine which Continuum of Care covers the area in which the grievance occurred. 

                                                            ii.      An informal hearing will be made on two levels.  Once there has been a hearing for the grievance, a decision letter needs to be sent through certified mail. 

                                                          iii.      A grievance related to prioritization can be appealed within 15 days of receiving a decision from the GH CAN.  The appeals process needs to be very specific, and all steps need to be written and provided to the client.

                                                          iv.      If the household chooses to appeal the decision, an appeals committee will be assembled from the Continuum of Care which covers the area in which the grievance occurred.

4.     Moving On Process – Theresa Nicholson

a.      In order to meet our Zero: 2016 Goals, we need more supportive housing available in our region.  Many programs have households currently living in Permanent Supportive Housing who no longer need intensive support services, but who still need a housing subsidy.   Many PSH programs use an acuity index to determine what someone’s level of service need is over time while they are enrolled in a PSH program.  Over time, as households stabilize, they need less and less intensive support.

                                                              i.      Something we need to explore in our region is how we can start moving households out of these intensive supportive housing programs and into a subsidy program so that we will have more of the PSH that we need to house our chronically homeless population.

                                                            ii.      One way to do this is by partnering with Housing Authorities to create a preference for households exiting from Permanent Supportive Housing.  This requires that the Housing Authorities make some changes to their administrative plan. 

5.     Announcements:

a.      There are openings at the Greater Hartford CAN/ Universal Housing Application training December 17^th and 18^th.  Please email mollie.greenwood@journeyhomect.org to register.

b.      CCEH will be offering a training called "Best Practices of Emergency Shelters and Crisis Services in an Effective Crisis Response System" available on December 8^th and December 9^th from 9:00-4:00 in two locations.  Register online at www.cceh.org

c.       HMIS will be making a systemic upgrade in December, and all HMIS users must attend a training webinar to learn about what changes are coming to the system.  The new interface for HMIS will go live the week of December 8th 2015.  Register on www.cthmis.com/events 

d.      Unsheltered individuals seeking navigation and/or assessments who have serious mental illness should be referred to the PATH team.  Contact Malika at mnelson@chrhealth.org

e.      CHR is hiring full time PATH outreach worker

f.        Veteran’s Inc. ribbon cutting

g.      CRT security deposit guarantee program-full time staff secialist

h.      Annual Homeless person memorial service- planning process- get in touch with Nate

Greater Hartford CAN Data Update 11/18
GH CAN Master Registry	Total # of active* clients	973
	Total # in our master registry	2,625
	Total # of people identified with a length of homelessness that qualifies as chronically homeless who aren’t housed	234
Coordinated Assessment	Total clients with a VI-SPDAT	1,491
	Total active* households with a VI-SPDAT	705
	# of upcoming GH CAN appointments	494
Coordinated Exit	Chronically homeless housed through CAN 3/11 – present	90 This may not include all clients housed by existing wait lists.
	TLP Enrollments for all adults 11/17- 11/18/15	297
	RRH Enrollments for all adults 11/17- 11/18/15	176
Zero: 2016	Average # of new people who are becoming chronically homeless each month	22
	GH Monthly Housing Connection Rate:	31

Greater Hartford CAN Meeting 11/18/15

Greater Hartford Coordinated Access Network

Meeting

November 18, 2015

Next Meeting: December 2, 2015

In Attendance:
Rubi Alegria - Mercy Housing
Brian Baker - South Park Inn
Janet Bermudez- Hands On Hartford
Gail Budrejko- Tabor Huose
Latisha Birchett- CHR
Cordelia Brady - The Open Hearth
Aisha Brown - CHR Enfield
Manuel Burnias - CRT / Security Deposit Guarantee Program
Marcel Cicero - CRT / East Hartford Shelter
Roger Clark - ImmaCare
Melinda Clarke - CRT
Rebecca Copeland - CHR Manchester
Stephanie Corbin - Community Health Network
Joel Cox - Enfield Social Services
Lino Cruz - CHR Manchester
Rosa DeJesus - Mercy Housing
Anna Ebora - Journey Home
Jacqueline Farmer - Veterans Inc.
Nate Fox - Center Church
Amanda Girardin - Journey Home
Kaylon Griffith - Capitol Region Mental Health Center
Nathalie Guzman - Salvation Army Marshall House
Amber Higgins - CHR Manchester
Aaron Jones - VA
Brittany King - The Open Hearth
Philomena McGee - CHR Enfield
Patrice Moulton - CRT / East Hartford Shelter
Roxan Noble - Chrysalis Center
Yolanda Ortiz - CRT / SSVF
Heather Pilarcik - South Park Inn
Frank Rector - Capitol Region Mental Health Center
Chris Robinson - Chrysalis Center
Amy Robinson - VA
Rob Soderberg - CHR Manchester
Sandra Terry - CRT
Dan Walsh - Veterans Inc.
Ymonne Wilson - CRT
Shannon Oliver - Salvation Army Marshall House
Shihan Ghazi - Mercy Housing
Natasha Baldwin - Salvation Army Marshall House
Janira Rodriguez - Chrysalis Center
Jessica Russell - Town of Enfield
Tony Mack - ImmaCare
Ralston beckford - Capitol Region Mental Health Center
John Lawlor - The Connection Inc.

1.       Welcome and Introductions

a.       November 17, 2015 is the anniversary of the implementation of CAN- congratulations to everyone for all your hard work, and thank you for all that you do each day to improve our system!

2.       Housing Referral Group

a.       4 chronically homeless individuals have been recently housed through GH CAN programs!

b.      We discussed a couple of households with multiple, disparate VI-SPDAT scores.

c.       We discussed a challenging case that both CHR and Cornerstone are currently engaged with, and discussed that this household may ultimately need a higher level of care than is available through some of our housing programs due to co-occurring disorders.

d.      There are five available units. Any referral for these units must be document ready with birth certificate, proof of income, social security card, because the openings are in Shelter Plus Care, a program with housing coordination, but no staff that can assist with document readiness.

e.      Staff at CHR Enfield currently have a client who was a specific kind of apartment and is about to lose his certificate. Philomena McGee inquired as to how long she can continue with this client and how many extensions can be asked for. There is currently no policy on a maximum number of attempts in the due diligence form. This case will be brought up to leadership for further discussion.

                                                               i.      One of the barriers for homeless individuals is that many Hartford people do not want to leave

f.        A client has brought a grievance to the GH CAN in response to his current housing referral.  As this is the first grievance brought to the GH CAN (rather than to a particular agency) we are still determining next steps, but plan to send a written notice of the GH CAN’s referral decision.  Moving forward, we may need to establish a grievance committee in case of an appeal.  Four staff volunteered to be a part of this committee if needed.

3.       Cold Weather Protocol

a.       Triage Updates- Shelter Bed Wait List

                                                              i.      In the course of one week, the shelter bed waiting list consisted of 96 people on the men’s list, 42 were not matched to shelter, 20 had shelter restrictions and 24 of the unmatched had no contact info.

                                                            ii.      In the course of one week on the women and families list there were 80 households, 50 not matched, 14 not eligible, and 5 or 6 refusals of available beds.

b.      CCEH, in collaboration with the Department of Housing, was able to provide some Cold Weather Protocol funding to each CAN, and will have the same funding available this year for each CAN.

                                                              i.      In Greater Hartford, that funding is helping to create 75 No-Freeze beds at ImmaCare, as well as money for hotels and motels.

                                                            ii.      Enfield is trying to create a pop-up warming center, and is still in discussions regarding a location.

                                                          iii.      The Cold Weather Protocols are in place as of Dec. 15, 2015 to Mar. 15, 2016

                                                           iv.      Severe Cold Weather Activation is when the governor declares a cold weather emergency.

1.       The protocols for both Cold Weather Protocol and Severe Cold Weather Activation were distributed to GH CAN staff.

c.       In addition to our Cold Weather Protocols, Matt Morgan of Journey Home has been working to put together a schedule of different public locations that are available on days where the weather is cold.  These places are not officially designated as warming centers, and include soup kitchens, as well as locations open to the general public.  At this point, no such locations have been identified for Christmas Day or New Year’s Day after 2PM. There are no warm locations on any day after 8PM.  If anyone in the area knows of areas that may be able to provide a warm space during those hours, please email mollie.greenwood@journeyhomect.org

4.       Zero:2016 Updates

a.       CAN Funding: Triage, Navigators, CAN management

                                                              i.      During the 100 Day Campaign, Department of Housing Commissioner, Yvonne Klein, and Deputy Commissioner, Nick Lundgrin, visited all of the Coordinated Access Networks in Connecticut to talk about what our process has looked like so far, and what each region needed.  Following these meetings, the Department of Housing identified some funding that would be available for CAN functions throughout the state of Connecticut. 

                                                            ii.      On November 10^th, representatives from 11 CAN agencies came together and voted on who would be the fiduciary agency for this funding in our region, as well as how to prioritized different CAN functions with the funding available.

1.       Journey Home was selected as the fiduciary agency for the Greater Hartford CAN

2.       The CAN functions that were determined as needing funding were CAN Management, Navigation, and Shelter Triage.  The leaders in attendance voted unanimously on a draft budget for this funding.

                                                          iii.      As soon as this funding is distributed by the Department of Housing through the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, Journey Home will update the GH CAN on next steps.

5.       Announcements

a.       At this time Journey Home does not have the capacity to assist clients who walk-in or call to our office requesting an update on their housing status.  If staff have a question about a household’s current status they should contact Mollie or Amanda, but clients need to work with their case manager or an outreach worker to figure out next steps for housing.

b.      There are openings for the 2 day CAN/UHA Training with Journey Home for December 17^th and 18^th.  For more information, please contact mollie.greenwood@journeyhomect.org

c.       CCEH will be offering a training called "Best Practices of Emergency Shelters and Crisis Services in an Effective Crisis Response System" available on December 8^th and December 9^th from 9:00-4:00 in two locations.  Register online at www.cceh.org

d.      Nutmeg has added a CAN HMIS Training for tomorrow, 11/19 from 10 AM – 12 PM.  Register on www.cthmis.com/events

e.      HMIS will be making a systemic upgrade in December, and all HMIS users must attend a training webinar to learn about what changes are coming to the system.  The new interface for HMIS will go live the week of December 8th 2015.  Register on www.cthmis.com/events 

f.        Unsheltered individuals seeking navigation and/or assessments who have serious mental illness should be referred to the PATH team.  Contact Malika at mnelson@chrhealth.org

g.       There will be a homeless outreach meeting on Monday, November 23^rd at South Congregational Church 277 Main St., Hartford at 2:30 PM.  All outreach staff are invited.  For more information, contact Janet Bermudez at jbermudez@handsonhartford.org

h.      The Day of Sharing and Caring will be held on Friday, November 20^th at the St. Patrick’s - St. Anthony’s at the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry at 11:00 AM.  For details, contact Nate Fox at nfox@cchartford.org

i.          

Greater Hartford CAN Data Update 11/18
GH CAN Master Registry	Total # of active* clients	1016
	Total # in our master registry	2,598
	Total # of people identified with a length of homelessness that qualifies as chronically homeless who aren’t housed	274
Coordinated Assessment	Total clients with a VI-SPDAT	1,454
	Total active* households with a VI-SPDAT	678
	# of upcoming GH CAN appointments	526 Booking into January for City of Hartford
Coordinated Exit	Chronically homeless housed through CAN 3/11 – present	86 This may not include all clients housed by existing wait lists.
	TLP Enrollments for all adults 11/17- Present	297
	RRH Enrollments for all adults 11/17- Present	176
Zero: 2016	Average # of new people who are becoming chronically homeless each month	22
	GH Monthly Housing Connection Rate:	31