Times Record | Tedford Housing

Giving Voice: Thinking Long-term with Supportive Housing

May 20, 2019 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

The following article was published in The Times Record on 5/3/19 and written by Jennifer Iacovelli, Tedford Housing’s director of development.

Between 2005 and 2011, Tedford Housing embarked on a campaign to develop six supportive housing facilities for previously homeless individuals and families. These buildings, located in Brunswick, Bath, Lewiston, Auburn and Augusta, offered permanent housing with key case management services attached to them. Tenants have regular leases and no predetermined or expected length of stay.

Supportive housing provides a vital platform for people to move forward in other areas of their lives like employment, education and improved health. Using a Housing First approach, Tedford Housing’s 37 supportive units provide safe, clean and affordable apartments with on-site case management for previously homeless individuals and families. Many are occupied by adults and families who have experienced disabling conditions like mental illness and/or substance abuse and/or catastrophic events like domestic violence that have resulted in homelessness. Many have had multiple shelter stays.

According to HUD, taking a Housing First approach means that individuals and families experiencing homelessness are quickly connected to permanent housing without preconditions and barriers to entry, such as sobriety, treatment or service participation requirements. While still a relatively new approach, it has seen some promising results in keeping tenants in housing and off the streets and/or out of shelters. Tedford’s supportive housing case management services include assistance with applying to available benefits such as MaineCare and SSI, referrals to job training and employment services, coordination of services with health care providers, crisis prevention, referrals to substance abuse counseling and treatment, assistance with basic living skills and mitigating landlord-tenant issues.

The services and resources that supportive housing provides are essential for people like Brian. Brian, 44, has lived in our Everett Street supportive housing unit since 2013. He had been in and out of homelessness, with several stays at Tedford’s adult shelter, since 2009. At one point, he had sold two cars and quit a job in Maine with the hope and promise of a job from a friend who was living in South Carolina, only to find out that the job fell through when he arrived. When he came back home to Maine, without a car or a job, his mom drove him to Tedford Housing.

The two biggest barriers to finding housing for Brian were high rents and location. His mother and daughter live in Woolwich so it was important for him to be somewhat close to them. His advice for people who find themselves in and out of homelessness as he did is to be patient. Finding housing can take time when you factor in the paperwork, searching and waiting for vouchers and available units. He was lucky to get the call from Tedford’s shelter alerting him of an open unit becoming available at Everett Street.

Located in the heart of Brunswick, Everett Street offers easy access to the essentials. The location is a quick walk to Hannaford, RiteAid, Curtis Memorial Library and to Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, where Brian also volunteers. Without transportation, it’s important for Brian and other tenants to be able to walk or take the bus. They can hop on the Brunswick Explorer from Hannaford and get to places like Walmart and Sweetser. Brian is thankful for the support he gets from Tedford and says they are “good people to work with.”

Brian says that the best part about living at Everett Street is the community. There are eight single studio units. People tend to keep to themselves, he says, but they are there for each other if someone needs help. He is appreciative of the support from case management and from the community, especially during the holidays.

The average length of stay for tenants at Everett Street is 4.2 years, and the average length of stay across all of our supportive housing units is 2.7. While evictions still do occur in supportive housing, some tenants also end up moving on to other permanent housing option and pay market rental rates. Many, like Brian, thrive in the supportive housing setting and have no immediate plans to move from their found community.

Giving Voice: Spring cleaning and donations that spark joy

April 22, 2019 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

The following article was published in The Times Record on 5/5/19 and written by Jennifer Iacovelli, Tedford Housing’s director of development.

It may or may not feel like spring when this article publishes. The calendar says April, but we live in Maine. The only thing that’s inevitable right now is the potholes.

Regardless, the sunshine is brightening our days and the snow is slowly melting its way out of our lives, with the exception of those piles of snow in the darkest areas of our yards.

With spring often comes spring cleaning. While Tedford Housing enjoys a steady stream of in-kind donations year round, we tend to see an increase in these donations around spring time. (For those not familiar with the term, in-kind donations are those non-cash donations of goods or services.)

I’ve had to call in some of my trusty volunteers to help sort donations of sheets, towels, baking sheets and other household items more than a few times since January. According to some media reports, nonprofits have seen a spike in in-kind donations due to the popularity of the Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. The show is centered on the idea of decluttering one’s space and, to some extent, their lives at the same time.

Kondo encourages her clients to “tidy up” in their houses by category, holding items in their hands to see if they “spark joy” to them. If the items don’t spark joy, then it is time to let them go. While I can’t make a direct correlation between the show and the amount of donations we currently have in the admin office at Tedford Housing, I do know that we are the beneficiary of many of our neighbor’s efforts to declutter.

If more people are getting rid of their unwanted household items, this can be a good thing for nonprofits. As I write this, we have several individuals and families moving out of our shelters and into permanent housing. These donations from decluttering neighbors help give our clients a new start with actual dishes for their kitchens, towels for their bathrooms and sheet sets for their beds.

As a nonprofit professional who handles donations in her organization, I challenge you to use the same method for donating as you would for tidying up with Marie Kondo. You may not want to hold every unwanted item in your house and ask if it sparks joy for a certain organization, but some parameters around donating these items to make the most impact could be helpful to those who find themselves wondering what to do once they have a big pile of joy-less (for you) items.

If you are not a seasoned in-kind donor, the first step you may want to take is to figure out which organization you want to support with your donation and visit their website. If you don’t have an organization in mind, think of a cause you want to support (e.g., housing, food security, animal welfare, environment, etc.) and do a quick google search for organizations near you. Many organizations will list items they will accept – and not accept – as donations. This research can save you a bit of time and ensure you find a good match for your items.

Conversely, you could also google the item you have and the word donation in your area (i.e., “clothes donation in Brunswick”). In addition to the organization’s website, you may also check their social media accounts to see if they post their most needed items. (I do so on Tedford’s Facebook page from time to time and see other orgs, like Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, doing the same. We often share each other’s lists too!)

Once you figure out where you want your donation to go, the next step is to figure out when and where to drop off your donation. Keep in mind that some organizations, like Tedford, have more than one location and some locations may not have the staffing or the space to accept donations. (I accept donations for Tedford at our admin office during business hours and distribute the items to those who need it most from there.)

I love helping donors make the most of their donation. Though I can’t speak for all development directors, I love when people contact me directly about a donation. I can’t tell you how often I hear “I want to make sure my donation helps someone who truly needs it.” Oftentimes a donation, though not needed in their home, does have some sentimental value to the donor. If we don’t take the items in question, I will do my best to steer them to an organization that does need their donation. Even random sheets in questionable condition may be welcomed with open arms at an animal shelter! When in doubt, just ask someone who handles donations on a daily basis. We’re happy to help you “tidy up.”

Giving Voice: What happens when people are turned away from Brunswick’s homeless shelter?

March 13, 2019 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

The following article was published in The Times Record on 3/8/19 and written by Jennifer Iacovelli, Tedford Housing’s director of development.

At a recent town council meeting in Brunswick, Tedford Housing’s director of operations, Giff Jamison, was compelled to speak at the podium during the public comment time related to the council’s vote on extending the current moratorium ordinance on the location of shelters. He was among several other community members who used the time to speak their mind on the moratorium and shelters in our area in general.

Giff shared a story of a couple who walked into Tedford’s administrative office on a particularly cold afternoon. It was in the single digits that day with wind chills expected to dip below zero that night. This couple was sleeping in a tent and considered literally homeless, meaning that they lack a “fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.” There wasn’t a bed available at our emergency shelter that night. He was quoted in the Times Record the next day saying how the conversation became about hoping these two individuals “would survive the night.”

Tedford Housing’s “turn away” numbers have been shared quite frequently over the past few months. In our fiscal year 2018, we had to turn away 354 adults and 228 families who called upon us to access emergency housing. These numbers represent a significant amount of households who are homeless or on the brink of becoming homeless. Unfortunately, the numbers have held steady over the past few years.

Merriam-Webster defines the term “safety net” as “something that provides security against misfortune or difficulty.” When we talk about the safety net of social services, people often think of public assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) or general assistance.

Hearing our numbers, you might ask yourself what is the safety net that exists for folks who Tedford Housing cannot immediately house with temporary shelter. For us, the safety net encompasses more than just the traditional public assistance.

When someone calls or walks into our office looking for help, we ask where they slept the night before and if they have a place to sleep that evening to help determine the immediacy of the need. If Tedford’s shelters are full and a person or family is without adequate housing for the night, we may suggest they access a shelter in another area such as Lewiston or Portland. Part of the safety net is working collaboratively with other shelters and providers to cast a wide net of resources. A more official statewide effort to connect people experiencing homelessness with resources, coordinated entry, is set to roll out this year. Families may be put on our waiting list for our family shelter and individuals may be encouraged to call our adult shelter on a regular basis to inquire about open beds.

The person’s ties to the area may compel them to stay in the area, even in an unsafe situation. In that case, we connect the individual to one of Tedford’s case managers. The case manager’s primary job, as we wrote about in our last Giving Voice article, is to identify and address the barriers that are keeping clients from obtaining or maintaining housing. Tedford’s case managers can get people started with a housing search or applying for vouchers, SNAP or general assistance. Oftentimes the first step is helping people obtain necessary documentation, such as birth certificates or social security cards, so they have what they need for the above mentioned applications. Case managers may also help clients connect with medical care providers, setting up appointments with places like Oasis Free Clinics or re-connecting them with a primary care provider. The goal is to make sure the client is in a position to be able to apply for housing.

As I wrote this article, I was interrupted by a visitor to our admin office. He was a young man looking for help with housing. I won’t share his details but he was young enough that I asked him his age so that I could refer him to the most appropriate case manager. I asked questions, made sure he had a place to go, told him about The Gathering Place and gave him the phone numbers he needed to start working on a plan. It was before our regular business hours, so he couldn’t talk directly to a case manager. He didn’t have a phone but said he’d use his friend’s phone to make calls and appointments. The mom in me hopes he makes those phone calls.

Giving Voice: What does a comprehensive approach to homelessness look like?

February 11, 2019 By Jennifer 3 Comments

The following article was published in The Times Record on 2/8/19 and written by Jennifer Iacovelli, Tedford Housing’s director of development.

Tedford Housing changed its name from Tedford Shelter back in 2006 in recognition of the organization’s evolution to include permanent supportive housing and related homeless prevention services. While community members still refer to us as Tedford Shelter, we take a much more comprehensive approach to homelessness than just providing beds for overnight guests (the original intent of the organization).

But what does a comprehensive approach to homelessness mean? What does it look like for an organization like Tedford Housing in the community of Brunswick, Maine?

First and foremost it is having strategies for working with the full range of people who experience homelessness. One size does not fit all when it comes to those in need of Tedford Housing’s services, which includes emergency shelter, homeless prevention, emergency heating assistance and permanent housing for previously homeless individuals and families.

Our last Giving Voice article addressed our highest priority population we now serve, the long term stayers. The long term stayers include those who have the highest barriers to finding and maintaining permanent housing and who have been in our emergency shelters the longest. Addressing the high needs of this population not only frees up beds for other people who are experiencing homelessness, but it also reduces emergency room visits, police interventions and other uses of public services.

A big piece of the puzzle in providing pathways from homelessness to home, as our mission states, is case management. Case management is at the core of all the services Tedford Housing provides. All clients are exposed to some level of case management in order to understand the causes of homelessness, to develop a housing stability plan specific to their situation and to access resources for achieving permanent and stable housing for the long term.

Case managers, also called housing or stability navigators, are the biggest advocates for all of Tedford Housing’s clients. They work hard to stay up to date on the ever-changing availability of and requirements for housing subsidies. They work closely with landlords and make sure their clients know exactly what resources are available to them and how to access them. They meet regularly with shelter guests to review paperwork and the steps they need to take to find housing. They help families and individuals come up with a plan to address the issues that prevent them from maintaining housing or put them at risk for losing their housing. They connect guests, tenants and clients to key resources in the community to get the services they need.

Though many people may think of Tedford Housing as helping “the homeless,” the truth is that we help individuals and families to reduce their risk of becoming homeless. The majority of Tedford Housing’s clients are only homeless for a short period of time, if they become homeless at all. Once a housing navigator helps someone attain housing, they “follow” the individual or family for up to a year with stability services in order to ensure they have everything they need to maintain housing. People need income to sustain housing. Our navigators connect clients to resources in the community like that of Workforce Solutions that offer up pathways to job training and employment. The ongoing support that case management provides dramatically reduces the risk of returning to homelessness.

Tedford Housing has a limited supply of permanent supportive housing options in Brunswick, Bath, Augusta, Lewiston and Auburn that have provided long term, stable housing to many with histories of significant barriers to stable housing. Many of our tenants have remained housed for years and are now paying market rental rates. We have enough successes under our belt to know the strategies that work and that some strategies don’t work for all clients.

Tedford Housing prides itself on being up to date on the best practices when it comes to addressing the complex issues involved with homelessness. Our key strategy remains a housing first approach – focusing on permanent housing placement in as short a time as possible coupled with case management to access community resources that can ease the transition into a life not complicated by the ongoing emergency of homelessness.

Clarifying Tedford Housing’s proposed emergency housing program

January 22, 2019 By Jennifer 4 Comments

The following letter to the editor was written by Craig Phillips, executive director of Tedford Housing, and published in The Times Record on January 21, 2019.

I am writing in response to the Jan. 10 article in The Times Record, titled “Residents ‘overwhelmingly’ oppose new homeless shelter in their neighborhood.” After reading it, I would like to clarify Tedford Housing’s plan for a new facility and programming.

Tedford Housing’s current plan, subject to the final Brunswick zoning ordinance amendment process and other considerations, proposes to build one facility to serve both individuals and families. The facility would replace our current emergency housing facilities, which would be sold or converted into other residential uses and no longer be run by Tedford Housing. The plan is not, and never has been, to construct a third facility.

The plan proposes a new facility to serve a total of 28 adults and 12 families, modestly serving a portion of the 354 individuals and 228 families we were unable to serve this past fiscal year.

Though a number of statements have been made recognizing the need to address homelessness in the area during this zoning process, I do not agree with the statement that “…the town is going to have many places in which it is going to be possible for people to develop facilities to address this need.”

The end result of this process will be to provide Tedford Housing and other potential providers with conditionally permitted zoning districts in town on which to site a facility. Further, current zoning descriptions and density are anticipated to further limit potential zoning districts.

Finally, Tedford Housing receives a great deal of support from Brunswick and adjoining communities. Though the zoning amendment process is about the ordinance and not a specific provider, Tedford has always sought to be, and is, a good neighbor. The proposed design for case management services linked with emergency housing beds provides this area with a proven model assisting people move from homelessness to home.

This comprehensive approach will result in the reduced risk of homelessness in the Brunswick area community, a faster return to housing stability for youth, adults and families, healthier households and increased self-sufficiency.

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