TAMPA HILLSBOROUGH HOMELESS INITIATIVE

Homelessness is unacceptable in Hillsborough County.

Since the annual Homeless Point-In-Time Count in 2014, homelessness has decreased in our community:
-Overall homelessness decreased by 20%
-Veteran homelessness decreased by 27%
-Chronic homelessness decreased by 35%
-Street homelessness decreased by 48%.

Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative (THHI), a non-profit organization, is designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State of Florida as the lead entity for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Continuum of Care (CoC) . The role of THHI in the community is to bring together partners to develop and implement systems related to the issue of homelessness for our community.

THE HISTORY:
On a national, state, and local level, homelessness is a societal issues that has challenged many communities due to the complexity of the issues and the collaboration of resources required to create a system of service to ensure that homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.

The history of addressing homelessness in the Tampa/Hillsborough County area stretches back at least two decades, but planning efforts have accelerated rapidly in the past five years. The Tampa-Hillsborough Continuum of Care (CoC) was formed in 1986 and soon began assessing the extent of homelessness and developing a systematic approach. In 2003, the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County adopted a Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, which achieved a remarkable degree of success while not meeting the goal of eradicating chronic homelessness. In 2011-2012, after a few missteps with previous homeless point-in-time (PIT) counts and the Pulitzer award winning reporting on inadequate housing for those experiencing homelessness, planning efforts took on a sense of heightened urgency.

Since the restructuring of THHI and the CoC, this community has made significant headway in the fight against homelessness. In 2015, THHI embarked on an ambitious two-year strategic planning process focused developing systems and resources for homeless residents of Tampa/Hillsborough County. Research at the national and international levels has provided strong evidence of what works. The Tampa/Hillsborough County Continuum of Care has enthusiastically adopted a series of evidence-based practices collectively known as Housing First and Rapid Re-Housing.

Housing First is a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing people experiencing homelessness with permanent housing as quickly as possible â and then providing voluntary supportive services as needed. This approach prioritizes client choice in both housing selection and in service participation.

Housing First programs share critical elements:
⢠A focus on helping individuals and families access and sustain permanent rental housing as quickly as possible;
⢠A variety of services delivered to promote housing stability and individual well-being on an as-needed and entirely voluntary basis; and
⢠A standard lease agreement to housing â as opposed to mandated therapy or services compliance.

Rapid re-housing is an intervention, informed by a Housing First approach that is a critical part of a communityâs effective homeless crisis response system. Rapid re-housing rapidly connects families and individuals experiencing homelessness to permanent housing through a tailored package of assistance that may include the use of time-limited financial assistance and targeted supportive services. Rapid rehousing programs help families and individuals living on the streets or in emergency shelters solve the practical and immediate challenges to obtaining permanent housing while reducing the amount of time they experience homelessness, avoiding a near-term return to homelessness, and linking to community resources that enable them to achieve housing stability in the long-term. A fundamental goal of rapid rehousing is to reduce the amount of time a person is homeless.

After two years of planning and well-attended community meetings to garner additional input, the Tampa/Hillsborough County community developed the Five (5) Year Strategic Plan on Homelessness.

The Tampa/Hillsborough County Five (5) Year Strategic Plan on Homelessness is consistent with the federal, as well as, the State of Floridaâs goals of making homelessness rare, brief and non-reoccurring for:
⢠Veterans
⢠Chronically homeless
⢠Youth
⢠Families

The Five (5) Year Strategic Plan on Homelessness includes two additional goals specific for Tampa/Hillsborough County:
⢠Reduce the number of unsheltered persons sleeping on the streets
⢠Increase the number of permanent housing units for those emerging from homelessness

With the Five (5) Year Strategic Plan on Homelessness, the Tampa/Hillsborough County community commits itself to effectively ending homelessness. Effectively ending homelessness is defined as a communityâs systematic response that ensures homelessness is prevented whenever possible or is otherwise a rare, brief, and non-recurring experience. Effectively ending homelessness does not mean that no one will ever experience a housing crisis again. Changing economic realities, the unpredictability of life, and unsafe or unwelcoming family environments may create situations where individuals, families, or youth could experience, re-experience, or be at risk of homelessness.