Citizen participation: New approaches to social programs
NRV PSH Presentation 2017
1. Does the New River Valley Need
Permanent Supportive Housing &
is this a Program that New River
Community Action Should Pursue?
NEW RIVER COMMUNITY ACTION (NRCA)
CLIENT DATA: JANUARY 2015 – DECEMBER 2016
KYLE MIDLAND – AMERICORPS VISTA
2. Introduction
This presentation has a dual-purpose in mind:
1) We must educate our strategic partners in the New River Valley, located in Southwestern
Virginia, about available housing and homelessness programs.
2) The homeless population in the New River Valley could potentially benefit from access to
Permanent Supportive Housing. We must therefore justify the need for additional federal
funding in order to lease physical housing units from local landlords and better serve our
customers in the long run.
3. Current Services Offered at NRCA
New River Community Action currently offers clients the following hierarchy of housing
assistance levels. Starting from the lowest level:
1) Emergency Assistance
a. Short term rental or mortgage assistance
b. Utilities assistance
2) Housing and Homelessness Programs
a. Housing Counseling – confidential conversations between the client and counselor.
b. Renter’s Education – offered to renters and landlords.
c. Rapid Re-Housing – long term financial housing assistance with a soft time limit of 24 months.
d. Prevention – generally an option after graduating from Rapid Re-Housing to keep clients housed
and avoid repeated homelessness.
3) To Our House – men’s winter shelter for homeless single men offered during the winter.
Permanent Supportive Housing, a fourth level of housing assistance, is not available in the
New River Valley.
4. What is Permanent Supportive Housing?
Similar to Rapid Re-Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing is another type of long term
financial housing assistance. The difference is there is no time limit and optional
wraparound services are offered to encourage successful outcomes.
Permanent Supportive Housing is the highest level of housing assistance and is only
intended for those experiencing chronic homelessness.
5. What is Chronic Homelessness?
Chronic homelessness is defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) as:
An individual or family is literally homeless and has third-party, intake worker, or household
documentation of the following:
I. Has been homeless for at least one year continuously or on at least four separate occasions in the
last three years, where the cumulative total of the four occasions is at least one year (Stays in
institutions of 90 days or less will not constitute a break in homelessness, but such stays are included
in the cumulative total) in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or an emergency
shelter; and
II. Has an adult head of household (or a minor head of household if no adult is present in the
household) with a diagnosable substance use disorder, serious mental illness, developmental
disability post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive impairments resulting from a brain injury, or
chronic physical illness or disability, including the co-occurrence of 2 or more of those conditions.
To summarize, the chronically homeless have been in need of assistance for an extended
period of time AND are diagnosed with a disability that is impeding their daily lives.
6. Who Qualifies for
Permanent Supportive Housing?
Starting in fiscal year 2014 – 2015, New River Community Action implemented an evidence
based survey called the VI-SPDAT to more accurately prioritize homeless clients.
Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT)
All other housing providers in the New River Valley followed suit in the following fiscal year.
The VI-SPDAT is only administered to those who are currently homeless – i.e., people who
are not living in a habitable location.
A score is determined for each client based on responses given to questions regarding current living
conditions and medical issues.
The clients with the highest scores may qualify for Permanent Supportive Housing.
7. What Type of Questions are on the VI-SPDAT?
There is a slight difference in how the VI-SPDAT is administered between individual and
family clients.
Both individual and family clients are asked questions from the following main sections:
History of Housing and Homelessness
Risks
Socialization and Daily Functions
Wellness
Only family clients are asked questions from the following additional sections:
General Information (Family Composition)
Family Unit
8. Explanation of the VI-SPDAT Score
The VI-SPDAT score sorts clients into a likely categorical need of assistance:
1) Limited Local Funds [lowest] – individuals (0-4 points) or families (0-5 points) who do not require
intensive support but may still benefit from access to affordable housing, short term assistance
such as emergency assistance, or housing counseling.
2) Rapid Re-Housing [medium] – individuals (5-9 points) or families (6-11 points) with moderate
health, mental health, and/or behavioral health issues, but who are likely to be able to achieve
housing stability over a short time period through a medium or short-term rental subsidy and
access to support services.
3) Permanent Supportive Housing [highest] – similar to Rapid Re-Housing, but includes optional
wraparound services to keep the client stably housed. Individuals require at least 10 points and
families require at least 12 points.
As discovered in the following bar charts, a majority of New River Community Action clients
qualified for Permanent Supportive Housing during the previous fiscal year and 24 months.
Important caveat to note: the VI-SPDAT does not provide a definitive analysis on chronic
homelessness as it does not clearly define length of homelessness or disability diagnosis.
11. Are too many clients qualifying for
Permanent Supportive Housing?
Surprisingly, there is a greater than expected need for Permanent Supportive Housing in
the New River Valley.
The condition known as Tri-Morbidity, which is found in the Wellness section on the VI-
SPDAT, might be a contributing factor.
Tri-Morbidity is when medical, mental, and substance abuse issues are experienced simultaneously.
Tri-Morbidity accounts for a minimum of 3 points on the VI-SPDAT.
These points boost the probability that a client might also qualify for Permanent Supportive Housing.
The following bar charts shows exactly that: a majority of New River Community Action
clients who qualified by score on the VI-SPDAT for Permanent Supportive Housing also
qualified for Tri-Morbidity during the previous fiscal year and 24 months.
14. Any Other Factors Impacting PSH?
There are a few questions on the VI-SPDAT that have an overwhelming number of New
River Community Action clients who responded in the positive range and received points.
For NRCA individual clients during the previous fiscal year and 24 months:
Over 70% practice risky behavior and/or sleep at a location other than a shelter.
Over 90% are struggling financially.
Over 80% are unhappy day-to-day.
Over 70% prefer to be left alone and/or are taken advantage of.
Almost 70% appear disheveled – according to an observing housing counselor.
Over 80% are affected by a mental disadvantage.
Over 70% have experienced some form of past trauma.
15. Other Factors Impacting PSH (cont’d)
For NRCA family clients during the previous fiscal year and 24 months:
Over 70% have young children or are pregnant.
Over 70% practice risky behavior and/or sleep at a location other than a shelter.
Over 90% are struggling financially.
Over 80% are unhappy day-to-day.
Over 70% prefer to be left alone and/or are taken advantage of.
Over 80% are affected by a mental disadvantage.
Over 70% experienced some form of past trauma.
Answering each question in this manner grants a single point on the VI-SPDAT and alone
would not significantly skew the scoring results.
However, the responses collectively, in addition to Tri-Morbidity, creates a bonus pool of
points such that a client can more easily qualify for Permanent Supportive Housing.
16. Locality Observation
New River Community Action serves the following 5 localities in the New River Valley:
Montgomery County
Pulaski County
City of Radford
Giles County
Floyd County
As depicted in the following bar chart and maps, the same NRCA client data confirms that
Montgomery county had the greatest need for housing assistance during the previous fiscal
year and 24 months.
On the New River Valley maps, 1 white dot represents approximately 5 clients and the dots are
randomly scattered throughout the localities as a visual representation.
17. 5 4 2 2
8 6 9 4
39
20 19
10
54
28 33
18
62
39 40
22
168
97
103
56
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Individual (Jan 2015 - Dec
2016)
Individual (FY 2015 -
2016)
Family (Jan 2015 - Dec
2016)
Family (FY 2015 - 2016)
NRCA Clients
New River Valley Locality Breakout
Floyd Giles Radford City Pulaski Montgomery TOTAL CLIENTS
20. …What are the Next Steps Moving Forward?
While not as effective as intended, the VI-SPDAT has opened our eyes to the need for
wraparound services and the cooperation of other partners to serve this population.
Every additional quarter analyzed has produced the same results for individuals and families.
Moving forward, NRCA senior management has determined that we should proceed with
the competitive funding application for Permanent Supportive Housing in FY 2017/2018
pending board approval.
At the very least, there is a need for additional federal funding in order to provide Permanent
Supportive Housing in the New River Valley.
It is clear that Montgomery county would be the ideal location to partner with local landlords.
It is also clear that we need to identify community partners with the expertise to provide necessary
wraparound services.
We will compile the final two data sets identifying chronic homelessness, length of time homeless and
disability diagnosis, to best quantify the number of Permanent Supportive Housing units needed.
