Abstract

People experiencing homelessness often need assistance from several community agencies to become self-sufficient. Soup kitchens may provide food, while faith-based shelters provide emergency shelter, and city and county agencies provide welfare assistance. When these organizations work together, they are better able to meet the complex needs of homeless individuals and ensure that gaps in services are not overlooked. This effective practice by the Texas Homeless Network identifies the advantages of forming homeless coalitions. It was shared at the AmeriCorps*VISTA Faith-Based and Community Organization Conference at the University of Indianapolis, August 20-22, 2001.

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Issue

Homelessness is a complex issue that can overwhelm independent agencies that address specific concerns. The confusion of navigating multiple agencies for their various needs can be an obstacle for homeless people trying to achieve self-sufficiency.

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Action

In response to the growing complexity of the problems associated with homelessness, the great need and shrinking resources, homeless service providers have formed community-wide coalitions. A coalition for the homeless is an organization of people from the community who are committed to ending homelessness and providing more efficient services to a displaced and transient population. Services are provided by faith-based organizations, as well as secular and governmental agencies. Historically, assistance offered by providers has often been fragmented, competitive, and disjointed. Coalitions, however, bring together all these agencies and advocates to work together. The best and strongest coalitions understand that individual agencies and participants need to collaborate to achieve maximum effectiveness.

Coalitions take a variety of forms. Some are organized into a formal independent organization, with paid or unpaid staff, officers or core group planners, by-laws, tax exempt status, budgets, and membership fees. Others are informal gatherings of service providers working under the legal and financial umbrella of another organization. Coalitions can organize themselves into efficient organizations that meet the needs of the local service providers. Each coalition reflects the needs of the local community.

Homeless coalitions necessitate that agencies speak as one voice, and should be inclusive of the entire community. It is especially important that every part of the community that has direct contact with homeless people is an active participant in the coalition. Through mutual support and recognition of each member as part of a larger whole, a community attitude is created. This "organism" is then better able to meet the needs of homeless people and foster the systematic change necessary to break the cycle of homelessness.

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Context

In order to solve the long-term problems of homelessness, communities need a comprehensive system-wide approach that meets the many complex needs of homeless people. A system that ensures a continuum of care for homeless people and strives towards prevention of future homelessness can only exist with the collaboration of many community-based agencies, as well as public and private organizations. The implementation of such an approach often requires systemic change in a community's recognition that homelessness is not the problem of "some other agency" but the concern of the entire community.

More than 24 urban and rural areas of Texas have formed homeless coalitions, many through the efforts of the Texas Homeless Network. Members of the coalition work together to look at the larger picture and identify gaps in the services, unmet needs, and what future services might be required.

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Outcome

A strong, active, and open coalition for the homeless gives a community many advantages. First, the coalition can be the voice of moral authority for the homeless in public policy. For example, a local coalition that is respected in the community can comment on any proposed law or appropriation that affects the homeless. This kind of unity allows the group to speak as one voice for those who all too often have no voice at all. A community without a strong coalition finds that there are multiple voices or no voices at all. Sometimes different agencies speaking on both sides of issues makes it harder to focus on what a community really needs to help homeless people move to self-sufficiency. A coalition improves everyone's credibility.

There is also safety in numbers. No one agency feels alone in speaking about needed services or public policy that affects the homeless. The coalition brings together people who can support each other in controversy.

Coalitions can also play an important role in community planning. More and more, state and federal agencies require community planning to identify and address the needs of the community. Where are the gaps in the services? What kinds of services are not being presently provided? What resources can be used to fund services that will fill the gap? A coalition can help a community avoid duplication and unnecessary services. Careful planning and evaluating can be an outcome of a strong coalition.

Even informal coalitions allow for networking and information sharing. A coalition supports each member's fundraisers and work projects, allowing for announcements and information sharing. This can help service providers find resources that they did not know about before becoming involved in a coalition.

Joint programming can also be achieved with a unified coalition. Projects, such as homeless job fairs or joint fundraising, are possible with greater efficiency. Coordination of services and programs can result from the relationships that are formed in the coalition. System and service-level collaboration can be an outcome of having a strong coalition.

Some examples of coalitions in action include the El Paso Coalition for the Homeless who reported that after involving the local police in coalition work, the police actually discovered that the service providers of El Paso could be a resource for solving some of the city's problems. The police now regularly bring people to the El Paso Coalition's Opportunity Center for services.

The Tarrant County Homeless Coalition has pioneered methods of research in order to develop reliable statistics on the homeless in their own community.

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Evidence

Communities that have strong homeless coalitions find that they are able to identify gaps in services, avoid duplication, build strong linkages and collaborative efforts, and provide effective services. In Texas there has been a substantial increase in Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance grant money in the communities that have strong local coalitions. In addition, outcomes within those communities have been documented as having a greater level of success. Although the problems of homelessness are not necessarily solved, substantial progress is being made to develop the necessary resources to move people from the streets to self-sufficiency. 

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Resources

The Continuum of Care is a community plan to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency. It includes action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.

See the Texas Homeless Network website for more information on Continuum of Care.

Related Practices

• Starting a homeless garden project
• Providing outcome indicators for reporting on health, nutrition, and human services programs

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