Shawnee Bridges Out of Poverty

PROJECT PURPOSE

In May 2021, the City of Shawnee identified 23 parents categorized as homeless, living without shelter. Additionally, Shawnee Public Schools identified 284 children experiencing housing instability including living without shelter, in transitional housing, in shared housing, or in an emergency shelter. Combating homelessness requires a broad range of strategies and an integrated approach among organizations to help individuals transition to long-term stability. While Shawnee has a multitude of social services providers and non-profit organizations geared towards assisting individuals with crisis needs (i.e., food insecurity or parenting support), no comprehensive service provider exists. More specifically, no emergency or long-term shelter services exist, particularly for families. The Salvation Army provides limited overnight shelter and COCAA is able to provide some emergency shelter and rapid rehousing support; however, these services do not help families develop comprehensive or long-term solutions. In order to fill this gap in services and provide families with the opportunity to maintain stability, Shawnee Bridges Out of Poverty is expanding to launch the Bridges Beyond Housing Initiative. Bridges Beyond Housing will utilize a wraparound approach to provide families with all the support they need to develop and then maintain stability by providing temporary housing and facilitating our research-based education program. Additionally, clients will undergo intensive one-on-one case management and peer mentoring. Finally, Bridges Beyond Housing will implement a task force of community stakeholders to coordinate services, consider community needs, and streamline efforts to combat homelessness. Bridges Beyond Housing will utilize proactive case management, resource building, and education to identify people in Pottawatomie County with housing insecurities, with a particular focus on at-risk families with children, and will assist these individuals to obtain their full potential and lead productive, self-sufficient, and healthy lives.

EVIDENCE

Needs Statement In May 2021, the City of Shawnee identified 23 parents categorized as homeless, living without shelter. Additionally, Shawnee Public Schools identified 284 children experiencing housing instability including living without shelter, in transitional housing, in shared housing, or in an emergency shelter. Combating homelessness requires a broad range of strategies and an integrated approach among organizations to help individuals transition to long-term stability. While Shawnee has a multitude of social services providers and non-profit organizations geared towards assisting individuals with crisis needs (i.e., food insecurity or parenting support), no comprehensive service provider exists. More specifically, no emergency or long-term shelter services exist, particularly for families. The Salvation Army provides limited overnight shelter and COCAA is able to provide some emergency shelter and rapid rehousing support; however, these services do not help families develop comprehensive or long-term solutions. In order to fill this gap in services and provide families with the opportunity to maintain stability, Shawnee Bridges Out of Poverty is expanding to launch the Bridges Beyond Housing Initiative. Bridges Beyond Housing will utilize a wraparound approach to provide families with all the support they need to develop and then maintain stability by providing temporary housing and facilitating our research-based education program. Additionally, clients will undergo intensive one-on-one case management and peer mentoring. Finally, Bridges Beyond Housing will implement a task force of community stakeholders to coordinate services, consider community needs, and streamline efforts to combat homelessness. Bridges Beyond Housing will utilize proactive case management, resource building, and education to identify people in Pottawatomie County with housing insecurities, with a particular focus on at-risk families with children, and will assist these individuals to obtain their full potential and lead productive, self-sufficient, and healthy lives. Bridges Beyond Housing addresses families experiencing housing instability, which includes families living in temporary housing such as staying with family or friends or in a vehicle. Families will be referred by partner agencies offering housing assistance. Partnering agencies will require families to enroll in our program to access availability of funds. The initial pilot phase of this program will accept up to seven families. Pending the success of the program, more families will be added. Families will complete an application for service, interview with staff, background check, and a complete pre-assessment. Upon entry into the program, in addition to housing support, families will be enrolled in our educational services, further outlined in this strategic plan. In the pilot phase of the program, referred families will receive housing support from partner agencies, such as COCAA, while going through our educational program. During this initial phase, we will finetune service delivery, while simultaneously building our tiny homes which will be utilized for long-term programming.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Prior to the pandemic, our community struggled to provide prevention, intervention, and long term solutions to families experiencing housing insecurities. We identified 283 children experiencing homelessness. This includes couch surfing, living in vehicle, or at homeless camps. Post pandemic, parents lost jobs due to no daycare, no school, and closure of businesses. This caused a snowball effect of crippling conditions from losing their home, car, clothing, and food. Studies show the crucial need to provide rapid re-housing prior to the 24 month mark of homelessness. We want to provide this opportunity to families in need.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Performance Measures & Evaluation Recognizing that data is a crucial piece in ensuring the sustainability of programming, evaluation is built-in to the Bridges Beyond Housing plan. Quantitative measures included in the evaluation plan include: 1. Number of clients served 2. Number of Peer Support Mentors 3. Length of time spent in transitional housing 4. Amount of time volunteers maintain engagement with the program 5. Number of transportation trips taken via microtransit program Additionally, individuals who enroll in the Bridges Beyond Housing program will be evaluated individually. Measures include: 1. Establishment of a bank account 2. Decrease in debt 3. Increase in Getting Ahead resources 4. Establishment of secure employment 5. Establishment of stable housing Long-term outcomes of the Bridges Beyond Housing program will be: 1. Decrease in overall poverty rates 2. Long-term engagement with the program 3. Decrease in number of individuals experiencing homelessness 4. Increase in community engagement via graduates participating in or facilitating Give Back events

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma