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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRuckleshaus Center Dissemination_Jefferson-Port Townsend HFBPathways to Housing Security August 28, 2024 Jefferson County / City of Port Townsend Housing Fund Board Introductions The Center Independent Convenor Serve Washington State and the Pacific Northwest Support Governmental, Private, and Other Entities Develop Shared Approaches to Complex Policy Challenges Hosted By: Introductions The Report Project Homepage: https://ruckelshauscenter.wsu.edu/projects/current- projects/pathways-to-housing-security/ Final Report: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2180/2023/11/Recomm endations-Pathways-to-Housing-Security-2023.pdf Legislative Task – Facilitated Discussions Identify principles, options and recommendations for a long- term statewide strategy to improve services and outcomes for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness and develop pathways to permanent housing solutions. Report Scope and Use Long-Term Strategy Use: Guidance for tailored actions within a comprehensive and adaptable strategy Scope: Statewide, Long-term, Whole of Housing Security Guiding Principles Foundational Themes Conceptual Shifts Recommendations A Long-term Strategy Core Elements Foundational Theme 48Pathways to Housing Security  DECEMBER 1, 2023 Section 4: Elements of a Long-Term Strategy Conceptual Shifts for a Long-Term StrategyWhile both of these research purposes were emphasized in participant discussions, intervening to reduce the overall rate of homelessness in Washington State was described by most participants as critical for long term progress at the current scale. At the same time, many participants cautioned that the available options to affect the supply, affordability, and accessibility of housing can be challenging to adopt and implement. Housing options often vary according to local context, will take time to have the desired effect, and, unless designed with attention to equity, may have the longest lag for those who are most affected and most vulnerable. Hence, the perspectives of participants, taken together, made clear that a comprehensive and useful strategy needs to consider how to both reduce the overall rate of homelessness and improve outcomes and the experiences of programs and services for people who continue to experience homelessness. Exhibit 2. Structural Factors and Individual Vulnerabilities SYSTEMIC/STRUCTURAL FACTORS AND ACTIONS THAT ADDRESS THEM SUPPLY AND COST OF HOUSING Access to and Stability In Housing SYSTEMS OF CARE AND SUPPORT Co-Occurring Conditions ECONOMIC CONDITIONS; INCOME AND WEALTH INEQUALITY Employment and Earning Potential SYSTEMIC DISADVANTAGE AND MARGINALIZATION Disparities Factors that Amplify Vulnerability and Actions that Mitigate Them During discussions about the second purpose, i.e., informing housing assistance programs and services, participants highlighted an important interplay between who is at greater risk of experiencing homelessness and the factors that contribute to whether that risk is made real. For a strategy to be cognizant of this interplay, the research on the individual and familial circumstances that amplify vulnerability and the research on the structural mechanisms that produce homelessness are most useful when understood in combination. This integration is useful because one helps identify who needs or might need assistance and the other yields options for how to intervene. For example, understanding racial disparities, is useful when integrated with an understanding of the structural racism that, if addressed, could reduce those disparities. Assessing how employment affects an individual’s ability to afford a home is useful when integrated with an understanding of income inequality and trends in the labor market. Understandings about the subset of individuals experiencing homelessness who are living with co-occurring mental illness, substance use disorder, or other chronic illnesses is most useful when integrated with an understanding of structural factors that can be addressed to improve the availability and accessibility of health and behavioral health services. Understanding Homelessness and Housing Instability Holistic Approach to Addressing Housing Security Shared Aspirational Future Relationships of Support, Alignment, and Coordination Core Elements Conceptual Shifts Core Elements •Guide ongoing decision making •Serve across sectors, roles, localities •Contribute to a comprehensive response •Navigate aspects that seem contradictory or adversarial •Balance flexibility with consistency •Enable periodic assessment Guiding Principles Alignment to Guiding Principles Guiding Principle A: Foster productive narratives around housing security and homelessness. NOT RECOGNIZED AS IMPORTANT IMPORTANT BUT DONE BY OTHERS REFLECTED IN MOST OF WHAT WE DO CENTRAL TO EVERYTHING WE DO REFLECTED IN SOME OF WHAT WE DO Ø What could change in how you carry out your core functions? Ø What could change in your internal policies, practices, and structures? Ø What could change in how you communicate? Ø What could change in how you track and assess what you do? Ø What else could you change? Opportunities to Align More Deeply with this Principle Set the Strategy Up for Success Areas of Recommendation Opportunities for State Partnership with Tribal Governments Respond Holistically to People’s Needs Respond to the Continuum of Housing Needs Bolster Systems and Workforce Capacity and Stability Foster Accountability, Manage Performance, and Adapt Over Time Core Elements Guiding Principle F: Employ a sense of urgency about both meeting immediate needs and initiating steps for long-term progress. Ø Explicit mutual assessments between related sectors (also rec 17) Ø Acknowledge shared interests in housing stability Ø Smaller scale investments to stabilize people in housing and maintain existing housing stock Ø Track housing stability over time (also recs 3, 18) Potential Actions 4: Housing Options Expand the supply, variety, location, and quality of supported options and pathways. 5: Affordable Housing Align homelessness services and housing assistance with increasing the supply of affordable housing for rental and ownership. 12: Precarious Housing Stabilize individuals or households in circumstances of precarious housing. Recommendations I: Address the inability of the housing market to meet housing needs. H:Create conditions that reduce competition and facilitate cooperation. B:Mobilize a multi-sector response. A: Foster productive narratives. Related Guiding Principles What could you do to actively reduce competition? What kind of cooperation is most useful? What would incentivize useful cooperation? How could you track competition and cooperation? Questions to Consider Guiding Principle H: Create conditions that reduce competition and facilitate cooperation. Ø Implementation Ø Policy Development Ø Funding Criteria Ø Accountability Frameworks Opportunities to Reduce Competition 10. Holistic Eligibility 13. Diversified Implementation 8. Cooperation Across Jurisdictions 17. Aligned Policymaking Recommendations B:Mobilize a multi-sector response. C: Respond to the holistic and interdependent nature of housing security. A: Foster productive narratives. K:Prepare to adapt to changing circumstances. Related Guiding Principles Contact Us Housing Project Email: housing.ruckelshaus@wsu.edu Visit Our Website Ruckelshauscenter.wsu.edu