Who We Help and How
Stories
“My name is Chris Hartley and I am writing to you in respect to homeless people like myself with negative aspects of living on the streets and also dealing with land-lords and addiction problems. I would like to address this note for my thanks to Donnie Bennett and Darcy Harvey and the clients at Direction 180. I would like to note to others how my life was hard with being on the streets and being on drugs. I want to thank everyone for their support and for being there for me and showing me the positive ways to stay clean.
I also want to thank Donnie for his help for getting me a place and being a friend and supporting me when I needed it the most. I feel there should be more people and more places like Halifax Housing Help that can help homeless people with housing and addiction places as well. I would like to thank everyone once again for their support and help they have given me.”
Enriched Housing Support - click
“They understand my needs, they know what you need. They look you in the eye and really listen”
“They got me out of slum areas and into improved housing conditions”
“My health is better because I have a permanent place to live”
“Being homeless is depressing, housing has helped”
“I had heart surgery. It’s hard on the streets to care for yourself. Housing has improved my health a lot because I can care for my condition now”
“With their help I am more at ease and able to relax. I am not in as much stress to trigger drinking”
“They did whatever they could to help. I stopped using crack when I found stable housing”
“When you go in they lead you down the right road when you’re lost”
How We Work
“I had tried for years to get help for [my son] but no one helped bring
all the pieces together until
I found HHH”
- Mother of Case Study Subject
Point of contact
*Mother approached HHH for support in getting housing for her son * 46yrs old * consistently lived at a men’s shelter for the past two years * over 20yr history of chronic alcoholism, including use of mouthwash * Frequently detained in police cells for public intoxication *Only medical assistance at hospital emergency services for many years * Organic brain damage due to head injury suffered during alcohol related incident has left him unable to live independently.
Key Housing Barrier
No appropriate supportive housing options that could accommodate him at his level of transiency and alcohol use.
Strategy
Emotional/Social Support:
With key support from HHH staff, mother was
able to support her son at her apartment, where he was able to break away from street culture
and reduce his alcohol consumption dramatically and eventually eliminate it all together.
Mother connected regularly with HHH staff for emotional and social support around
the complexity of their relationship.
Coordination:
HHH, as central coordinator, developed key relationships with agencies and
individuals central to clients’ support system:
• Health: Developed integral link with North End Community Health Centre nurse practitioner
to begin consistent primary healthcare and to make referrals to first Adult Protection and
then to Community Supports for Adults.
• Income Assistance: HHH communicated with Income Assistance Case Worker to attain
shelter allowance for mother while boarding her son in her home and reduce financial strain
on her fixed income.
• Community Support for Adults: Acted as on-going liaison with placement worker over
a 5 month period
Outcome:
Seven months after initial contact with HHH a Licensed Boarding Home placement was
secured for this client.
Success Factors:
• Having a central contact agency (HHH) to act as main contact amongst all players
to ensure follow-through and on-going communication
• Close working relationships with community partner agencies assisted with positive
collaboration and effective coordination of services
• Availability of on-going emotional and social support and counselling for client
and his mother made it possible for him to remove himself from entrenchment in street culture
and access to substances triggering his addiction.
• As Government placement workers are burdened with high caseloads and are therefore
less accessible, HHH staff contact and accessibility allowed for increased communication
for client and his mother and assurance that placement was moving forward.
HHH was able to act as missing link amongst all players and factors:
• Stabilizing health
• Accessing income source
• Referral and Placement Process
• Addiction Recovery
You guys really ‘get it’. You understand what it is like and are always there for me”
- Young Woman Participant
Point of contact
*A young woman approached Halifax Housing Help (HHH) for assistance to find housing who was 18yrs old (4months away from 19)* staying at a women’s shelter * had stayed between youth shelter and group homes in past* group living producing anxiety *Community Services youth policy would only support her in supported living program * enrolled in school and supported employment programs for youth*
Through assessment of her situation, it became clear that this young woman had clear educational and employment goals which she found difficult to focus on while living in group situations. She felt strongly that her mental health would be in jeopardy without access to a stable place to call her own.
Key Housing Barrier
Government policy inflexible to meet her individual housing needs.
Strategy
Coordination
HHH, as central coordinator, brought together agencies
and individuals central to clients’ support system (Income Assistance, Youth Employability
Program, Barry House, Phoenix Youth Programs)
Case Conference: Participant was supported by her network in a meeting with Income Assistance representatives where she was able to articulate her goals and situation, while her supports could detail their role in assisting her in moving forward.
Emotional/Social Support: The young women’s rapport with the HHH staff was strengthened throughout process creating an open line of communication for her to express housing and tenancy concerns and identify solutions before housing stability is jeopardized.
On-Going Housing Support: positive relationship and communication developed with landlord
to address and prevent eviction and promote housing stability.
Outcome:
• Successfully demonstrated that HHH, working for and with other community agencies
would provide supports and services responsive to this young women’s particular situation.
• Youth Policy waived, allowing this young woman to access shelter allowance from
Income Assistance to obtain her own apartment.
• Apartment secured with a good friend who is also working to meet her own life goals.
Success Factors:
• Having a central agency (HHH) to act as main contact amongst all players to ensure
follow-through and on-going communication
• Close working relationships with community partners improved the effectiveness
in coordinating services and strengthened collaborative partnerships.
• Availability of on-going support for participant brings increased learning and
understanding of tenancy responsibilities and navigation of service systems in order to promote
increased stability and independence.
• As Government policies must be designed to meet the needs of the majority, HHH
was able to assist participant in presenting a case for her personal needs and goals,
promoting recognition of importance for flexibility and self-determination given appropriate
support.
Findings
Tracking and articulating the complex relationships, connections, and work that is required to provide dignified and responsive enriched housing support service is a difficult process that MNPHA has been struggling to articulate since it began outreach work over 10 years ago.
The HHH project brought with it an opportunity to see the breadth of impact and service areas involved in this work, along with the chance to demonstrate these positive client outcomes to others.
As part of this process, follow-up interviews and reports were conducted with 50 HHH clients through late winter and early spring of 2009. The results of this process were complied into a 4 page document which highlights qualitative and quantitative data about HHH, its participants and its impacts. It is hoped that this will be valuable information towards increasing understanding of the importance of support services for the broader community.
To download this document, please follow this link:
we_help.pdf