Interview with Barbara Poppe

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness coordinates the federal government’s response to homelessness. We also work to create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to reduce and end homelessness. 

 

I have worked in the homelessness sector for more than 25 years; starting off as a volunteer on the frontline. Whilst volunteering I was involved in setting up a shelter for women and children in Cincinnati and played an active part in establishing both a local and state coalition to address homelessness.  I moved on to be the executive director of Friends of the Homeless in Columbus, Ohio, which provided emergency shelter, housing placement, transitional housing, substance misuse treatment, and vocational training programs.

Immediately prior to my appointment at USICH, I served as the Executive Director of the Community Shelter Board which is nationally recognised for its creative collaborations and quality programs to end homelessness in the Columbus metropolitan area.

 

Even in these difficult economic times, America is still the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world. It’s simply unacceptable to me that this relatively new American phenomenon of homelessness continues to exist. Through the years, I have met thousands of people who have directly experienced homelessness.  For many, it’s a simple economic situation – they don’t earn enough to pay the rent. For others a combination of factors has led them to the streets - racism, sexism, classism, addiction and prejudices related to a physical and / or mental illness they have. For some they have the further burden of a past criminal record.  

 

We have been primarily focused on leading the development and implementation of the first ever comprehensive Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness that was mandated by Congress. The Council is centering its plan on the belief: “no one should experience homelessness – no one should be without a safe, stable place to call home.” The Council has charged the planning process to align federal resources effectively and appropriately toward four key goals: 
 

A few key milestones come to mind for me.  First is the adoption of Housing First practices which recognise that greater rates of success occur when families and individuals are placed in permanent housing and concurrently receive access to services that are appropriate to their needs and desires.  Housing First models include permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing.  Both are also more cost-effective than long stays in emergency shelters and transitional programs. 

 

Second is the movement to adopt community plans to end homelessness.  Before these plans were being developed, local communities were focused on managing the problem of homelessness  The result was growing costs to emergency and transitional services without reductions in the number of homeless people. The best plans included performance measurement tied to increased and re-directed resources to best practices including Housing First.

Finally, the new direction by the Obama administration is helping to break down silos among federal agencies. 

 

The global recession has had an impact; local providers have seen government funding from states and local communities being cut as well as reduced private giving.  At the same time, there were dire predictions about an expected growth in the number of people who experience homelessness due to job loss and foreclosures.  

 

President Obama and Congress worked together in early 2009 to pass the Recovery Act which included a new $1.5 billion homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing program. These funds were quickly distributed to states and local governments who in turn made grants to local agencies to help address needs of families and individuals who are at risk of and experiencing homelessness.  These funds have enabled many communities to implement Housing First best practices and adopt a prevention framework.  

Solving homelessness will require that people at risk of homelessness, as well as those who are experiencing homelessness, can access mainstream support that sufficiently meets their needs. To date, the “federal plan” to address homelessness is, by default, defined by the targeted homelessness programs. The new Federal Strategic Plan will have the prevention of homelessness at its centre.… After all, we won’t solve homelessness if services only become available once someone has actually become “homeless”.  

 

After we release the Federal Strategic Plan, the real challenge will be the implementation of it. While by name it is a ‘federal’ plan, the federal role is meant to be collaborative. We’ll work with Congress, the 19 federal member agencies of the Council, mayors, governors, legislatures, nonprofits, businesses and faith-based and community organisations across the United States to make progress on ensuring that every American has an affordable, stable place to call home.  We’re also excited about spreading the best practices we’ve seen come out of your communities.