 Beyond Shelter has participated in a number of
demonstration projects funded by government and private
organizations. These include:
The Beyond Shelter/UCLA South Central Community Needs
Assessment Project
As a result of a
grant
from the
UCLA Center for
Community Partnerships, Beyond Shelter Institute staff and
graduate students from the University of California, Los Angeles are conducting a comprehensive community
needs assessment of an area targeted by the
Broadway South Neighborhood Revitalization Project,
along South Broadway in South Los Angeles. The needs assessment will
be utilized to help expand the design of neighborhood services coordination at
Broadway Village I and provide a basis
for the implementation plan for neighborhood services coordination at
Broadway Village II
when construction is completed in 2005. This project will also
demonstrate a practical application in Los Angeles that will be replicable in
other neighborhoods in L.A. County and throughout the country.
The manual resulting from the project – Needs
Assessments and Implementation Plan for Neighborhood-Based Services
Coordination in South L.A. – will help to guide the development of
programs and services at the two Neighborhood Resource Centers and become a
model for other agencies in the county to replicate cost effectively
and without duplication of services. The manual will be disseminated locally
to community groups, government entities, elected officials and private
foundations to provide both a current view of needs and strengths of the
targeted community and also a cost-effective methodology to meet the needs and
build upon the strengths of a community in distress. It will also be
incorporated into Beyond Shelter’s national work and curriculum of the
agency’s Institute for Research, Training and Technical Assistance.
California Endowment
–
Neighborhood-Based
Services Coordination Demonstration Project
(2002-2004) The purpose of this project
was to pilot a model for improving the social and economic well-being of
residents of a neighborhood surrounding a new affordable housing and childcare
facility in South Los Angeles. The
model, neighborhood-based services coordination, represents a new Beyond
Shelter initiative and is a tool that connects residents of a neighborhood
with access to resources and services in the greater
community. It emphasizes the use of
existing resources, interagency collaboration, and partnerships between
residents, service-providers, and other stakeholders, thereby reducing
barriers to existing services and promoting the development of additional
services where gaps exist. A key
element is that residents of the neighborhood participate in the
planning processes and ongoing implementation of programs and activities. Neighborhood-based services coordination is a preventative approach
as opposed to a crisis-oriented approach to meeting human needs.
It is a component of the Broadway South Neighborhood
Revitalization Project.
The Federal Department of
Labor (DOL) –
Welfare-to-Work Demonstration Project
(One of five grants awarded
in the Los Angeles area; 1998-2001.) This $1.2 million, 30-month project
provided job placement and retention services to over 200 hard-to-employ,
primarily single
females, who had been long-term recipients of Temporary Aid to Needy Families
(TANF). The project
focused on stabilizing participants in permanent housing as
an essential supporting factor for their employment. Case management services
were provided for one
year subsequent to each participant's
employment
to ensure their long-term job retention.
All of the participants in the program faced major
barriers to employment, such as lack of education, poor work
histories or recovery from drug and/or alcohol addictions. Over
90 percent of
participants were minority, single female heads of household. The
program utilized Beyond Shelter's team approach methodology,
which involves a collaboration between a case manager and an
employment counselor to help clients find and retain jobs. Case managers addressed the needs of the family as a whole,
while employment counselors worked exclusively on employment-related
issues.
Beyond Shelter exceeded the project's goals of addressing the
employment barriers of 200 TANF-dependent families and placing 100
participants in unsubsidized employment for at least six months.
At the project's end the agency had served 265
participants, with 206 successfully completing the program. Of
those, 102 were placed in unsubsidized employment and 86 in
subsidized employment.
The research center at the
University of Southern California, School of Social Work was the evaluator of
the project. For more information, read about Beyond Shelter's Welfare-To-Work Demonstration Project Program.
The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
–
Moving to Opportunity Demonstration Project
(1995-96) This five-city (Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore and Los
Angeles ) demonstration project was conducted in collaboration with the
Housing Authority of Los Angeles and was designed to help
families move from public housing projects to low-poverty census
track
neighborhoods. It involved the provision of one
year of
case
management to help families transition to social and economic
self-sufficiency.
The Federal Department of Health and Human Services
–
Family Support Center
Demonstration Project
(One of 24 grants awarded nationwide;
1992-95.) This project relocated 320 homeless families to permanent housing. It involved the provision of intensive case management and supportive services for up to one year, including child development classes,
money management
classes and job development assistance. The project also assisted families with Section 8 certification.
The Federal Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) – Los Angeles Early
Intervention Demonstration Project for Recently Homeless and
At-Risk Families (One
of five grants awarded nationwide; 1990-93.)
The project was
implemented collaboratively with
Para Los
Ninos in L.A.'s Skid
Row. Phase I involved the provision of emergency and crisis services and Phase II involved the provision of permanent housing relocation assistance and case management services to 75-100 families per year. Through this project, Beyond Shelter launched the
Los Angeles Coordinating Council for Homeless Families.
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