Beyond Shelter: The Institute, Overview

THE INSTITUTE

Overview

Beyond Shelter's Institute for Research, Training and Technical Assistance conducts a variety of technical assistance activities nationwide. These include regional and national technical assistance workshops, direct consulting and presentations at state, regional and national conferences.

National Technical Assistance Workshops

Beyond Shelter's workshops focus on two basic initiatives:

"Housing First": Ending & Preventing Family Homelessness,
Models & Methodologies
This workshop covers "housing first," an innovative approach to ending and preventing family homelessness. The two-day workshop provides a forum for dialogue and interaction, to share ideas, problem solve, and learn new ways to implement and adapt "housing first" methodologies — from single agency program operations to countywide, collaborative systems. Geared toward agency directors, social services administrators, project managers and front-line staff working with homeless and at-risk families, the workshop provides hands-on instruction on how to adapt this basic methodology in their own communities. One Day Workshops Also Offered
Service-Enriched Affordable Housing:
Models & Methodologies
Beyond Shelter's Service-Enriched Housing workshops promote the incorporation of social services mechanisms into the ongoing operation of affordable rental housing for the low-income population at-large, not necessarily targeted to those who are at-risk or with special needs. The workshops are geared to housing developers and owners, property managers, public officials, funders, community development banks and community-based service providers who currently operate or would like to develop service-enriched housing.

Consulting Services

For over 15 years, Beyond Shelter's Institute for Research, Training, and Technical Assistance has helped to promote "housing first" programs nationwide, through training, consulting, workshops and publications. For agencies seeking to adapt the "housing first" methodology, the Institute offers an array of consulting services that can be tailored to an organization's needs. Institute staff conduct needs assessments, design service delivery mechanisms and assist in the adaptation of service methodologies.

Consulting services are also available to developers, property managers, owners and others interested in establishing a service-enriched housing development. Institute staff will help interested parties work through issues of service delivery, partnerships and collaborations, resident participation, program development, and site design and funding, according to the goals of their project.

Conference Presentations

Beyond Shelter's key initiatives are regularly presented at state and national conferences and workshops. Some recent conferences in which Institute staff have participated include: the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ Annual Conference on Ending Family Homelessness, Oakland, CA (February 2007); Toward Understanding Homelessness: The 2007 National Symposium on Homelessness Research, Washington, DC (March 2007); Washington State Coalition to End Homelessness’ 17^th Annual Conference, Yakima, WA (May 2007); Colorado Coalition for the Homeless’ 20^th Annual Conference on Homelessness, Denver, CO (May 2007); National Alliance to End Homelessness’ Annual Conference, Washington, DC (July 2007); Homeward’s Conference, “Regional Best Practices to Prevent and End Homelessness”, Richmond, VA (September 2007); National Alliance to End Homelessness’ National Conference on Ending Family Homelessness, Seattle, WA (February 2008); National Network of Social Work Managers’ Annual Institute, Los Angeles, CA (April 2008); and the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ Annual Conference, Washington, DC (July 2008).

Publications

Beyond Shelter's publications provide in-depth information on our key initiatives. Presented in curriculum and manual formats, these publications represent a useful resource for housing developers, social services providers and public and private organizations addressing poverty, homelessness and welfare dependency.

The "Housing First" Program for Homeless Families:
Methodology Manual
(First edition 1992; revised 1999) Funded by the Seaver Institute and the Soref Foundation; 205 pages/$32.00.

Service-Enriched Housing: Models and Methodologies
(1998) Funded by the Ahmanson and ARCO Foundations; 192 pages/$32.00.

Successful Household Money Management
(1993) Funded by the Bank of America Consumer Education Fund; 53 pages/$11.50.

Family Survival Guide
(First edition 1995; revised edition 1998) Funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation. Also available in Spanish & Diskette/Electronic Version; 97 pages/$15.00.

The Institute Hotline

Beyond Shelter's Institute staff are available 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (PST), Monday through Friday, to respond to general inquiries and questions regarding service provision for high-risk families and other residents of low-income communities.

To contact us, please call the Institute at (213) 252-0772, or e-mail us.

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Beyond Shelter, 1200 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 600, Los Angeles, CA 90017, USA
telephone: (213) 252-0772, fax: (213) 480-0846