Historical Highlights of the Institute's Work

•        Since 1990, the Institute has conducted over 200 workshops and presentations

•        Trainings and presentations have reached 75 communities, 30 states, and Puerto Rico

•         Workshops and presentations have had significant local and national impact

•         In 2000, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released its pioneering "Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness," and within that plan adopted Beyond Shelter's Housing First approach for homeless families as the basic premise for ending family homelessness

•        Many agencies and localities have adopted the Housing First approach after receiving training and technical assistance from Beyond Shelter

•        Examples of two such organizations are Lutheran Social Services in St. Paul, Minnesota and the YWCA of Columbus, Ohio

•        Both programs are featured on the website of the National Alliance to End Homelessness as best practice case examples of Housing First

•        Since 2000, Beyond Shelter has worked closely with the National Alliance to End Homelessness to develop a nationwide Housing First Network, designed to raise awareness and promote dissemination of the Housing First methodology in communities throughout the country

•        As part of this Network, Institute staff have helped to develop policy papers on Housing First.

2008 Institute Highlights

•        Institute staff provided 17 trainings and/or presentations in 11 communities across the country

•        Communities reached included Columbia, SC, Austin, TX, San Bernardino County, CA, Seattle, WA, Westchester County, NY, Santa Ana, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Sacramento, CA, Pomona, CA, and Washington, DC

•        Examples of two of these trainings are: 1) a half-day training on the Housing First approach for public and private agencies in Westchester County, New York, at the invitation of the Westchester County Department of Social Services; 2) a full-day training on case management in Housing First for agencies participating in a new Housing First collaborative in Austin, Texas

•        Staff provided technical assistance via email and phone to an estimated 75-100 public and private agencies, academics, student researchers and journalists

•         Developed a policy brief focused on alternatives to traditional emergency shelter options that examines the human and economic costs of emergency shelters and budget motels and argues for the use of master-leased apartments as a family-centered and cost-effective alternative

•        ABC World News Tonight interviewed Tanya Tull for a story - which was televised on October 26, 2008 - on the adverse impact the economic recession is having on homelessness and in particular, on the ability and capacity of homeless service providers nationally to respond to the rapidly escalating crisis needs of low-income and homeless families

•        Conducted a workshop at the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) Annual Conference in Washington, DC, on the agency's innovative use of scattered-site apartments master leased as emergency shelter for families who cannot access existing facility-based programs due to the lack of availability, presenting problems, or family configuration

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