The New “First Responders”
This initiative integrates screening and assessment tools into existing protocols and practices to help new “first responders” respond to indicators of housing instability — severe rent burden, poor housing quality, overcrowding, forced dislocation, and homelessness.
The New “First Responders” include, but are not limited to, the following:
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES SYSTEMS
CHILD WELFARE SYSTEMS
HEALTH & MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS
NEIGHBORHOOD & COMMUNITY CENTERS
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS
“Mainstream and community-based service systems are in a position to provide early identification of — and timely and appropriate responses to — indicators of housing distress among their client populations.”
Front-line staff may become aware of the prevalence and types of housing problems impacting the children, youth, and families they serve long before key decision-makers. They are also often most knowledgeable about the types of housing interventions most needed in a particular community.
A Housing Stability Organizational Survey is focused on the experiences of direct services providers – particularly front-line staff who are in contact with their target population on an almost daily basis. The basic framework is adaptable and focused on helping systems at every level to learn more about the indicators of housing instability impacting services delivery, services outcomes, and the challenges to staff in responding.
Our work is grounded by the real-life experiences of vulnerable families and children and the challenges they face daily. We believe that local programs and communities are the “social laboratories” in which the process of moving from ideas to action to impact originates and occurs.
We believe that referrals to homeless services should be the “referral of last resort.”
