Help Homeless Get off the Streets and Into Housing: A Funders Collaborative Initiative

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

A Funders Collaborative of public and private partners was created to address the immediate need to close a Men’s Overflow Shelter (MOS) located in Maricopa County. Since its inception during the MOS transition initiative June 2014, the Collaborative has grown into a model for countywide collaboration. Convened by Valley of the Sun United Way (VSUW), and composed of VSUW, Maricopa County, Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH), Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES), and the City of Phoenix, it has increased coordination in government, bolstered advocates, educated policymakers, and redirected service providers to find long-term solutions to end homelessness. It successfully eliminated unsafe conditions at the MOS facility, rapidly rehoused 80 homeless men and opened safe, temporary overflow shelter services to meet the immediate need; however the focus is wide-reaching to improve community responses to homeless by evaluating systems and realigning funding to effective programs for homeless individuals. The Funders Collaborative mission is to obtain and prioritize resources to permanently house up to 500 individuals; and to date have instigated an in-depth examination of the fragmented service delivery system at the Human Services Campus. Collectively, the Collaborative has aligned and targeted over $5 million in public and private resources, including $2.5 million of new funding to respond to the unmet need and support the transition to effective, sustainable solutions. As it evolves and matures, the Collaborative is working closely with stakeholders from the public and private sectors to ensure long term solutions are inclusive, integrated and responsive to the community.