South Wilmington Street Center Rapid Re-Housing Project

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

The South Wilmington Street Center (SWSC) serves Wake County’s homeless men. In June 2016, SWSC piloted a new process for screening the men who come to the shelter. The new system decreases the length of clients’ homeless episodes by quickly matching them to the services that will serve them best. To do this, Wake County redesigned the intake process and implemented two unique tools together (including a new prioritization assessment tool) that reflected recommendations from all levels of shelter staff. The new process focuses, in particular, on identifying clients with medium acuity of needs (intensity of their situation) who would likely respond successfully to rapid re-housing services. In rapid re-housing, clients are immediately placed into housing and receive short-term financial and case management resources until they are stabilized in permanent housing. Those with lower acuity of needs are assigned to groups based on target population. These groups receive information, instruction and light-touch case management. Those with higher acuity of needs, who also may have multiple screening barriers, may receive more intensive services. The new process allows staff to work more fully with guests who arrive at the shelter in crisis. It has also freed more funds to be used for the most vulnerable members of the homeless community, enabling them to receive the supportive housing care they need more quickly. Since implementation, wait time to enter into program services are down from 96 to 36 hours, with 70 percent of clients entering services the day they arrive.