Yesterday, DCFPI testified in support of a new homelessness prevention program for families funded with $2 million in the fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget. The program is modeled after a successful prevention program in New York City that significantly reduced the likelihood that families would need to seek shelter. The program will be a critical tool for the District to have in place quickly in order to help avoid repeating the homelessness crisis this past winter.
While shelter is better for families than sleeping in cars or other unsafe locations, research has consistently found that parent and child well-being decline while a family is in shelter. Preventing families from becoming homeless can help families avoid these negative effects. 
After seeing a significant increase in the number of homeless families this past year, (see Figure 1), the Interagency Council on Homelessness began discussing the possibility of a new homelessness prevention program, potentially modeled after New York City’s Homebase program. The creation of a Homebase-like program was also a recommendation in the Helping Families Home: A Roadmap for the District that was endorsed by 26 community organizations, including DCFPI. The report lays out key steps DC must take from now until next spring to help avoid repeating last winter’s crisis.
Homebase uses an assessment tool to identify the families most likely to enter shelter and provides these families with ongoing case management and service referrals. Some families receive limited financial assistance for rental arrearages. In New York, those provided with prevention assistance were half as likely to apply for shelter as a control group of families not provided with assistance.
This type of prevention program differs from the District’s current homelessness prevention program, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), because it provides case management and service referrals as well as the rental arrearages provided by ERAP. The program will also differ from ERAP because it will target families most likely to become homeless.
The DC Council added $2 million in funding in the FY 2015 budget and laid out guidelines for DC to establish its own Homebase family homelessness prevention program this fall. DCFPI strongly supports the creation of this program and looks forward to working with the ICH, the Committee on Human Services, the Department of Human Services and other community groups to have a program in place before the start of this winter to help the anticipated annual surge of families seeking housing assistance. By creating a new tool to help combat homelessness, we can be one step closer to avoid a repeat of last winter’s homelessness crisis.
To see the entire testimony, click here.
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