education, resources, and advocacy
education, resources, and advocacy
Honoring the Lives Lost: Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day 2024 This Saturday, December 21, is National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day—a date marking the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. As darkness extends its reach, we pause to remember those who tragically died while experiencing homelessness in 2024. This day is not just about mourning[…]
Financial Hardship and Homelessness: How Financial Social Work Can Help By: Billy Streu, LMSW, CFSW Have you ever heard of financial social work? I believe that it is a unique and valuable approach to our mission to ending homelessness in Texas. Let’s break it down! The Money-Housing Connection Imagine working endless hours but still not[…]
Enhancing Internal Controls for Homeless Services Non-Profits: Practical Strategies for Effective Governance By: Jim Ward In light of recent revelations about fraud, waste, and abuse of federal funding, there has never been a better time to revisit internal controls. Critical to the mission of ending homelessness, internal controls are the line between us and chaos.[…]
An Examination of Veteran Homelessness in Texas By: Anja Taylor Understanding the state of veteran homelessness is crucial in our mission to provide safe and stable housing for those who have served our country. Today, we examine national trends, shedding light on the challenges faced by veterans across the United States. We then focus on[…]
Homelessness Around the World By: William Kao When concentrating on addressing the issue of homelessness in our local communities, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that other communities, both in the United States and around the world, face challenges that are both similar and different from each other. Each individual case[…]
The Value of Sharing Your Recovery from Homelessness By: Tammy Chan Dear Reader, I am a member of the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care (TX BoS CoC) Lived Experience Committee (LEC). I’m writing this post to share part of my journey and some things that I have come to see and believe are[…]
Navigating Challenges Together: A Personalized Roadmap for Rural Texas to End Homelessness By: Jim Ward Introduction In the vast landscapes and tight-knit communities of rural Texas, the journey to end homelessness is both a shared commitment and a distinct challenge. Unlike in larger cities, rural areas face unique obstacles that require tailored solutions. This guide[…]
Empowering Hope: Voucher Program Leads 928 People to Safe, Permanent Housing By: Billy Streu After the challenges of the pandemic, the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program emerged as a guiding light, helping Texans find their way out of housing insecurity. Put into action as part of the American Resue Plan Act of 2021, this program[…]
The Disproportionate Impact of Climate Change on People Experiencing Homelessness By: Katie Good Across Texas, the unusually warm weather in early spring is a delight for many. However, it also raises concerns about the impending summer and the increasing impact of climate change, marked by the record-breaking heat experienced throughout the U.S. in the summer[…]
Transcending Discrimination: Addressing Housing Challenges on Transgender Day of Visibility By: Ava Paredes This weekend is Transgender Day of Visibility. It is a day we can look back upon the many contributions transgender people have made to our communities as well as recognize the ongoing discrimination that they face as a marginalized group of people[…]
As COVID continues, so do its impacts on homelessness It is no secret that navigating the consequences of COVID-19 has been especially challenging for those without stable housing and/or emergency savings across the country. Countless people have become unable to work due to long-COVID, and others lost employment as a result of industry disruptions originating[…]
Homelessness in Texas: A Snapshot By: Anja Taylor About the Texas Homeless Data Sharing Network The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), states, and Continuums of Care (CoCs), also known as homeless response systems, have made significant strides in recent years to improve data collection and analysis, often with limited resources. Still, available[…]
The Crucial Role of Social Workers in Ending Homelessness By: Hope Rodgers March is Social Work Month, a time to honor the dedication and resilience of social workers and the contributions collectively made by the profession. The National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW) theme for Social Work Month 2024 is “Empowering Social Workers! Inspiring Action,[…]
Affordable Housing is Out of Reach in Texas for Low-Wage Workers By: Anja Taylor For too long, low-income renters in America have struggled to afford housing. Even before the pandemic, rents were increasing much more quickly than wages, putting pressure on millions of renters. With the arrival of the pandemic, low-wage renters were hit with[…]
Homelessness in the Balance of State: 2023 Point-in-Time Count Results Intro The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is an annual HUD-mandated census of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The PIT Count allows us a valuable opportunity to engage our communities in combating homelessness in addition to gathering a comprehensive data set of people[…]
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