Charlotte Emergency Housing

Issues for Homeless Families
• Income too low to afford safe, stable housing.
• High cost of housing and shelter expenses – often 50%+ of income.
• Lack of insurance for medical expenses.
• Child care affordability and/or availability (especially during non-traditional hours).
• Transportation difficulties.

CEH Program Highlights
• One of few shelters in Charlotte that accepts families with adolescent boys, two parents or male-headed homeless families.
• Independent living, stressing family and individual responsibility.
• Full time on-site four-star licensed childcare center; linkage to CCRI subsidies.
• Comprehensive individual family support services. Assignment of a primary social worker from admission through one year of post-exit transitional services.
• Children’s Social Worker proves specific child-centered services.
• Resident Advisory Council provides input regarding program and facility operations.

CEH Service Providers
• Professional social work staff includes one BSW and one MSW working directly with the families and children.
• Three child care staff for 12 preschool children in Rainbow Room.
• Resident Servies Team includes the Social Workers, Rainbow Room Coordinater, House Manager Coordinator and the Resident Services Coordinator (MSW).
• Interns from area social work programs, both undergraduate and graduate levels, often supplement staff.

CEH Services
• Families are assigned to a CEH social worker for family support services from admission through their transition back into the community. The social worker assesses the situation with the family, and together they develop a plan to transition back into the community with the support of additional community services as appropriate.
• Each social worker is also responsible for specific individual program areas. One coordinates “house issues”, including the weekly educational and support group.  One coordinates services, groups and activities for children.
• The Resident Services Team meets on a weekly basis to review the status of each resident/family, and develop additional strategies to maximize progress. Through this team approach, CEH provides a more concentrated and comprehensive approach to address the families’ specific needs.
• Rainbow Room’s goal is to provide positive and enriching experiences for homeless children that will enable them to grow intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally. Rainbow Room staff provides an educational and emotionally supportive program which assists them in dealing with the many losses and traumas they have encountered in the process of becoming and being homeless. Rainbow Room includes activities that foster trust, build self esteem and encourage development of basic learning skills.
• Originally funded through Smart Start, all CEH staff received training in team development and the Family Centered Practice model through the Michael Jordan Institute at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) School of Social Work. This model emphasizes working with families’ strengths in a team approach. Additional funding from The Foundation for the Carolinas provided additional training in subsequent years. This has evolved into annual staff retreats and training.

Collaborative Services
• CEH partners with several community agencies which provide longer-term housing programs, in order to maximize opportunities for our families. WISH (Workforce Initiative for Supportive Housing) is a community-wide faith-based effort which provides housing subsidy and comprehensive family support for families as they stabilize in permanent, affordable housing. Other permanent housing programs include Community Link, VASH (for Veterans) and special funding for victims of domestic violence (through the Women’s Commission). Families from CEH are also accepted into the YWCA’s Families Together program, and into Project HOPE, funded by Federal stimulus funds. These two programs provide transitional housing for families. 
• Founding member of Homeless Services Network (HSN).
• Member of HUD grant development team, resulting in approval of community-wide grants to provide increase needed services to families and individuals as they transition from homelessness to stable permanent housing.
• Member of Project HOPE’s Shelter Group which reviews referrals to the program. The committee also provides an opportunity for inter-agency staffing of particularly difficult client situations.
• Pre-admission assessments for prospective residents of CEH who have no assigned social worker/case manager is coordinated through social workers with the Homeless Support Services’ program.
• Social work staff from Community Link, A Child’s Place and other agencies participate in the Resident Services Team’s weekly meeting as appropriate.

CEH Program Evaluation Components
• Outcome measures include the family’s housing and employment status, as well as knowledge of available community resources.
• Outcome measures are tracked at intake and exit from Plaza Place, as well as at six-month and 12-month intervals of the transitional services period.