The Homeless Brief

The Coalition routinely tracks news and policy related to homelessness.
Highlights from July, 2011 are below.

COLORADO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS CLIENTS STAFF RESTAURANT
CPR.org – Michelle Fulcher, July 19 – There's a new restaurant on Colfax Avenue in Denver, a place called Pizza
Fusion, located at the Coalition's Renaissance Uptown Lofts . To learn more about the restaurant, Ryan Warner speaks with the president of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, John Parvensky, and the restaurant's manager, Mary Putman.

COLORADO COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS REDUCE MEDICAID COSTS
Health Affairs.org, July 1 - Study finds that homeless and low-income Medicaid clients who use Community Health Centers, such as the Coalition’s Stout Street Clinic, are one-third less likely than Medicaid clients of private fee-for-service providers to have an emergency room visit, an inpatient hospitalization, or a preventable hospital admission.

STUDY SHOWS BENEFITS OF PROVIDING MEDICAL INSURANCE TO THE POOR AND HOMELESS
NYTimes.com – Gina Kolata, July 7 - When poor people are given medical insurance, they not only find regular doctors and see doctors more often but they also feel better, are less depressed and are better able to maintain financial stability, according to a new, large-scale study that provides the first rigorously controlled assessment of the impact of Medicaid.

COLORADO DIVISION OF HOUSING REPORT DETAILS HOUSING NEEDS AND RENT BURDENS THROUGHOUT THE STATE
Dola.colorado.gov, July 16 – A new report from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing shows that for families and individuals earning incomes below 30 percent of area median income, typically extremely low-income and at high risk for homelessness, there are generally two households for every affordable unit.

PROPOSED REFORMS COULD MAKE SECTION 8 EVEN MORE EFFICIENT
CBPP.org – Douglas Rice, July 20 – A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that Section 8 vouchers, which provide housing assistance to formerly homeless and low-income families and individuals, are not crowding out spending on other U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development programs.

EX-HOMELESS SPEAK OUT TO CHANGE PERCEPTIONS
NPR.org – Pam Fessler, July 4 - The typical speakers bureau can get a celebrity, a politician or a media pundit to address your group for a few thousand, or maybe tens of thousands of dollars. But one speakers bureau, led by the National Coalition for the Homeless, made up of men and women who have been homeless will provide someone for only $40.

U.S. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS AFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO “OPENING DOORS”
USICH.gov, July 12 - Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis chaired the second meeting of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2011. The meeting focused on the one-year anniversary of Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Action was taken to affirm the Administration's commitment to the Plan and to send the first annual update on Opening Doors (currently under final review) to Congress.

Last Updated: August 22, 2011