Diversity, community output and more committee participation were salient subjects highlighted during the Augusta Homeless Task Force’s monthly meeting at the Salvation Army KROC Center Thursday.
“The goal is to make the Homeless Task Force and Continuum of Care interchangeable,” said Angela Collins, task force member and Director of Community Impact with the United Way of the CSRA, referring to the Continuum of Care Program.
The Continuum of Care Program is a federal initiative from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to support state and local government efforts to fight homelessness.
MORE: Emergency exercise tests preparedness
Daniel Evans, planning development supervisor with Augusta’s Department of Housing and Development, gave a presentation before members regard how the Task Force could align its operations closer that of the program.
“For the last year and a half, we’ve had conversations with a wider variety of participants than we ever have before,” said Evans in his presentation. “So we look forward to being able to operationalize that through this opportunity to show the federal government that we are a community that takes addressing unsheltered homelessness very seriously.”
MORE: The Downtown Augusta Sertoma Club holds final meeting
One of the issues Evans raised was HUD’s emphasis on advancing equity in the community.
“Are we being as diverse and inclusive as we can in both our decision making our service delivery and in our future projects that come along to serve the needs of persons experiencing homelessness?” he said, naming as examples homeless persons of color, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities.
Evans also stressed the importance of integrating the input of those who have been homeless.
“Formerly homeless individuals in our community need to make sure that we are incorporating their feedback into our processes, to make sure that we are advancing initiatives that make sense for the consumers that need to make use of the services and underlying all of HUDs efforts so far,” he said.
Evans also noted the Task Force’s challenge of taking a “housing first” approach to its services. Housing first refers to guiding principle of some homeless assistance programs that prioritizes providing permanent housing to individuals. According to the National Alliance to End Homeless, this entails not requiring that homeless individuals address other quality of life issues—such as health or behavioral issues—before providing them access to housing.
Near the end of the meeting Evans urged task force members and audience members to participate, noting two vacant committee chair spots (specifically, the Housing and Support Services committees), and the weight Homeless Task Force committees hold before the Augusta Commission.
“The value of this room, this partnership, is the elevation of the opinions that come from the people that participate in these committees,” said Evans, making sure to note that those who speak during commission meetings, but aren’t committee chairs, are still a valuable asset to the Task Force’s efforts. “But when you can come forward and say, ‘I work in this and this version of our Continuum of Care; I work for the Housing Tax Committee of the homeless Task Force,’ you’re going to have some gravitas in how you express the opinions and input on major projects that go forward.”
The next Homeless Task Force Meeting is scheduled for Aug. 25.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
