FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 7, 2012

NYC UNVEILS CITYWIDE PREVENTION CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE AT RISK FAMILIES TO SEEK HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION SERVICES BEFORE SHELTER
Rigorous evaluation proves Homebase services invaluable and expansion of program and public knowledge of services critical to keeping families in homes.
The Department of Homeless Services unveiled today a Citywide homeless prevention public awareness campaign, Reach Out, Before Youre Forced Out of Your Home: We can help you avoid shelter. If youre at risk of becoming homeless, call 311 today. The campaign, which will be featured on billboards, subways, buses and bus shelters, targets families at risk of homelessness in the 15 communities most likely to enter shelter and encourages families and individuals to access prevention services through Homebase before seeking shelter. In addition to the outdoor campaign, television Public Service Announcements will air in July and a web video will be live on the Homeless Services website. The purpose of this outreach is to continue to encourage families and individuals to access prevention services through Homebase before seeking shelter. Total cost of the four-month campaign is $869,458 paid for through the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At risk families first stop should be a Homebase center, said Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond. At Homebase, we can serve families with customized plans and keep them in their homes-- the best possible outcome. By raising awareness with this campaign we can prevent New Yorkers from entering the shelter system and, through the results of this evaluation, better invest and improve on this powerful program. The City of New York has the most extensive and innovative homelessness prevention services network in the country. At 13 store-front, neighborhood Homebase prevention offices throughout the five boroughs, Homebase centers offer customized assistance to families and individuals to create a personalized housing stability plan, offering a full array of services such as eviction prevention, short-term emergency funding, financial counseling, and assistance in obtaining employment and public benefits. Since its inception, Homebase has served nearly 35,000 families and individuals. Preliminary results of a comprehensive evaluation of the Homebase program, conducted in concurrence with the work of a Federal task force, show Homebase is successful at averting families from entering shelter, and most effective in the highest need communities and with families most at risk of entering shelter. Researchers found households with a previous shelter history, conflict in the household, frequent moves, child protective service involvement and domestic violence, are at the highest risk of entering shelter and that the following neighborhoods had families and individuals most likely to enter shelter: East Harlem, Castle Hill, Wakefield, East Tremont, Mount Hope, Concourse, Jamaica, East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Stapleton, East New York, Bushwick, Brownsville, and Bedford Stuyvesant. On November 4, 2011 Homeless Services released a new Request for Proposal (RFP) for Homebase services and, beginning in July, Homeless Services will be enhancing prevention services by implementing Homebase offices in 15 of the most at risk communities. Contractors will be required to use a risk assessment tool that will help them predict with a high degree of accuracy which clients have the highest probability of entering shelter. In addition, the Agency will structure performance-based contracts that incentivize providers to find and serve the most at-risk families, thus preventing the greatest number of shelter entries. High risk households will be assigned a Homebase counselor who will work with them to develop an individualized plan to stabilize their

housing situation. Households determined to be at lower risk will receive advice and assistance on accessing available resources to prevent homelessness. By creating tiered services based on risk, Homebase can ensure that resources are invested in those of the highest priority first, while the same time, helping families with lower risk factors who reach out for assistance. The Abt Associates study preliminary findings show that one year after enrollment, clients who received Homebase services applied for shelter at half the rate as those who did not. Final results, including an analysis of the programs cost effectiveness, will be available in 2013. Also included in the evaluation results were findings of the Housing Help Program, a court-based homelessness prevention program the Agency operates in collaboration with the New York State Unified Court System. The Housing Help Program specifically targets households at the highest risk of eviction and shelter entry and provide comprehensive legal and social services to keep families stably housed. The study found that the court-based Housing Help Program is 30 percent more effective at preventing shelter entries than traditional community-based anti-eviction law offices. Critical results revealed the program is cost-effective to the tax payer, supporting the Obama Administrations priority that targeted comprehensive solutions are far more effective and cost-efficient than temporary fixes. Over the course of the four year Homebase study, it is estimated that 1,700 families with 3,400 children were prevented from becoming homeless. This translates to 17 fewer shelters needing to be built and a savings of over $60 million to taxpayers. The total budget by completion of the evaluation will be $598,213, which includes reports and recommendations, development of maps, and other analyses to improve targeting of Homebase prevention services. Through less than three percent of the Homebase and Housing Help Programs annual budgets being dedicated to evaluation and research Homeless Services has garnered information that will assist thousands of New Yorkers. Participating researchers include: Columbia University: Peter Messeri, Brendan OFlaherty, and Sarena Goodman; Vanderbilt University: MaryBeth Shinn and Andrew Greer; The Center for Urban Research, CUNY Graduate Center: John Mollenkopf; University of Pennsylvania: Dennis Culhane; Abt Associates. -30Contact: Barbara Brancaccio/ Heather Janik (212) 361-7973