Model and Strategy
Swords to Plowshares is committed to ending veteran homelessness in San Francisco. To do that, we employ a variety of effective strategies, including street outreach, case management, rapid re-housing and eviction prevention, and supportive housing. This project will increase our momentum toward our goal by filling in gaps in essential services.
We will pilot a Housing Specialist at our DeMontfort Stabilization Housing Program, a 22-bed stabilization program for homeless veterans experiencing severe mental illness. This position will network in the San Francisco landlord community to reduce stigma related to mental illness, increase available housing options, and provide individualized support to ensure these vulnerable veterans are efficiently and successfully housed including follow up at six months post-program exit.
We will also hire an Outreach Specialist to increase our street outreach, and fund crucial safety net services. The Outreach Specialist meets homeless veterans where they are to offer help with housing and services. Safety net services—such as emergency housing and food vouchers—are critical support for homeless veterans during the transition to permanent housing.
Impact
Piloting a Housing Specialist at the DeMontfort Stabilization Housing Program will allow us to do three things: 1) make significant inroads in the community of San Francisco landlords to improve our relationships and our ability to make timely, efficient permanent housing placements for homeless veterans experiencing mental health conditions; 2) provide the level of case management needed by homeless veterans living with serious mental health conditions to efficiently place them in permanent housing; and 3) make a strong case for funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to support this position in the future. This project will expire when our contracts at this site are coming up for renewal, and we anticipate that this project will provide the data needed to obtain ongoing funding for the position.
Our long-term goal is to end San Francisco veteran homelessness by reaching functional zero, a state in which all homeless veterans can be housed within 90 days. This project comes at a time when we have already made significant progress, but additional resources are needed for the final stages. Increased street outreach to homeless veterans, coupled with safety net services, is critical. Currently, San Francisco reports 350 homeless veterans on the “By-Name Registry”—an up-to-date list of homeless veterans in need of housing that our staff works in concert with San Francisco homeless providers to reduce duplication of services and ensure veterans with the greatest vulnerabilities are housed first. Along with key San Francisco partners, we have successfully cut veteran homelessness in half since 2013. With increased outreach, we will reach our current goal of reducing the number of homeless veterans in San Francisco from 350 to 220 by December 2020.
Leadership
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Michael Blecker
Executive Director
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Tramecia Garner
Associate Director of Housing & Residential Programs
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Jacob Donnelly
Director of Supportive Services