Partners in Housing

Programs

Statistics & Facts:

The Problem of Family Homelessness

Homelessness remains one of the most misunderstood and most difficult to document of social issues. The majority of efforts directed towards this problem are focused on chronically homeless singles – we see this, for example, in the shelter system, which primarily serves singles and has difficulty supporting families. Yet over the last decade, the country has seen the rise of a new group: homeless families. Each year since 1993, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has reported that this group comprises the fasted growing segment of the homeless population in the country. According to The Institute for Children & Poverty, this trend will only increase as available housing for homeless families is decreasing. Local point-in-time counts of the homeless population support this trend towards increasing numbers of homeless families with children. Now, more than ever, PIH’s services are vital to the Pikes Peak region.

Consider these statistics (from the Institute for Children and Poverty):

One-half of homeless children attend 3 different schools in one year.
75% of homeless children perform below grade level in reading.
Escaping homelessness is almost impossible without steady employment, yet 75% of homeless parents are unemployed.
The average annual income of a homeless parent is $8,000.
Homeless families are more likely to experience violence; one-half of homeless women and children have fled domestic violence.
92% of homeless mothers were physically or sexually assaulted.
Homeless families are more vulnerable to serious medical problems.
47% of homeless children have anxiety, depression, or withdrawal problems.

Benefit to the Community

The services provided by Partners in Housing benefits the Colorado Springs community in many ways.

By assisting families to achieve self-sufficiency, PIH is decreasing the number of homeless families in Colorado Springs. This benefits our community by reducing the need for emergency services such as food, clothes, and shelter.
By helping our Partners find work and enhance their job skills, we also help decrease the need for unemployment benefits and other welfare support.
PIH services can also help keep families together and relieve the burden on the foster care system. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, over 62% of children in homeless families are placed in foster care at some point, at an annual cost of $47,608 per child. By providing transitional housing for the entire family, PIH helps avoid family separation and foster care costs.
The PIH program also benefits the school system: by stabilizing a family’s housing situation and promoting good school attendance, PIH helps minimize the administrative burden of placing and tracking homeless children.

Ultimately, the PIH program helps our community by creating self-sufficient families, contributing to their community like any other citizen, through their economic activity and social involvement.

PIH Achievements for FY2009/2010

We measure the success of our program by tracking both the services we deliver to our Partners and the ultimate outcomes for each Partner as they leave our program. Specifically, we track the number of transitional housing nights, case management hours, life skills hours, budget counseling sessions, and therapy hours that our program provides. We look at each Partner’s income and education level when they come into the program, versus when they leave the program, to evaluate what progress they’ve made, and we evaluate housing outcomes for households leaving our program, to see if they are moving on to stable, permanent housing.

During the 2009/2010 fiscal year, Partners in Housing achieved the following results:

Assisted 133 families, including 337 people (140 adults and 197 children)
Provided 59,308 transitional housing nights
Provided 1,726 hours case management hours
Provided 9,046life skills hours
Provided 613 budget counseling sessions
Provided 108 Therapy hours (through outside contractors)

During FY09/10, 47 Partners left our program*. Of these . . .

76% successfully graduated from the PIH program and moved into permanent housing. This is roughly consistent with our graduation rate of 65% over the last 17 years.
71% substantially improved their income, some earning incomes that constitute a living wage in Colorado.
55% improved their employment situation (found work after unemployment; received a significant raise or promotion at their current job; or found a job with more benefits, greater advancement potential, etc).
50% obtained their GED, earned a professional certificate, or received a degree, or made substantial progress towards one of these goals with the intent to finish.
69% showed substantially improved levels of self-sufficiency, including greater confidence and self-determination, increasingly responsible decision making, and application of newly acquired life skills.

*This number only counts those Partners who stayed in the program beyond their 90 day introductory period. Outcomes are not tracked for Partners who leave prior to 90 days in the program, since these families were not in the program long enough for our services to significantly impact their lives.

Predicted PIH Achievements for FY2010/2011

For the 2010/2011 fiscal year, we anticipate achieving the following results:

Assist 126 families, including 327 people, 132 adults and 195 children.
Provided 56,000 transitional housing nights
Provided 1,500 hours case management hours
Provided 7,000 life skills hours
Provided 570 budget counseling sessions
Provided 110 therapy hours (through outside contractors)

During 2010/2011 fiscal year, we anticipate 50 Partners will leave our program*. Of these . . .

70% will successfully graduate from the PIH program and move into permanent housing.
70% will substantially improve their income their income.
50% will improve their employment situation.
40% will obtain their GED, earn a professional certificate, or receive a degree, or make substantial progress towards one of these goals with the intent to finish.
65% will show significantly improved self-sufficiency.

PIH Quick Facts (based on 09/10 data unless otherwise noted)

Throughout it's history, PIH has maintained a cumulative success rate of 65%, meaning that 65% of our Partners succeed in reaching self-sufficiency and leave our program for stable housing.
69% of PIH households are headed by a single mother. Other households in the program are as follows: 17% single women, 9% single men, 2% two parent households, 1% couples without children, and 1% single fathers.
53% of PIH households have experienced domestic violence or abuse.
PIH serves a very diverse population with a variety of racial/ethnic backgrounds: 41% Caucasian, 27% African American, 20% Hispanic, 9% multiple race/ethnicity, 1% Asian, and 2% Native American.
For fiscal year 10/11, PIH has an annual agency budget of approximately $1.4 million.
PIH has 20 full time and 1 part time employees.
PIH began in 1991, and is in its 19th year of operation.
PIH began with 5 transitional units, and now own, co-owns or leases 70 transitional housing units and 109 affordable housing units.
Partners In Housing does not discriminate, in the conduct of any aspect of its mission, on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical ability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.