HALA - Lifting People Up – Citywide!
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P
rogram: Lifting People Up – Citywide!
L
ast updated 4.29.2022
Revised by: Albert Hernandez
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Organization History and Background:
Home Again LA (“HALA”) is a local non-profit homeless service provider whose mission is to assist families experiencing homeless gain independence by transitioning to permanent housing and securing employment with the support of the community.
Since 2010, HALA has been providing temporary shelter to families with children in partnership with local congregations, located in Burbank and Glendale. In recent years HALA increased the total number of services it provides from one core program to five core programs; those programs include 1) Shelter, 2) Transitional Housing, 3) Rapid Rehousing, 4) Homeless Prevention Services, and 5) Community Education Workshops. These programs were developed to respond to the needs of the residents. Programs are currently funded with private contributions or in partnership with local municipalities.
HALA is currently operating at three locations: an Administrative Office located in Burbank, a Shelter in Burbank, and a Resource Center in Glendale. The organization is comprised of fifteen employees including our Chief Executive Officer, a team of Assistant Directors and a compassionate team of Case Managers.
In 2021, HALA provided aid to over 600 households of those 471 were Burbank households and 209 were Glendale households. Households were provided temporary shelter, access to motels, case management, funding for eviction prevention, security deposits, educational workshops and much more.
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Project Background:
In 2020 Home Again LA merged with the Glendale Communitas organization who at the time was contracted to operate a program in partnership with the City of Burbank e ntitled: Lifting People Up (“LPU”). The program w as designed to provide resources to the residents living in Burbank Housing Corporation “ BHC”. One of the primary objectives of this program was to assist BHC residents in transitioning out of BHC apartment units and moving into a permanent housing unit allowing households on the BHC waitlist to move into these units.
Since merging w ith the Glendale Communitas organization and taking on the LPU program Home Again LA remained committed to supporting the City of Burbank and Burbank Housing Corporation achieve its goals for the program.
Unfortunately, two months later our globe was hit with the pandemi c caused by COVID -19. All workshops that HALA had planned on conducting in partnership with local organizations and by our Home Again LA staff were put on hold. A f ew months later we began conducting virtual classes for the residents . These virtual classes were con ducted via Zoom and recorded to be placed on the HALA YouTube Channel for maximum exposure and allowing the BHC residents to watch when it was most convenient for them. Residents were also made aware of our office hours allowing for any BHC resident to come in and engage in furthering their education on the various topics we have led dialogue on.
We coordinated workshops ba sed on the goals that were set forth of the LPU programs; thus, workshop topics included Building Financial Wellness, Cash Flow & Zero-Based Budgeting, Debt Management, and others. While these worksh op topics touched on the primary purpose of the program HALA had to pivot and include new topic s that dealt with new issues that the BHC residents were facing due to the pandemic triggered by COVID -19. BHC households who were paying affordable rental rates were now struggling to make ends meet to due to loss of job, loss of income, and loss of a significant other. The tenants were now living paycheck to paycheck and many households couldn’t afford rent. In summary, our Burbank residents transitioned to ‘survival mode’. Soon after we surveyed the residents of BHC because we knew that with the pandemic many new challenges have risen for the residents. Although the workshops of financial planning wer e of great benef it, the BH C residents were not looking at moving out of their apartment unit, but rather, how to keep their apartment unit. We expanded our workshop topics to inclu de information about community resources including YMCA service s, Child C are Services, Domestic V iolence Resources and much more. As you can see, we have a ltered the program to best provide the support BHC residents needed given the circumstances.
In addition to providing the services listed above, Home Again LA was able to be a sub - contractor for the State of California and offer intakes for households who have fallen behind on rent and get them enrolled into the Housing Is Key program. Having a local office such as Home Again LA brought comfort to those in fear of falling behind on rent and facing eviction.
In our communications with the BHC residents many shared that they do not want to move out of a BHC unit. They love their home; they love their community, and they are satisfied. In one ATTACHMENT 3-3
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instance a tenant expressed that the workshops we provided are of great value, but their neighbors do not participate because they worry that this is a tactic to get families to move out, when residents don’t want to.
As of 2022, Home Again LA was no longer contracted by the City of Burbank to lead the Lifting People Up program specific to BHC households. However, both HALA and BHC staff have decided to work directly with one another to continue operating the Lifting People Up program and its efforts in creating opportunities to assist the BHC residents with supportive services.
HALA and BHC have been able to leverage private funding to rehab the facility, employ dedicated Case Managers and create a Resource Center for the BHC residents. The program the City of Burbank funded in 2019 has given the organizations the confidence and momentum continue operating through private funds. Furthermore, the restrictions that were once in place due to the unstable pandemic seem to be lifting thus allowing for in person workshops and one- on-one case management. HALA and BHC are more eager than ever to continue these services in a way like never before as we draw near the culmination height of the pandemic.
Statistics:
1) The three-year pilot program served 705 duplicated Burbank Housing Corporation households,
2) Over 60 virtual workshops were conducted and placed online (English and Spanish), 3) The combined number of views of these workshops equates to over 2,700, 4) 31 households who were assisted in receiving funding through our Housing Is Key program.
Success Story:
Beatrice signed up for the Lifting People Up program in 2021 when she lost her job and loss income. A mother of two who was the sole provider was just making ends meet prior to the pandemic but do the massive layoffs at her place employment her income dropped substantially.
In a position of not truly understanding where to go as this was a new experience for her, her neighbor referred her to Home Again LA, specifically to the Lifting People Up program. Upon calling our case manager for direction she was invited to the Resource Center to connect directly with someone who could provide resources. Beatrice was given a full assessment that reviewed her current situation as it related to housing, finance, employment, and local resources. Beatrice received guidance from our case manager to sign up for government assistance in the form of EBT and Cal-Works which help generate roughly $920/month. With this new form of income, it allotted us the time to work with the family to seek new employment opportunities to get the family back to stability. Beatrice began registering for the Lifting People Up workshops and held several one-on-one sessions with our Financial Planning Coach. The team connect Beatrice with Express Employment, a HALA partner who provides access to employment opportunities.
Within one week Beatrice began working at a local real estate office as a Real Estate Administrative Assistant. Beatrice shared that “when I had lost all hope because many of my friends were losing their jobs, I regained my faith and thanked God for directing me to this organization. I am excited that I was able to secure work and keep my housing. I always thought ATTACHMENT 3-4
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I would lose my home and have to move somewhere. I feel safe in Burbank, my kids feel safe and I was afraid to lose my community.”
New Beginning:
As we have drawn in on the culmination of the LPU pilot program we are looking ahead at bringing this program citywide which removes the restrictions of limiting this informative program from one segment of our community to all interested residents. Home Again LA respectfully requests that we continue to operate the Lifting People Up program however with two edits, 1) eventually change the name of the program to ‘Lifting People Up – Citywide! which aligns more with our program goals, and 2) to take this program from only serving Burbank Housing Corporation residents to the entire city of Burbank.
The newly revamped Lifting People Up – Citywide! program will serve all residents in Burbank who need support with increasing income, securing employment, maintaining their housing, and leverage existing programs offered at Home Again LA and those of our partners. The program will have an emphasis on households (adults or families) at-risk of experiencing homelessness, at or below 50% of Area Median Income.
In retrospect the Lifting People Up – Citywide program in unique and will be a great asset to the city of Burbank and its residents. Our program is truly a ‘one stop shop’ that focuses on an array of components, under one roof, that when working together allow for positive outcomes. Those components include access to financial literacy, life skills, and job development. The added touch in this program is allowing for those participants to leverage existing Home Again LA housing programs to better their housing stability; many of which are programs that Home Again LA bring from the County of LA and State of California.
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Program Scope of Work
Program Title:
Lifting People Up – Citywide!
Program Period:
July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 (one year)
Summary of Program:
To implement a robust program entitled ‘Lifting People Up – Citywide!’ which includes community educational workshops and one-on-one case management. This program offers our Burbank residents access to resources that 1) prevent homelessness and 2) lead to stability. The pandemic triggered by COVID-19 caused many Burbank residents to restart their lives. Many residents’ loss their job, income and some loss their housing. Because of these drastic outcomes we have many residents who need a ‘one stop shop’, a direct contact where they may access resources to help residents achieve economic, employment and housing stability. We are responding to the residents needs to have an organization who can facilitate educational opportunities and tangible outcomes.
Primary Program Objectives:
1. Create a sense and attainable goal of stability (financial and housing) for Burbank residents.
Participants may partake in the program at any length throughout the program year; as long as they are interested and open to growing in any of our focus areas.
2. Connect residents to employment opportunities; to include creating/update resume, prepare for job interviews, and bridge opportunities to attain employment. In addition, we will connect residents to local partners who need employees at their place of businesses. The objective is to walk the residents through the entire process: education to securing employment.
3. Build opportunities for residents to increase overall annual household income this includes but not limited to securing employment and getting households access to government assisted funding
4. Guide Burbank residents who are unable to work but are eligible to apply for available social security, disability, educational grants, and health benefits,
5. The Lifting People Up – Citywide! program will connect our Burbank residents with information sessions ranging from financial planning to job procurement to eviction prevention to referrals to Home Again LA partners who provide a wide range of support.
Target Populations:
1. Homelessness households with a Burbank Service Provider; and
2. Lower income households at risk of homelessness, including but not limited to:
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a. Emancipated youth and young adults
b. Older adults with limited income
c. Families with children
d. Other income eligible households in the City of Burbank.
Implementation of Programs
Lifting People Up – Citywide! #1 - Community Educational Workshops Project Households Served: 100 Households
Duration: Two workshops per month, 6:00pm to 7:00pm, held at various locations in the community.
Primary purpose: The purpose of the workshops is to provide gatherings for Burbank residents who have recently lost a job, had a life changing event, or needed support in specific areas that will enhance their ability to achieve stability. When a workshop is complete it is our hope that the attendees have taken away information that assists them in achieving their respective goals.
In addition, those in attendance are welcome to meet with our Achieve Case Manager during office hours to seek specific assistance.
Description of Community Educational Workshops: The following are specific services and key topics of interest that will be carried out by the Home Again L.A. staff:
1. Goal & Action Planning – The purpose of this workshop is to work alongside the client to layout the goals of the household. What do they want to achieve? How do we attain the goals? The workshop will not just set goals but create strategies on attaining the goals.
2. Resume Building / Review – This workshop will assist clients in creating or updating their resume. Some clients may have not had to create a resume in years but due to the pandemic many are now seeking employment and need guidance on how to interview and attain the job they want.
3. Job / Career Search – Applying for a job may seem easy and attaining a job may be too however in this workshop we are looking at attaining a career. Finding a job you love, you see yourself growing, while generating plenty of income to sustain housing and cost of living.
4. Social Service Navigation – This workshop will raise awareness of available social services in the area that can support a client when challenging times present itself. Social services encompass access to government aid, homeless service provider programming and more.
5. Referrals & Placements – Make referrals to HALA community partners that assist individuals in securing work permits. In addition to achieving immigration status by making referrals to partners such as Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project. HALA to make referrals to mental health partners such as Didi Hirsch. etc.
6. Education – This workshop provides information on accessing education to increase the ability of attaining a higher paying job. In addition, education can be geared towards ATTACHMENT 3-7
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the youth in the household who need access and resources to go to college and in long- term providing income to the overall household annual income.
7. Financial Coaching - one-on-one consultation to map out current, short-term, and long-term goals by appointment. Financial coaching to be completed by HALA financial consultant along with leveraging financial partners at UMe Credit Union, GAIN Credit Union and Logix Federal Credit Union.
8. Home Ownership Counseling – Home Again LA has partners throughout the Los Angeles County who provide tutorials focused on home ownership. The workshops remove any negative myths regarding buying a home and provides incentives to those who complete the workshops. This workshop opens up the eyes of many and sheds light on the feasibility of home ownership.
The topics mentioned above will be led by Home Again LA staff; and we will leverage our partners to lead topics that they are catalyst in, i.e., Operation Hope, GAIN Federal Credit Union, Comprehensive Community Health Center, LA County Social Services Department and Express Employment.
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Lifting People Up – Citywide! #2 One on One Case Management Duration: Available Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm.
Primary purpose: The purpose of the One-on-One Case Management component to the Achieve program is to provide personalized strategic planning for any Burbank resident who needs support in achieving their goals, whether they are regarding financial stability, housing stability or attaining employment.
Description of One-on-One Case Management:
One-on-One case management is the act of meeting between a trained and compassion case manager and a client who needs assistance pertaining to any of the objectives of our organization. The case manager will complete an intake application, assess the needs of the client and the client’s family, when appropriate, and arranges, coordinates, evaluations, and advocates for the package of multiple services to meet the specific needs of the client.
Our case manager will meet with all interested clients who need assistance and from those meetings the two will develop a personalized strategic plan with benchmarks and projected outcomes to help the client attain their goals. It’s the time and act of empathy that many clients need and value during this process. In many cases our one-on-one case management sessions will last 30 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on the need of the client.
Above all, the significance of this component is to listen and to provide quality advice that leads to financial, housing and employment stability.
Key Topics discussed during One-on-One Case Management include:
1. Creating a Financial Plan to focus on increasing income and saving income,
2. Developing a Housing Plan focusing on maintaining housing,
3. Receive one on one consultation and training that leads to employment procurement.
Home Again LA Resources Leveraged: All clients will have access to the various resources HALA provides including rapid rehousing, security deposits, eviction prevention funds, in-kind donations (clothing, food, hygiene kits) and access to internet, Wi-Fi and more.
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Program Details:
Hours of Operation: Home Again L.A. staff member will be available to provide one-on-one case management, meet with clients, and conduct any other program services for the residents of Burbank, Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm. Workshops will be completed in the evening and weekend hours allowing for maximum participation especially for the working class.
Outreach/Marketing: Home Again L.A. will create marketing materials, both print and social media, and share with community groups including Burbank Coordinating Council, Boys & Girls Club, Burbank Unified School District, Burbank Housing Corporation, Burbank Temporary Aid Center, and the City of Burbank departments. In addition, over the course of the last two years we have made strong relationships with local landlords through our rental assistance program. I think activating those relationships so that our workshops can get to tenants’ mailboxes would be a great avenue to pursue, mainly since landlords are knowledgeable of which tenants would benefit from such education workshops.
Agency Responsibility:
Home Again L.A. will:
a. coordinate and implement workshops for Burbank residents, b. collaborate with community partners (non-profit and corporations) who can enhance the topics of our services,
c. conduct pre and post surveys for clients to track knowledge, self-esteem and other improvements,
d. tracks all clients outcomes who participate in the program (i.e. household information, financial goals, employment goals, etc.),
e. report back to City of Burbank staff with the effectiveness of the program; to be completed quarterly.
Key Staff:
Lifting People Up Case Manager – providing case management, coordinating workshops and one on one coaching sessions for residents.
Director of Programs – identify key partners who provide information pertaining to the overall goals of the program and to assist residents in attaining their goals. Director of Program support with data collection and reporting on successes and challenges to City of Burbank staff.
Chief Executive Officer – support with all administrative tasks including marketing and budget management.
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EXPECTATIONS AND QUALIFIERS
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITI ES
Home Again LA:
1. Provide prompt response to client communication.
2. Facilitate planning process, including customization and development.
3. Work effectively with City of Burbank as part of the team.
4. Regularly reflect, document, and share learning from the project with Burbank and members of Burbank’s housing organization throughout project timeframe.
5. Provide invoices and project updates monthly.
6. Provide electronic survey to capture both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the work provided within 10 business days post-delivery of project.
7. Leverage existing facilities to offer programs out of, Leverage partners’ facilities to facilitate community workshops
8. Utilize Home Again LA resources to effectively operate programs; including technology equipment, Wi-Fi, and space.
9. Provide City of Burbank staff with success stories, challenges faced and outcomes.
REPORTING AND METRICS OF SUCCESS
Target Outcomes of Community Education Workshops:
1. 50% of those participating in workshops will engage in one-on-one case management to help build a stability plan,
2. 75% of those participating in workshops achieve the goals they set forth during the initial case management session with our case manager,
3. 100% of all qualified participants will apply for available appropriate social, educational and health benefits (i.e. General Relief, Cal Fresh, Dept of Rehabilitation, TANF, etc.)
Target Outcomes of One-on-One Case Management:
1. 100% of clients seeking one-on-one case management will create a personalized stability plan,
2. 75% of clients will achieve at minimum one goal from their stability plan,
3. 50% of clients will increase household income based on the resources HALA was able to secure for the clients.
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Home Again L.A.
Program Year: July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023
Program Title: Lifting People Up – Citywide!
Budget Line
Personnel
Burbank Funding Home Again LA Total Cost
Case Manager, LPU (1FTE) $ 32,760 $15,000 $47,760
Non-Personnel
Office Supplies $ 2000 $3000 $5000
Transportation $ 1500 $4000 $5500
Technology Equipment $ 2000 $ 3000 $5000
Marketing/Print Materials $2500 $2500 $5000
Supplies for Workshops $2000 $3000 $5000
Telecommunications $1200 $3800 $5000
Office Space $2000 $2000 $4000
In-direct Costs $4040 $8000 $12040
Total $50,000 $44300 $94300
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SAMPLE ASSESSMENT FORM
Today’s Date: ________________ Case Manager: __________________________
Client Name: __________________________________________________________________________ Current Address: _______________________________________________________________________
Home Phone: ________________________________ Email: ___________________________________
What is the best communication method for you? ____________________________________________ Housing Needs:
What are your current housing needs?:
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ What are the barriers?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ What do you wish to achieve?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Employment Needs:
What is your current employment status?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ What are your barriers, if any?
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What do you wish to achieve?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Health Needs:
What are your health needs?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ What are your barriers, if any?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ What do you wish to achieve?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Household Financial Status:
What is your household financial status?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ What are your financial barriers, if any?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ What do you wish to achieve?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
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