Shelter For All
| |
Shelter For All assists homeless individuals with disabilities by providing supportive services to locate transitional or permanent housing and achieve self-sufficiency and self-determination. Since 2001, Shelter For All, a Supportive Services Only (SSO) program, has assisted over 3,800 individuals with disabilities and their families. Shelter For All uses the continuum of care approach to help communities plan for and provide a balance of emergency, transitional, and permanent housing and service resources to address the needs of homeless people with disabilities so they can make the critical transition from uncertainty to employment and independent living. |
Mr. C was homeless for three years, living in abandoned houses, under a house and in a tent. A case manager found him living in a bamboo thicket. Assisted by the Shelter For All program, Mr. C has gone from being homeless to becoming a home owner. |
Services are based on immediate need and are coordinated with existing agencies to provide referrals and counseling to ensure a smooth transition as determined by person-centered planning and implemented through a case management system. Although many homeless individuals with disabilities may need evaluative or treatment services from state and other agencies, the end goal for Shelter For All is for homeless individuals with disabilities to have permanent housing in inclusive community settings. The ultimate goal is for clients to transition from homelessness to homeownership. |
Who is eligible to participate?
A person must be an individual with a disability or have a family member with a disability residing with them and must be homeless to be eligible for assistance from Shelter For All. Homeless individuals are classified as unsheltered and sheltered.
An unsheltered homeless person resides in
- a place not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, abandoned buildings (on the street)
A sheltered homeless person resides in
- an emergency shelter
- in transitional housing or supportive housing for people who are homeless who originally came from the streets or emergency shelters
Services include but are not limited to
- case management and person-centered planning for independent living
- life skills training, including money and household management, nutrition, and parenting
- job development and supported employment service referrals
- home buyer education/training and post-purchase counseling
- individualized rental education/counseling and post-renter counseling
- individualized financial and credit counseling
- employability skills training referrals
- referrals to the community for services and supports
- identification of transportation through existing providers
- connections with Medicare, Social Security, and Food Stamp services
Not all homeless persons with disabilities and their families will need access to all of these services.
Person-Centered Plan
A client-focused, goal-oriented, positive meeting that uses the person’s past and present situation to develop a descriptive picture from which to ascertain the individual’s preferences, contributions and relationships as a foundation for building future goal upon.
 |
Chan Turner, case manager, center, taught this rental education class in Jackson. |
Rental Education
Training services provided to improve knowledge of finding an apartment and becoming a renter to include obstacles to renting, questions to ask the landlord, types of tenancies, rental due dates, tenant rights and responsibilities and landlord rights and responsibilities.
Home Closet
The Home Closet was created by Shelter For All staff to fill a gap in services for people with disabilities who are homeless. People who have become recently homeless and are living on a fixed income are not able to afford basic household items to maintain housing. The Home Closet accepts donations from the public of furniture and household items (sheets, towels, small appliances, dishes, pots and pans) that are in good condition. Shelter For All clients are the Home Closet’s first priority, followed by other IDS projects. The Home Closet has made donations to the Domestic Abuse Family Shelter, United Way, and other social services agencies in the Hattiesburg area. Donations made to the Home Closet are tax deductible. Tax forms are available upon request.
 |
The Shelter For All service area includes 71 Mississippi counties divided into two distinct regions: northern and southern. To cover this broad area, IDS’s main office in Hattiesburg serves the southern region, covering all southern counties except Pearl River, Stone, George, Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson. The Jackson office serves the northern region, which extends as far north as the Tennessee line with the exception of Madison, Warren, Hinds, Rankin and Copiah Counties. |
|
Shelter For All provided the following services from October 1, 2007, to August 31, 2008:
• 18 homeless individuals accessed rentals (apartments or subsidized housing)
• 9 homeless individuals with disabilities were successful in obtaining supported employment or employment
• 22 homeless individuals with disabilities were referred for life skills counseling
• 111 individuals with disabilities assisted with access to transportation and health and human services
• 97 individuals with disabilities successfully completed renter education
• Assessment or information and referral services provided to 83 homeless individuals with disabilities over the last year
• 23 homeless individuals with disabilities received follow-along case management services
• Person-centered planning was provided by HOYO and its coalition members, in collaboration with homeless service providers, to 9 individuals with disabilities
• 23 outreach activities were provided to homeless shelters, regional centers and LIFE Centers
| For more information, contact: |
Coordinator for Housing Initiatives
Telephone: 601.266.5163
Toll Free and TTY: Hattiesburg 1.888.671.0051
Toll Free: Jackson 1.866.883.4474 |
Skip Navigation
