By Sarah Fleischman
Editorial Intern

Two local organizations have recently joined the 100,000 Homes campaign, a national push to house 100,000 homeless people by July 2013.

“The neat thing about this campaign is that it is very streamlined. It is effective, it is efficient and generates amazing outcomes,” said Kathy Sibert, the executive director of the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN).

The national campaign reaches its goal by working with existing organizations, like A-SPAN in Arlington, VA and the D.C. Department of Human Services.Bethesda Cares, Inc. in Bethesda, Md. joined the campaign on September 22, becoming the 100th organization to join the national campaign.

While working with existing organizations in the communities, 100,000 Homes has formal partnerships with organizations such as KNO Clothing, United Way and Pathways to Housing in order to help with funding.

A local 100,000 Homes campaign begins with registry week, when volunteers create a name and photographic registry of every homeless person in a given area. The survey employs an assessment tool known as the vulnerability index to determine each person’s level of need, taking into account such factors as age, chronic disease, mental illness, veteran status and age.

A volunteer from a previous effort through the campaign, interviews a homeless man during the campaign's registry week.

A-SPAN as well as other leaders and community groups in Arlington County are working towards a goal of ending homelessness in the county within ten years. Although the county is one of the wealthiest in the nation, an estimated 500 homeless people live within its boundaries.

“Arlington is not immune from deaths in the street,” Anita Friedman, a division chief for the county’s Department of Human Services, told the Washington Post.

Sibert says that even the surveying process of registry week will be a positive thing for the people.

“Most people just pass them by. Nobody looks at them. In some ways, they are grateful that someone is taking the time to spend time with them to talk to them,” she said.

John Mendez from Bethesda Cares Inc. says that the Bethesda registry week will be scheduled for early November. Sibert says that the Arlington registry week will have around 150 volunteers.
After registry week, the data is processed and shared with the community at a briefing. Arlington’s briefing will be held on October 21.

The most vulnerable individuals are housed first. Sibert strongly believes that homeless people should not have to prove themselves in order to get housing. Not having a home makes it extremely difficult to prepare for job interviews and be linked with the mental health and medical facilities they need.

Having vulnerable people housed also makes it easier for case managers to check up on them and help them cope with mental illness, addiction, or medical problems. Some are visited by their case manager every day, and some less frequently: depending on the situation and needs of the client. Case manager visits become less frequent as time goes on and the former homeless person becomes more independent.

Sibert says that every person A-SPAN has housed in the past three years is still in housing—a 100% success rate.