UPDATE, 10/14/2008: THIS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELED. MORE INFO HERE.
I don’t have details yet, but the date for North Carolina’s 2008 conference on homelessness in Raleigh is November 17-18. Mark your calendars!
Read more on 2008 NC Homeless Conference…
“Introduction to Traumatic Brain Injury and Cognitive Impairment Among Homeless People” (8-page PDF of Powerpoint slides)
Presented at the North Carolina Conference On Homelessness, April, 2007, by Virginia Luchetti, EdD, Licensed Psychologist, specializing in homeless services in Contra Costa County, California.
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I attended North Carolina’s homeless conference last month, but my carpool left before the awards luncheon, so until I saw it in an NC DHHS newsletter this week, I didn’t know that Greensboro’s Westover Church had received the Outstanding Congregation Award.
Read more on Westover Named “Outstanding Congregation” At State Homeless Conference…
Notes from the state homeless conference, 04/10/07:
San Diego Police Department’s Serial Inebriate Program attempts to stop the “revolving door” (detox to jail to hospital to street and back) for chronically homeless alcoholics. The SIP strategy is to convict on criminal charges (drunk in public/disorderly conduct) and then provide treatment and housing in lieu of jail time.
Read more on SIP: Serial Inebriate Program…
Notes from the state homeless conference, 04/10/07:
Notes from session with John Yazwinski, Executive Director, Father Bill’s Place in Quincy, Massachusetts:
Rules and regulations in homeless shelters don’t work for many people with significant mental illness or serious substance abuse issues. They’re asked to stand in line to get a meal, get a bed, take a shower. They’re asked to be on time for meals, be on time for curfew, be on time for appointments. They’re asked to sleep in a room with 50-100 other people. Meanwhile, they’re supposed to “pull themselves together.” This is a difficult task for anyone, and can be an impossible task for people with significant mental illness and substance abuse issues.
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Notes from the state homeless conference, 04/10/07:
He had a home, a family, two cars and job making $60K a year. Then he got divorced and lost his job. The loss of his family and his life led to depression and alcohol use that made him unemployable. He lived from place to place and went from job to job. Eventually he went from shelter to shelter.
Read more on Homeless Stories: Mike…
Notes from the state homeless conference, 04/10/07:
She’s a high school senior, headed to college next year. Not so long ago, she was homeless. Her mom is on drugs and her father is incarcerated. She lived with an aunt, but when she was 16, her aunt moved and told her that she couldn’t come to the new place. So for eight months, she was homeless. She went from house to house, friend to friend, place to place, trying to finish school, trying to find a home. She says there’s a difference between a house and a home. She stayed at people’s houses. She didn’t have a home.
Read more on Homeless Stories: Shanese…
Notes from the state homeless conference, 04/10/07:
Michael was a healthcare worker, struggling with addiction. He cared for his grandmom after she was diagnosed with cancer, but lost hope when she died and his addiction worsened. With no other family support, he became homeless.
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Notes from the state homeless conference, 04/10/07:
Rebecca Garland, Executive Director, N.C. State Board of Education, spoke about homeless students, who are out of their “comfort zone” while homeless. Their focus is on surviving, not learning. She referenced Maslow and reiterated that homeless children are focusing on the most basic needs.
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Notes from the state homeless conference, 04/10/07:
Theodis Beck, North Carolina Secretary of Correction, explained that the Department of Corrections is part of the North Carolina Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs and is participating in the joint effort to end homelessness because of the relationship between incarceration and homelessness.
Read more on Incarceration & Homelessness…