PROGRAM DETAILS

Our Plan has also been built on the strength and energy of a wonderful, committed community, a great board on the Homeless Trust, a dedicated board of directors of CPH, the hard-working staffs of both organizations and the magnificent assistance of our provider community which has rallied around these efforts and been
extremely cooperative every step of the way.

The Miami-Dade Success Story
In 1993 there were approximately 8000 homeless people on our
streets. The latest figure from our January, 2010 point-in-time count found
794 – a decline of almost 88%. Additionally, as of June 30, 2009 CPH has successfully outplaced almost 62% of the approximately 80,000 persons who have received services from our two facilities.

Fundamentals of the Miami-Dade County Community Homeless Plan

There are many factors in the Miami-Dade County Community Homeless Plan that contribute to its’ success, but the following are fundamental factors and can be used by other communities that have the courage and compassion to proceed:

1. A Strategic Plan – The political, the business, and the homeless provider community leadership came together to develop a Strategic Plan to alleviate homelessness. In Miami-Dade County this was done initially by the Governor’s Commission on Homeless. A detailed Plan was built on this conceptual Plan by the Dade County Homeless Task Force which was appointed by the County Commission in 1993. The Miami-Dade County Community Homeless Plan is a result of this planning activity and it has continued to guide us through the past 15 years as we successfully help the homeless in our community.


2. A Public/Private Partnership – Solving the homeless dilemma in each community is not a matter for the public or private sector alone but together a public/private partnership can work. In Miami-Dade County, the public partner is the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. The private partner is Community Partnership for Homeless. These two groups have worked together in a 15-year partnership, each fulfilling its part of the obligation.


3. A Dedicated Public Funding Source – Public interest for homeless causes fluctuates. It is not wise to trust this to an annual budgeting process of the city or county for public funding. Miami-Dade County was blessed to have the Florida Legislature approve and the Dade County Commission implement a 1% sales tax on the sale of food and beverages in the larger restaurants which produced about $6.5 million per year initially but grew to $12.3 million in 2009.

With this dedicated public funding source, we have been able to build a system that has produced more than $300 million in public and private funding in the last 15 years.

While the Food and Beverage Tax continues to work well in Miami-Dade County, there are other taxing options that communities can consider. The key is to select one that is ongoing and that can be embraced without major opposition. Miami-Dade County experienced almost no opposition in enacting the Food and Beverage Tax, receiving a 13-0 vote from the Dade County Commission in July of 1993.


4. The Continuum of Care Concept – The continuum of care concept must be embraced as a part of the Plan. Emergency, transitional and permanent care – all three are important in providing the continuum of care that will enable homeless people to move through the system and out into society as productive members of the community. In the early stages of the implementation of the Plan, the emergency care will get the most emphasis because this is where the greatest need is – to get people off the streets. In the long term, placement in to permanent housing is the ultimate goal. There are 27 Miami-Dade contracted agencies working closely with the Trust.


5. The Homeless Assistance Center Concept – The Homeless Assistance Center concept is a relatively new concept in this country that involves bringing together under one roof a partnership of agencies that provide service to the homeless. The Homeless Assistance Center concept not only provides food, shelter and clothing (the fundamentals), but it also provides medical care, education, legal services, dental care, child care and relationships with the churches, religious organizations and social service agencies. Many of these service agencies have their offices directly in the Homeless Assistance Center.

The idea is to have a “one stop service center” for the homeless residents so that they can get the help they need without having to go outside the facility. The Homeless Assistance Center concept is essential to a successful homeless program in any community.


6. Significant Private Sector Funding – Significant private sector funding is a requirement for a successful homeless program. Here in Miami, the business community responded very generously with private dollars and in-kind services that exceeded $72 million. Business leadership is vital to the sustainability of the program. Without significant private sector support, there is little chance for success.


7. Significant Federal Grants – In recent years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has chosen to reward communities that, either, have a Plan, have voted a local tax, have a public/private partnership or that raise considerable private money. This has resulted in significant federal dollars being available in the Miami area to help our Plan move forward. Miami is the first community to impose a tax on itself to help homeless people.

The result of this is that the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust (with the help of the federal government and the Food and Beverage Tax) has added more than 4,915 new beds to our homeless system of care for a total of 5,706 beds.


8. Prayer – The leaders of the Miami-Dade County Community Homeless Plan recognized that they did not have the answers, the strength, the knowledge, or the energy to do this enormous job to help the least, the last and the lost of our community. Quoting our Founding Chairman of CPH, Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., “We have come a long way; God has been good to us, but this job is not done yet, there is a lot more to do”.