What does this
indicator measure?
This indicator presents
needed services and resources requested by homeless individuals
during the 2005 Annual “Point in Time” Homeless
Count, conducted by the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA)
in accordance with stipulations set by the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Information regarding
the benefits and services being received at the time of the count
is also given. Additionally, this indicator includes Web
links that provide information about social service providers in
the area.
Why is this indicator
important?
Knowledge of services needed among
the homeless in the area can assist in the development of
comprehensive strategies to help homeless people make the
transition to permanent housing and independent living.
Ultimately, helping homeless individuals deal with and overcome
their various problems, as well as helping them secure housing, can
lead to these individuals’ becoming productive members of
society that work toward the good of their communities.
In addition to identifying how best to aid the
homeless population, counts of the homeless are used to acquire
funding. In order to apply for HUD’s Continuum of Care
(CoC) funding, communities must conduct a “point in
time” (PIT) count of their homeless populations. In
addition to counting homeless individuals on the night specified,
workers also conduct surveys, asking homeless persons for
demographic information. In an effort to identify services
that are lacking, workers also ask the homeless individuals being
surveyed what services they currently utilize and what services are
still needed.
It is important to note that percentages given
here are based on the number of surveys conducted (2,232).
Not all persons surveyed answered the questions regarding services
and resources. Furthermore, not all persons answering the
survey questions are eligible to receive the listed
services.
How are we
doing?
The Metro Dallas Homeless
Alliance’s PIT count conducted on January 24, 2005, reports
the following in regard to participants’ data about benefits
being currently received at the time of the survey:
-
Food stamps were reported by 21% of the survey
participants.
-
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was reported
by 5% of the survey participants.
-
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) was
reported by 5% of the survey participants.
-
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
was reported by 3% of the survey participants.
-
Veteran’s benefits were reported by 4% of
the survey participants.
-
Women, Infants & Children (WIC) assistance
was reported by 2% of the survey participants.
-
Social Security (for those age 62 and older) was
reported by 1% of the survey participants.
When asked to list their top five needs from a list
of 30 services and benefits previously indicated as being needed,
survey participants responded accordingly:
-
Job placement (26%)
-
Permanent housing (25%)
-
Bus pass (17%)
-
Dental care (15%)
-
Housing placement (15%)
According to a report by the Austin/Travis County
Health and Human Services Department, updated May 2005 and titled
A Comparison of Homeless Services Among Five
Cities Utilizing Existing Data: Austin, Dallas, Houston, San
Antonio, and Seattle, the Dallas area did not meet the
housing needs of 36% of the area’s homeless, based on data
from the city’s 2004 HUD Continuum of Care for Homeless
Assistance Grant application. Additionally, the report
states the number of service providers in the area as reported
in the HUD CoC grant application and breaks down this number by
the numbers of providers that offer prevention, outreach, and
supportive services. An organization may provide more than
one of these three types of services; in such a case, the
organization is counted in each of the appropriate
categories. According to 2004 data, Dallas had 21 agencies
providing prevention services, 13 agencies providing outreach,
and 87 agencies providing supportive services. The
resulting ratio of services provided by agencies per homeless
person is 0.02, the lowest ratio of the five cities compared in
the report. San Antonio’s services per homeless
individual ratio was 0.03, Austin and Houston both had a ratio
of 0.04, and Seattle, the only city outside of Texas included in
the report, had a ratio of 0.06.
For a list of agencies supported by The Dallas Morning News Charities, visit their
Web site. Many of these organizations provide services for
the homeless.
Visit the Salvation Army Carr P. Collins Social Service
Center’s Web site for information about its
services. The facility is located on Harry Hines Boulevard in
Dallas.
For information about Homeless Outreach Medical
Services (HOMES), a part of the Parkland Health & Hospital System, visit the
HOMES link on Parkland’s Web
site. HOMES is a grantee of the Health Care
for the Homeless program, which is a part of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also has
a variety of information related to homelessness on its Web
site.