Help UPO Help the DC Homeless

Here is the latest report on 2 facets of UPO’s programs to help people experiencing homelessness: Shelter Hotline and Permanent Supportive Housing.

PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

How we help:

Our devoted team provides wraparound services to highly vulnerable individuals and families experiencing homelessness so they can finally gain the stability they need. We help them to find homes, stay in their new homes, and achieve the highest possible self-sufficiency and quality of life.

Life-changing success:  

Robert has turned his life around. He became homeless at 17 due to becoming addicted to crack cocaine, heroin, and alcohol. Over the next 30 years, he had no home and moved from New York to Baltimore, from Georgia to Florida, and then back to the District. Due to his alcohol and drug abuse, he was imprisoned many times throughout those 3 decades.

On February 22, 2018, while he was in prison, he decided to focus on a new road to sobriety and mental health. After he was released from prison, Robert was placed in a shelter for a year, then became a participant in UPO’s Permanent Supportive Housing program in March 2020. He gained a Case Manager, an apartment, and thrived, despite the pandemic.

For over a year, he proved his self-sufficiency by maintaining stability in his housing and finances. At that point, he opted out of our PSH program. We can call him our newest graduate!

Now he works as a peer recovery coach, dedicated to helping people who are experiencing the trauma of drug and alcohol abuse. He assists them into recovery and gives brief interventions and referrals to treatment. Robert celebrated the 5^th anniversary of his sobriety on February 22, 2023 and looks forward to celebrating many more years to come.

SHELTER HOTLINE

How we help:

The team at UPO’s Shelter Hotline (SHL) program were champions during Hypothermia Season (November 1 - April 15), which was one of the mildest winters of the past few years. SHL provided safe transportation, outreach, and life-sustaining support to people experiencing homelessness. We are the eyes and ears of the city, protecting the health of people who live on the streets. Our team:

• Responded to 54,000+ emergency calls
• Distributed 91,775 life-sustaining items (i.e. blankets, socks, gloves, hats, scarves, long underwear, ponchos, tarps, etc.)
• Provided free transportation to 19,200+ people
• Distributed 31,100+ meals, along with water

Answering people’s needs:

Since May, our supply of blankets has been significantly limited and is not meeting the needs of our customers experiencing homelessness. We need your help to buy hundreds of additional blankets and other life-sustaining items as we prepare for all kinds of weather.

Latest update:

With the summer’s heat waves, the number of water bottles we distribute has skyrocketed as we meet the increased need. Each month, we are ordering twice as many pallets with cases of water. So we are holding a Hydration Drive: Right now, you can help your neighbors through the hottest months. When you donate to buy much-needed water, you are showing how much you care.

Addressing the opioid epidemic:

During our outreach efforts, Shelter Hotline now includes the distribution of Fentanyl Test Strips and the administering of Narcan. We also refer people to UPO’s Comprehensive Treatment Center, a medication-assisted treatment program that helps people with opioid addiction to achieve abstinence. (The tailored treatment includes individual, group, and family counseling.)

On June 7, SHL was asked to partner with DC’s Police Dept., Fire & EMS Dept., and Dept. of Public Works to meet people’s needs at the intersection of 16^th St. and Good Hope Rd. SE (a location with a high crime rate). We distributed food, bottled water, Fentanyl Test Strips, and other life-sustaining items during this coordinated outreach — a recurring effort that will continue at least through the summer.

On days when the poor air quality reached Orange and Red Levels and beyond, we partnered with the DC Dept. of Human Services and The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness to ensure that people experiencing homelessness had masks and bottled water. During the summer months of increasingly hot weather, SHL remains on the front line every day to ensure all people receive the help and support they need.

What’s new:

In June, Shelter Hotline launched a new call center system which improved our customer service capacity including multiple referral options, shorter wait times, and the ability to respond to calls remotely (in the event of an emergency/power outage at our HQ).

We are ready to help everyone, no matter what they’re going through.

I’m about to introduce you to Charlette. A few years ago, her life was in chaos; now she feels like a success.

Her turnaround shows the power of UPO’s highly effective Permanent Supportive Housing Program. We provide long-term housing and case management to highly vulnerable individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Customers receive housing and wraparound supportive services to help them stay in their homes as they work to achieve the highest possible level of self-sufficiency and quality of life.

Our intent is to help people finally gain the stability they crave and then turn their lives around, just like Charlette (who is not pictured).

She’s a 29-year-old mom who entered our program 29 months ago (during the pandemic). At the time, she had a Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) case against her because she'd neglected her children.

Charlette seized this opportunity to change. She stayed on top of the CFSA appointments and attended every parenting class. She collaborated with her social worker and therapist to improve her coping skills and worked hand-in-hand with her UPO case manager to get new housing.

She developed a new mindset which paid off again and again: She enrolled her children in a new pre-K and began initiating and enjoying more activities with them; she attended job fairs which led to a job at a restaurant; and after researching schools to continue her education, she began studying Early Childhood Education at the University of Phoenix. Her long-term goal is to lead her own school for children in low-income areas.

After 18 months, CFSA closed her case. They saw, as we did, that Charlette has completely turned her life around.

   Here’s an update about our overall program:

We have 84 customers: 74 have been successfully housed for over a year; the other 10 are applying for housing right now.

(Since UPO began this program in 2019, we have consistently maintained a housing stability rate of 100%. This is the key measurement of our success because once people are stable, we help them address their other issues, including behavioral health, substance abuse, education, and job training.)

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Shelter Hotline update:

The Outreach Workers of UPO’s Shelter Hotline are on Washington, DC’s streets 365 days a year on a relentless mission to ensure individuals and families experiencing homelessness receive the services they desperately need.

During the winter months, we kick into an even higher gear. From November 1- April 15 (also known as “hypothermia season”), unsheltered people on the streets and in encampments are especially vulnerable to severe cold so we add an overnight shift with additional staffing. We use every available resource to get people out of the cold and into a warm space, in order to decrease their risk of injury and death.

From October 2022 to January 2023, we distributed 60,473 life-sustaining items (such as blankets, socks, hats, and gloves) and gave out 9,415 meals. Outreach Workers also conducted 1,000 wellness checks throughout the city to protect, support, and connect vulnerable people to critical services.

Our Hotline Call Center Operators have been extremely busy, answering and responding to 36,400 calls for help from people experiencing homelessness and other District citizens. Our team gave helpful information including referrals to social services, and dispatched drivers to provide transportation for thousands of customers in need.

Note: Our drivers provided transportation to more than 12,500 homeless customers over the last 4 months. These rides were to shelters, daytime social service centers, and housing option programs.

Every day, Shelter Hotline makes a powerful difference and saves lives. Since we’re part of the city’s continuum of care, we’re on the front line, helping the people who need the most help. Honestly, if you were in their situation, wouldn’t you want people devoted to helping you?