One Roof

Programs: Coordinated assessment: one roof partners with other agencies to offer coordinated assessment, a hud requirement, to assess the vulnerability of people attempting to access continuum-funded homeless services. That vulnerability rating is then used to appropriately refer people to the right services to prevent or end their homelessness. Americorps: as part of a successful coordinated assessment process, one roof partners with the ywca of central alabama and the state of alabama in the americorps program, a national service initiative that places members in nonprofit agencies to expand the capacity of the nonprofits and leverage volunteers to service. One roof americorps members spend half their service time assisting in this process to triage clients and assess vulnerability. One roof has the only dedicated soar worker in the state. Soar is a national best practices approach to quickly and accurately assisting homeless disabled people to get social security and/or disability benefits. This assists in giving the people access to cost controlled housing and eventually medical and pharmaceutical benefits. This is an important part of coordinated assessment in diverting less vulnerable people and quickly assisting those most vulnerable.

hmis program: the homelessness management information system provides an electronic case management system, including software, hardware, internet service as appropriate and all training to various partner agencies in the fight to end homelessness. This is a hud mandated system in an attempt to quantify homelessness, to qualify clients for services and to end homelessness. A total of 65 agencies participate with more than 200 end users in this system.

continuum planning: one roof partners with other agencies to respond to hud continuum of care requirements on diverting, serving and permanently housing people who are homeless. One roof is the lead entity in that process which includes partnering with local entitlement areas to recommend best practices in funding programs, developing policies that decrease rather than increase homelessness and ascertaining that those entitlement areas have the data necessary to make the best community planning decisions. One roof is responsible for evaluating continuum funded programs that serve and house homeless people to see that tax dollars are spent effectively. Part of this responsibility includes submitting a competitive, collaborative, annual grant request to hud.