University Of Delaware: Home As The Cornerstone

Wilmington DE

25 May, 2022

2:34 PM

Description

Press release from the University of Delaware: May 20, 2022 UD Biden School collaboration works to increase affordable housing, address cycles of homelessness In recent months, nearly 400 Delaware households have been sleeping outside, in a car or in an unsheltered place, and have called Housing Alliance Delaware (HAD) looking for emergency shelter. "That's a canary in the coal mine," said Sarah Rhine, housing unit manager at Community Legal Aid Society Inc., "We're in a crisis, so I'm hoping we can do some creative collaboration to highlight the problem, focus on the problem and bring solutions to the problem." Researchers in the University of Delaware's Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration are doing just that: conducting research, expanding data collection and convening stakeholders to end cycles of homelessness and increase affordable housing options both in Delaware and nationally. "We see ourselves on the one hand as being a clearinghouse of information and, on the other hand, being a community bringing people together around affordable housing and homelessness in a context that takes a step back," said Stephen Metraux, associate professor in the Biden School and director of the Center for Community Research and Service (CCRS). "We are here to facilitate more effective solutions, put information out there and address this larger problem." Addressing cycles of homelessness Metraux serves on the board for the Delaware Continuum of Care, facilitated by HAD, which seeks to provide a responsive, fair and just approach to addressing homelessness, while striving to achieve housing for all. In March 2020, Metraux was monitoring the funding opportunities available when the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, was signed into law. He saw an opportunity to connect HAD with Brandywine Community Counseling Center, a leading outreach provider in substance abuse, to launch a statewide outreach program for homeless services. Metraux confirmed, "The program has been running for a year now and it is in the process of getting more sustainable funding." Through a new contract with the city of Philadelphia, Metraux will analyze existing outreach services addressing homelessness. This project will identify the parts of the system that are working and what needs to change. This press release was produced by the University of Delaware. The views expressed here are the author's own.