Want to review the Q & A from 2/2/24?
Recording here: Bezos Day One Funds Q & A Session
Power Point Slides
Day 1 scoring tool
Recording here: Bezos Day One Funds Q & A Session
Power Point Slides
Day 1 scoring tool
Day One New Project Application
Day One Funds: New Project Application Instructions
Overview: The Day One funds is a one-time, non-federal funding opportunity. The Wisconsin Balance of State CoC is investing in a pilot program with the intended outcome of working towards an end to family homelessness. The Wisconsin Balance of State Continuum of Care will consider applications for funds for families experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. The Wisconsin Balance of State CoC reserves the right to choose one agency within your community as you define it for targeted impact. This could be a local coalition as a whole or a county as a whole. The application must include information on section A and from section B.
Applicants should write their application based on the below guiding principles:
Family - HUD’s definition of family differs from the population targeted with this grant. Families served by the Bezos Day One fund must include at least one child who is under 18. Outside of that requirement, families can be one or more individuals who live together. Members of the family do not need to be related by blood, marriage or in any other legal capacity. Family members who are away from the household for a certain period of time may be considered part of the family.
Homelessness - Please reference the attached link for guidance on HUD’s homeless definition: HUD's Definition of Homelessness: Resources and Guidance - HUD Exchange
**The Wisconsin Balance of State CoC will review progress on the agreement with the awardee annually. WIBOSCOC reserves the right to not renew the contract with 60 days notice to the awardee organization.
**Admin taken from these funds can be no more than 10% of total costs administered.
Section A - Diversion staff and funds administration
Some potential projects that could help with the achievement of Data Point Goals include:
Priority:
Applicants are required to have the goal of ending family homelessness within their community and the Balance of State CoC (WIBOSCOC).
Q & A sessions:
The dates of the application question and answer sessions will be 2/2/24, 10am and 2/5/24 at 1pm held virtually.
Due Date: Applications and required attachments are due March 15th, 2024, to [email protected].
Please submit your application as a .pdf file.
Review Process: Each application and required attachments will be reviewed by the CoC Director, in consultation with select Board members and CoC staff. The scoring rubric will be attached to this application. The highest scoring project(s) will be selected. A final decision will be made no later than March 28, 2024.
Contact: The contact for this application process is Carrie Poser, CoC Director. Contact information is: [email protected] or 715-598-3301.
Funding Available: $1 million over 5 years, which will be allocated at $200,000 per year. The program should start administering funds no later than June 1st, 2024. Wisconsin Balance of State staff will support the recipient at the onset and throughout the program administration.
Please note, there is no match requirement for this grant.
Eligible Applicants: Members of local coalitions within the WIBOSCOC including non-profit, for profit, housing authorities, city/county government, and Community Action Programs (CAP). The Wisconsin Balance of State CoC is seeking an agency to lead the project within the designated community. The lead agency/applicant must be in good standing with the WIBOSCOC and a member of the local homeless coalition. If an applicant has received Bezos Day 1 funds in the last 5 years, they are not eligible.
Eligible Project Types: The Balance of State CoC will consider the following projects with the corresponding data points. The application must include section A and section B.
Section A - Diversion staff and funds administration
Staff member to administer diversion funds and provide resources for families experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. The staff member administering these funds should have previous experience working with families experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness. They should complete the trainings listed in the instructions and continue to complete trainings on best practices throughout their employment.
This employee is targeting specifically the population of families about to enter into emergency shelter and families that have been in shelter 1 week or less. The goal is to use funds to divert families to permanent housing and other resources for availability of space in shelter for emergent need
Section B- Data Points targeted through this work
Diversion Best Practices
The National Alliance to End Homelessness’ definition of diversion can be found below:
“Diversion is an intervention designed to immediately address the needs of someone who has just lost their housing and become homeless. Diversion is a client-driven approach; its goal is to help the person or household find safe alternative housing immediately, rather than entering shelter or experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It is intended to ensure that the homelessness experience is as brief as possible, to prevent unsheltered homelessness, and to avert stays in shelter.”
It is best practice for diversion-based conversations to be happening everywhere throughout the homeless services delivery system. By having these conversations, shelters are not denying service, rather they are providing a chance to avoid the trauma of homelessness and find a safe, appropriate alternative. Diversion is best used at “front door” areas, including but not limited to: CE access points, shelter hotlines, prevention entry points, and street outreach interactions. Diversion work should also take into account concerns for safety, there will be some situations where diversion is not a fit and shelter is appropriate. Diversion can also be employed with families immediately after their entry into shelter via advocacy and problem-solving conversations. This can look like: talking to a landlord to see what funds or actions could get the family back into a unit, conversations with friends or family to see about a potential stay during the housing search, a speedy housing search to use funds for a first months’ rent and security deposit, and other types of actions. Diversion is flexible and is there to meet the needs of the family where they are.
Diversion programming can be broken down into the 4 Cs:
Successful outcomes of diversion:
Eligible costs for diversion funds may include:
Trainings required for professional administering diversion funds
Participative Planning and Implementation: Applicants must identify the steps they will take to ensure that traditionally underserved populations (such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons; Asian American persons, Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; LGBTQ+ persons; persons who live in rural areas; persons with disabilities; and others adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality) will be able to meaningfully participate in the planning process.
In seeking public participation, applicants and recipients must ensure that all communications are provided in a manner that is effective for persons with hearing, visual, and other communication-related disabilities consistent with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and, as applicable, the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C 2000d require that grantees take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to services, programs, and activities by persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP persons).
Regular Evaluation and Data Review
The recipient of these funds will be required to enter data into HMIS. The recipient will also be required to submit reports monthly regarding relevant data points to the Wisconsin Balance of State CoC. The recipient will be a collaborative partner with WIBOSCOC and will meet regularly with staff. This project is a pilot and opportunity for data collection in addition to diversion service provision. Recipients of this funding will be expected to present on their findings and achievements at future events. The primary intent of this pilot is to use it as a blueprint for future interventions. Recipients are expected to continue speaking to this work long after grant completion.
The Balance of State CoC requires each new project to meet the following criteria:
1. Housing First philosophy and low barrier to entry: Housing First is a model of housing assistance that prioritizes rapid placement and stabilization in permanent housing that does not have service participation requirements or preconditions (such as sobriety or a minimum income threshold). This approach quickly connects people experiencing homelessness to permanent housing.
2. Coordinated Entry: Project applicants are required to comply with the policy and procedures, written standards, and order of priority for the specific project type requested. Participation includes but is not limited to: pre-screen, assessment, referral, follow-up.
3. Balance of State CoC: Project applicants are required to comply with the Balance of State CoC bylaws, governance charter, and other policy and procedure manuals as approved by the Board or membership. This includes, but is not limited to:
Additional resources:
Effective Diversion: A Key Strategy for Ending Homelessness (webinar) - National Alliance to End Homelessness
Shelter Diversion: A best practice to prevent homelessness (strategiestoendhomelessness.org)
https://cceh.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Diversion-1-NAEH.pdf
Bridging the Gap Between Micro and Macro Practice to Address Homelessness in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region: Implications for Practitioners and Community Stakeholders - PMC (nih.gov)
Ending_Family_Homelessness_Progress_Work_Ahead.pdf (usich.gov)
Diversion - National Alliance to End Homelessness
Day One Funds: New Project Application Instructions
Overview: The Day One funds is a one-time, non-federal funding opportunity. The Wisconsin Balance of State CoC is investing in a pilot program with the intended outcome of working towards an end to family homelessness. The Wisconsin Balance of State Continuum of Care will consider applications for funds for families experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. The Wisconsin Balance of State CoC reserves the right to choose one agency within your community as you define it for targeted impact. This could be a local coalition as a whole or a county as a whole. The application must include information on section A and from section B.
Applicants should write their application based on the below guiding principles:
- Working towards zero unsheltered families within the service area
- A reduction in families needing shelter
- A reduction in the length of time from point of entry into shelter to exit to permanent housing destination
Family - HUD’s definition of family differs from the population targeted with this grant. Families served by the Bezos Day One fund must include at least one child who is under 18. Outside of that requirement, families can be one or more individuals who live together. Members of the family do not need to be related by blood, marriage or in any other legal capacity. Family members who are away from the household for a certain period of time may be considered part of the family.
Homelessness - Please reference the attached link for guidance on HUD’s homeless definition: HUD's Definition of Homelessness: Resources and Guidance - HUD Exchange
**The Wisconsin Balance of State CoC will review progress on the agreement with the awardee annually. WIBOSCOC reserves the right to not renew the contract with 60 days notice to the awardee organization.
**Admin taken from these funds can be no more than 10% of total costs administered.
Section A - Diversion staff and funds administration
- Staff member to administer diversion funds and provide resources for families experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness.
- Targeting specifically the population of families about to enter into emergency shelter. The goal is to use funds to divert families to permanent housing and other resources for availability of space in shelter for emergent need.
- Reduction in unsheltered homelessness among families
- Reduction in length of time from identification to housed dates
- Reduction in families experiencing first time category 1 homelessness
- Increase in home ownership among families exiting from category 1 or category 2 homelessness
- Reduction in returns to Coordinated Entry for families
- Increase of exits to permanent destinations from shelter within 2 weeks of stay, including staying with friends or family intended to be long-term.
Some potential projects that could help with the achievement of Data Point Goals include:
- System improvement project for the family service delivery system, including but not limited to: integration of identification of families, family-specific needs assessment or capacity analysis, equity analysis for families and system improvement project based on the results
- Data acquisition and monitoring project for families, including but not limited to:data dashboard, HMIS/non-HMIS longitudinal analysis
- Partnership and integration of a non-housing system into CE or HMIS, including but not limited to: Child Welfare, healthcare, TANF providers, Foodshare providers, K-12 education, Post-secondary education
- Pilot project for flexible housing subsidy to supplement existing resource in your local coalition
- Development of a toolkit for ending family homelessness
- Development of Diversion-specific family assessment/ mediation conversation tool
- Other type of system improvement project for families experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness
Priority:
Applicants are required to have the goal of ending family homelessness within their community and the Balance of State CoC (WIBOSCOC).
Q & A sessions:
The dates of the application question and answer sessions will be 2/2/24, 10am and 2/5/24 at 1pm held virtually.
Due Date: Applications and required attachments are due March 15th, 2024, to [email protected].
Please submit your application as a .pdf file.
Review Process: Each application and required attachments will be reviewed by the CoC Director, in consultation with select Board members and CoC staff. The scoring rubric will be attached to this application. The highest scoring project(s) will be selected. A final decision will be made no later than March 28, 2024.
Contact: The contact for this application process is Carrie Poser, CoC Director. Contact information is: [email protected] or 715-598-3301.
Funding Available: $1 million over 5 years, which will be allocated at $200,000 per year. The program should start administering funds no later than June 1st, 2024. Wisconsin Balance of State staff will support the recipient at the onset and throughout the program administration.
Please note, there is no match requirement for this grant.
Eligible Applicants: Members of local coalitions within the WIBOSCOC including non-profit, for profit, housing authorities, city/county government, and Community Action Programs (CAP). The Wisconsin Balance of State CoC is seeking an agency to lead the project within the designated community. The lead agency/applicant must be in good standing with the WIBOSCOC and a member of the local homeless coalition. If an applicant has received Bezos Day 1 funds in the last 5 years, they are not eligible.
Eligible Project Types: The Balance of State CoC will consider the following projects with the corresponding data points. The application must include section A and section B.
Section A - Diversion staff and funds administration
Staff member to administer diversion funds and provide resources for families experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. The staff member administering these funds should have previous experience working with families experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness. They should complete the trainings listed in the instructions and continue to complete trainings on best practices throughout their employment.
This employee is targeting specifically the population of families about to enter into emergency shelter and families that have been in shelter 1 week or less. The goal is to use funds to divert families to permanent housing and other resources for availability of space in shelter for emergent need
Section B- Data Points targeted through this work
- Reduction in unsheltered homelessness among families
- Reduction in length of time from identification to housed dates
- Reduction in families experiencing first time category 1 homelessness
- Increase in home ownership among families exiting from category 1 or category 2 homelessness
- Increase of exits to permanent destinations from shelter within 2 weeks of stay, including staying with friends or family intended to be long-term.
Diversion Best Practices
The National Alliance to End Homelessness’ definition of diversion can be found below:
“Diversion is an intervention designed to immediately address the needs of someone who has just lost their housing and become homeless. Diversion is a client-driven approach; its goal is to help the person or household find safe alternative housing immediately, rather than entering shelter or experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It is intended to ensure that the homelessness experience is as brief as possible, to prevent unsheltered homelessness, and to avert stays in shelter.”
It is best practice for diversion-based conversations to be happening everywhere throughout the homeless services delivery system. By having these conversations, shelters are not denying service, rather they are providing a chance to avoid the trauma of homelessness and find a safe, appropriate alternative. Diversion is best used at “front door” areas, including but not limited to: CE access points, shelter hotlines, prevention entry points, and street outreach interactions. Diversion work should also take into account concerns for safety, there will be some situations where diversion is not a fit and shelter is appropriate. Diversion can also be employed with families immediately after their entry into shelter via advocacy and problem-solving conversations. This can look like: talking to a landlord to see what funds or actions could get the family back into a unit, conversations with friends or family to see about a potential stay during the housing search, a speedy housing search to use funds for a first months’ rent and security deposit, and other types of actions. Diversion is flexible and is there to meet the needs of the family where they are.
Diversion programming can be broken down into the 4 Cs:
- Community-Wide Buy In
- paradigm shift from the idea that intervention begins with emergency shelter
- Problem Solving Conversation
- From a trauma-informed perspective, client led conversation on what is possible and what they want
- Creating Connections
- Connections to other resources
- Connection between the professional and the participant - relationship-building conversation
- Continuous Practice
- Needs to be woven into all areas of the system
Successful outcomes of diversion:
- Permanently back with friends or family
- Return to own residence
- Temporarily diverted while seeking new housing
- Permanent Relocation to safe place out of town
Eligible costs for diversion funds may include:
- Payment to family member or friend for allowing person to stay
- Payments to hotels
- Payment of court fees to stave off eviction
- Security deposit and first month’s rent to avoid a stay in shelter
- Mediation services with family members and/or friends
- Transportation to safe place to stay
- Car payments, tow lot fees, other payments to allow for family to pay rent or other housing related costs
Trainings required for professional administering diversion funds
- Diversion course with National Alliance to End Homelessness Diversion - National Alliance to End Homelessness
- Resource acquisition (Core [formerly AIRS] certification is a bonus) Core Certifications - Inform USA (formerly AIRS, the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems)
- Participation in WIBOSCOC Conference
- Continuing education through HUD Exchange
Participative Planning and Implementation: Applicants must identify the steps they will take to ensure that traditionally underserved populations (such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons; Asian American persons, Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; LGBTQ+ persons; persons who live in rural areas; persons with disabilities; and others adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality) will be able to meaningfully participate in the planning process.
In seeking public participation, applicants and recipients must ensure that all communications are provided in a manner that is effective for persons with hearing, visual, and other communication-related disabilities consistent with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and, as applicable, the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C 2000d require that grantees take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to services, programs, and activities by persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP persons).
Regular Evaluation and Data Review
The recipient of these funds will be required to enter data into HMIS. The recipient will also be required to submit reports monthly regarding relevant data points to the Wisconsin Balance of State CoC. The recipient will be a collaborative partner with WIBOSCOC and will meet regularly with staff. This project is a pilot and opportunity for data collection in addition to diversion service provision. Recipients of this funding will be expected to present on their findings and achievements at future events. The primary intent of this pilot is to use it as a blueprint for future interventions. Recipients are expected to continue speaking to this work long after grant completion.
The Balance of State CoC requires each new project to meet the following criteria:
1. Housing First philosophy and low barrier to entry: Housing First is a model of housing assistance that prioritizes rapid placement and stabilization in permanent housing that does not have service participation requirements or preconditions (such as sobriety or a minimum income threshold). This approach quickly connects people experiencing homelessness to permanent housing.
2. Coordinated Entry: Project applicants are required to comply with the policy and procedures, written standards, and order of priority for the specific project type requested. Participation includes but is not limited to: pre-screen, assessment, referral, follow-up.
3. Balance of State CoC: Project applicants are required to comply with the Balance of State CoC bylaws, governance charter, and other policy and procedure manuals as approved by the Board or membership. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Committee participation
- Actively involved in the Point-in-Time overnight street/known location count twice a year
- Active involvement in their local coalition
- Attendance at quarterly Balance of State meetings
- Good Standing with Balance of State CoC policies, including coordinated entry.
Additional resources:
Effective Diversion: A Key Strategy for Ending Homelessness (webinar) - National Alliance to End Homelessness
Shelter Diversion: A best practice to prevent homelessness (strategiestoendhomelessness.org)
https://cceh.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Diversion-1-NAEH.pdf
Bridging the Gap Between Micro and Macro Practice to Address Homelessness in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region: Implications for Practitioners and Community Stakeholders - PMC (nih.gov)
Ending_Family_Homelessness_Progress_Work_Ahead.pdf (usich.gov)
Diversion - National Alliance to End Homelessness
