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Community Partnership Award Winners |
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Select Year:
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2008 Community Partnership Award Winners |
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NATIONAL AWARD WINNER |
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Family Eviction Prevention Collaborative
San Francisco, CA |
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Families with children are among the fastest growing segment of America's homeless
population. In San Francisco, one of the country's most expensive cities, an
average of 125 families are on the waiting list for emergency shelter on any
given day. |
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In the face of this overwhelming need, the Family Eviction Prevention Collaborative
(FEPCO) works to prevent homelessness by providing rental assistance to
families to stave off eviction and help those in shelters or substandard
housing find permanent homes. |
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FEPCO comprises four Bay Area agencies that share a commitment to preventing
homelessness—Catholic Charities CYO, Homeless Prenatal Program, Hamilton
Family Center and Compass Community Services. All four agencies also share a
stream of rental assistance funding from the city of San Francisco and use a
standardized application process that affords a client access to funds from all
four agencies. This single, streamlined intake process means fewer bureaucratic
hurdles for those in need and faster action on the part of the
agencies—with eviction, time is critical. "This partnership is changing
the way we do business by ensuring that families most in need have access to
every resource," says Jose Cartagena, program manager for Catholic Charities
CYO's Homelessness Prevention Rental Assistance Program. |
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Most families facing eviction owe back rent because of an unexpected event: illness,
a death in the family, the loss of a job. For families on the brink of
homelessness, FEPCO's help can avert calamity: "When you lose your home, you're
in free fall," says Brian Cahill, Executive Director of Catholic Charities CYO.
"The stress on kids leads to failing grades and behavioral problems that can
affect them the rest of their lives; the stress on parents can lead to
violence. You can prevent all the pain, dysfunction and damage that come from
homelessness with a relatively small amount of money." |
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Since Catholic Charities CYO formalized the FEPCO partnership a year ago, they have
been able to provide early intervention and mediation with landlords that
helped nearly 10,000 San Francisco families avoid homelessness. With the
housing assistance provided by FEPCO, parents can better ensure the safety and
well being of their children and maintain their dignity as they work to
stabilize their financial situation. |
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Partners:
Catholic Charities CYO
Homeless Prenatal Program
Hamilton Family Center
Compass Community Services |
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HONORABLE MENTION RECIPIENTS |
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Mental Illness and Law Enforcement Systems (MILES) |
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Off the Streets |
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MERIT FINALISTS |
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