Bringing Community Responders to Erie County

Colleen Kristich — Oct 29, 2024

Community responders are first responders who respond to nonviolent, noncriminal calls without police. Over 100 American cities now use community responder teams to address low-level health and social needs, which saves police and ambulance time and allows them to respond faster to higher-priority calls.

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Racial Discrimination and Eviction Policies and Enforcement in New York

New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights — Mar 1, 2022

This report focuses on the disproportionate impact of eviction on people of color, including in the administration of justice, in three major New York cities: Albany, Buffalo and NYC.

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Why Buffalo Needs Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD): Reducing Arrests and Providing Alternatives to Incarceration

Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, Tanvier Peart — Dec 1, 2020

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Evicted in Buffalo: the High Costs of Involuntary Mobility

Sam Magavern — Mar 4, 2020

Here in Buffalo, People United for Sustainable Housing Buffalo (PUSH Buffalo) has been on the front lines of organizing, advocacy, and neighborhood redevelopment for Buffalo’s tenants. Many of PUSH’s members have been harmed by involuntary mobility, and PUSH staff members such as Aminah Johnson have spent long hours advocating for tenants in Housing Court and helping them find and keep safe, decent, and affordable housing. We undertook this study for PUSH Buffalo to document …

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Erie County Housing Resource Directory

Erie County Department of Health — Jan 1, 2020

A guide for solving housing related problems in Erie County.

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Racial Disparities and Homelessness in Western New York

Homeless Alliance of Western New York — Oct 12, 2018

In this data analysis, Western New York is defined as Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming and Orleans County because these are areas the Homeless Alliance of WNY coordinate services with and administer the data for. The Homeless Alliance of Western New York analyzed racial disparities among homelessness within Western New York and examined the homeless system’s equity serving different racial/ethnic groups in terms of receiving those services, prioritizing those services, and housing success …

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Voices for 2020: Ending Family Homelessness Summary Report

Homeless Alliance of Western New York, Diane Bessell — Oct 12, 2018

Voices for 2020 was undertaken at the request of the Homeless Alliance of Western New York with the expressed goal of developing a clearer picture of the physical, psychological, social, and resource needs of homeless families living in Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties. The project was developed in direct response to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness’s call to develop coordinated community responses to end homelessness among families with children …

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Voices for 2020: Strategies to Address Family Homelessness in WNY

Homeless Alliance of Western New York, Diane Bessell — Oct 12, 2018

Ending family homelessness will require a wide variety of community-based strategies to ensure that every member of each family experiencing homelessness is offered the services and supports they need to thrive. Following engagement with homeless families and health and human service providers; a review of the research literature and best practices in addressing the needs of homeless families; and completion of a local environmental scan, several strategies were identified for local action to …

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2017 Erie County Homelessness Brief

Homeless Alliance of Western New York — Jul 10, 2018

The Homeless Alliance of WNY publishes reports of homelessness in the five-county region that we serve. The information is from HMIS, departments of social services, and providers. HMIS serves as the primary data source and nearly all agencies in the five-county area who are not on HMIS provide aggregate counts. Increased coverage of HMIS has led to an improved understanding of homelessness in Western New York. This summary zeroes in on Erie County. If you have any questions about the …

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2017 Homeless Alliance Summary Brief: Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties

Homeless Alliance of Western New York — Jul 10, 2018

The Homeless Alliance of WNY publishes reports of homelessness in the five-county region that we serve. The information is from HMIS, departments of social services, and providers. HMIS serves as the primary data source and nearly all agencies in the five-county area who are not on HMIS provide aggregate counts. Increased coverage of HMIS has led to an improved understanding of homelessness in Western New York. This summary zeroes in on Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties.  If you …

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2017 Homelessness Summary Brief

Homeless Alliance of Western New York — Jul 10, 2018

The Homeless Alliance of WNY publishes reports of homelessness in the five-county region that we serve. The information is from HMIS, departments of social services, and providers. HMIS serves as the primary data source and nearly all agencies in the five-county area who are not on HMIS provide aggregate counts. Increased coverage of HMIS has led to an improved understanding of homelessness in Western New York.  If you have any questions about the annual report, please …

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2017 Niagara County Homelessness Brief

Homeless Alliance of Western New York — Jul 10, 2018

The Homeless Alliance of WNY publishes reports of homelessness in the five-county region that we serve. The information is from HMIS, departments of social services, and providers. HMIS serves as the primary data source and nearly all agencies in the five-county area who are not on HMIS provide aggregate counts. Increased coverage of HMIS has led to an improved understanding of homelessness in Western New York. This summary zeroes in on Niagara County. If you have any questions about the annual …

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2016 Annual Report on the State of Homelessness in Western New York

Homeless Alliance of Western New York — May 11, 2017

This report uses the 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) year (10/1/2015- 9/30/2016) as the time frame and is mostly reliant on data from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), known in Buffalo as Buffalo Area Service Network (BAS-Net). This timeframe corresponds to the federal fiscal year, used because many homelessness alleviation providers use funds from the federal government. This time period is also used because the annual Erie and Niagara County homelessness data is …

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Homelessness among Young Adults in Buffalo: A Research Report Highlighting Youth Voices

Ryan Savino, Berg Miller, Dale Zuchlewski, Kexin Ma, Elizabeth Bowen, Christine Slocum — Dec 31, 2016

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Annual Report on the State of Homelessness in Western New York

Li Yin, Kelly Patterson, Robert Silverman Jan 1, 2015

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York is the designated Continuum of Care (CoC) agency for Erie County.  As such, it is responsible for compiling the annual Continuum of Care grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  In July 2013, the Niagara County CoC merged with the Erie County CoC.  On March 30, 2015, the Erie and Niagara Counties CoC merged with the Orleans County CoC, which acquired Wyoming and Genesee Counties prior to merge.  Therefore, …

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Annual Report on the State of Homelessness in Erie-Niagara Metropolitan Area

Erin Hatton Jan 1, 2014

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York is the designated Continuum of Care (CoC) agency for Erie County.  As such, it is responsible for compiling the annual Continuum of Care grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  In July 2013, the Niagara County CoC merged with the Erie County CoC.  By the end of 2013, most providers were officially entering data into HMIS.  This report covers the time period from 10/1/13 to 9/30/14.

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Buffalo City School District McKinney-Vento Program

John Crabbe — Mar 1, 2013

Shows details related to the McKinney-Vento Program.

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2013 Annual Report on the State of Homelessness in Erie County

Ramon Garcia Jan 1, 2013

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York is the designated Continuum of Care (CoC) agency for Erie County.  As such, it is responsible for compiling the annual Continuum of Care grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  In July 2013, the Niagara County CoC merged with our CoC.  By the end of 2013, most providers were officially entering data into HMIS.  We will not present Niagara County data in this report.  This report covers the time period …

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The Matt Urban HOPE Center and the Housing First Model

Justine Miller — Apr 1, 2012

Housing First successfully addresses homelessness by giving chronically homeless people permanent housing.  Once in a Housing First program, chronically homeless people get a permanent place to live immediately, despite possible untreated drug, alcohol, or emotional health problems.  Matt Urban Hope Center operates one of the first Housing First programs in the Buffalo region.  Housing First is permanent housing, while shelters are only temporary, meaning people are only allowed …

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2012 Annual Report on the State of Homelessness in Erie County

Open Buffalo, Partnership for the Public Good, PUSH Buffalo, VOICE Buffalo, Coalition for Economic Justice Jan 1, 2012

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York is the designated Continuum of Care (CoC) agency for Erie County that is responsible for compiling the annual Continuum of Care grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  In 2011 this grant awarded $11.2 million in funding for new and renewal projects to homeless agencies throughout Erie County.

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2010 Buffalo and Erie County Annual Report on Homelessness: A Community Profile

Kristin Cipollone — Jan 1, 2011

This report was prepared by Kristin Cipollone with data supplied by the Homeless Alliance of WNY.  HAWNY and its subsidiaries were responsible for all data collection.  For the purpose of this annual report, all data has been reported based on the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) year, which is October 1 to September 31.  AHAR is HUD mandated report given to congress every year to report on the status of homelessness.  Kristin Cipollone was tasked with writing up …

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2011 Annual Report on the State of Homelessness in Erie County

Kristin Cipollone Jan 1, 2011

Housing in which homeless persons can access shelter immediately and reside for up to 30 days.  The primary function is to provide immediate housing and assist individuals in identifying causes of homelessness, accessing services and securing the next appropriate level of housing.

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Left Behind: How Difficulties with Transportation are a Roadblock to Self-Sufficiency

Homeless Alliance of Western New York — Sep 1, 2006

The Transportation Task Force, a project of the Homeless Alliance of Western New York, completed a transportation needs assessment among homeless and very low-income persons at sites around Erie County.  The assessment was in survey form and was administered to approximately 800 people over a 5-day period.  From earlier focus groups with homeless individuals and the workers who directly serve them, the Task Force found that problems with affording public transportation and with …

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