100,000 Homes Campaign Follows Up Successful Launch in July with Registry Weeks

Online, August 16, 2010 (Newswire.com) - 100,000 Homes Campaign
c/o Common Ground National
14 East 28th Street
New York, New York 10016

Contact: Howard Leibowitz
617-947-0762

100,000 Homes Campaign Off to Strong Start;
More Communities Sign On to National Effort to
House 100,000 Long Term and Vulnerable Homeless

San Diego Among Cities Slated for Upcoming "Registry Weeks"

The 100,000 Homes Campaign is off and running! In the wake of our announcement of the campaign earlier this month, new communities have stepped forward, new milestones have been reached and new housing has been found for the long term and vulnerable homeless all across America. The Director of the Campaign, Becky Kanis, said, "It is gratifying to see people all around the country who want to put an end to chronic homelessness - for veterans, for seniors, for everyone."

The Campaign also announced that San Diego (September 19-24) would be one of the major cities holding Registry Weeks in the second half of 2010 to personally identify the chronic homeless with the most urgent needs for housing and services.

In July, eleven new communities stepped forward to join the campaign - from Portland, Oregon and Fresno, California to Pasco County, Florida and Boulder, Colorado. In all, 43 communities including New York City, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Atlanta and the Los Angeles region have now signed on to a new and better way of housing America's homeless - by identifying those with the gravest needs and quickly lining up housing and support services. Kanis noted, "It's a breakthrough that not only gets people off the streets and into housing, it also lowers health care costs by reducing frequent emergency room visits."

Two recent "victories" epitomize the goals of the 100,000 Homes Campaign:

• In Phoenix, Project H3 moved a veteran who had been homeless for thirty years. Last year, his brother died on a park bench in the city. He was welcomed to his new residence by project staff and volunteers, provided with "move in" help and supplies, and will have a case worker to help him make the transition.

• In Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that the 1,000th homeless person on our nation's capital has found housing. With a local government committed to rapidly housing people and a strong non-profit network to provide services, DC is strongly moving forward to end street homelessness.

Kanis added that, "We want to welcome new communities and new partners to our effort. Just the other day, with a number of communities participating in one of our "Innovations" calls, and sharing their best practices, we were able to shave weeks of the processing time for veterans' housing vouchers. That means less bureaucracy, and more people housed".