homelessness in the northern valley 2015 surveyed homeless populations in winchester, front royal,...

Homelessness in the Northern Valley 2015

Surveyed homeless populations in Winchester, Front Royal, Woodstock and Luray on January 28th, 2015

2015 Point In Time Survey, Northern Planning Group

Vignette 1. “Robert” is staying at a thermal shelter tonight. He is 55 years old and by himself. Robert told us he has a substance abuse issue that has interfered with housing. His plans for housing fell through. He is not currently employed and identified his barriers to employment as transportation, job skills and opportunity.

He said there have been disputes with family members. He told us he was in foster care as a child. He received special education services in High School. He dropped out in 11th grade.

He has been homeless for one year. He lived in a tent for a year. He mentions a girlfriend who passed away recently and how much he misses her.

He has a chronic health issue and is trying to “get into” the Free Clinic for health care.


Northern Shenandoah Valley homeless population on one night in January

108 persons were identified as homeless

93 adults counted during the Point-In-Time

15 children under 18

65 (60%) of homeless adults volunteered to be surveyed

Although a large population (26) of young adults 18-24 were counted in the Point-In-Time Count, only three participated in the surveys.


Duration of homelessness

Current Episode

<1 month

1-3 months

4-11 months

12-35 months

36+ months

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

8

17

14

13

12

Lifetime

<1 month8%

1-3 months

17%4-11 months

21%

12-35 months

21%

36+ months

24%

No Answer10%


Episodes of homelessness in last 3 years

First time; 25; 38%

Once before; 19; 29%

2 instances of home-lessness; 8; 12%

3 instances of home-lessness; 3; 5%

4+ times homeless; 6; 9%

No Answer; 4; 6%


Chronically homeless

chronically homeless; 27; 28%

not chronically homeless; 68; 72%

Chronically homeless surveyed, defined by 4+ times homeless in the past 3 years and/or 12+ months du-

ration

chronically homeless not chronically homeless

Nationally the 2014 average for chronically homeless on a given night was 14.5%.http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/chronic_homelessness


Last permanent housing location

No an

swer

Out o

f sta

te

Culpe

pper

Winch

este

r/Fre

deric

k

NOVA

Other

Cou

nty

Page

Cou

nty

Rockin

gham

Cou

nty

Shen

ando

ah C

ount

y

War

ren

Count

y0

5

10

15

20

25

5

12

1

21

2 2

8

1

7 7


Main reasons for homelessness

home condemned

home destroyed

family or personal illness

released from prison/jail

released from substance abuse treatment

other

dispute with spouse

divorce

moved to seek work

released from mental health treatment

housing plans fell through

domestic violence

plans with family/friends fell through

addiction

unable to pay rent

evicted

physical/mental disability

unemployment

dispute w/family/friends

change in family situation

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

1

1

3

5

6

6

6

6

6

7

9

12

12

15

15

16

17

19

22

25

Series 1

DemographicsSurveyed homeless on January 28, 2015

Age of surveyed homeless, by gender

18-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70+ No Answer0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1

43

7

45

7

10

4

01

22

2

0

1

1

0

3

0

0

0

8

Men WomenThe Point In Time Count found 25 young adults 18-24 in the Winchester area. Most young adults declined to take part in the survey.*Information not available for all surveyed individuals


Median age 47*

Ethnicity and race of surveyed homeless/PiT count compared to local 2013 census populations

Black/Afr ican American

White/Caucasion Hispanic/Latino* Multi Racia l Asian

9%

81%

3% 5

%

0%

8%

81%

5%

5%

1%

10.8

%

69.6

%

15.0

%

2.0

%

2.0

%

19.7

%

63.6

%

8.6

%

2.7

% 6.1

%

Surveyed homelessNorthern Point In Time CountWinchester CityVirginia Census

Source: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51660.html

http://www.city-data.com/city/Winchester-Virginia.html


Gender and length of current homelessness47 Men, 72%

<1 month6%

1-3 months

24%

4-11 months

18%

12-35 months

22%

36+ months

22%

No Answer6%

18 Women, 28%

<1 month29%

1-3 months

24%

4-11 months

29%

12-35 months

18%



Length of current homelessness, by age

Youth 18-24 25-40 years 41-54 years 55 or older

<1 month 1 1 1 0

1-3 months 0 3 1 4

4-11 months 1 7 2 4

12-36 months 1 8 5 3

>36 months 0 0 5 2

1 1 1

00

3

1

4

1

7

2

4

1

8

5

3

0 0

5

2


Veterans 7% of all surveyed (5) identified as veterans.

3% of all surveyed, (2) persons received VA Benefits

4 identified as former Army, 1 as former Air Force

1 identified as a combat veteran from the Vietnam War era.

Discharged status

2 Honorable

2 Less than honorable

1 Dishonorable


Education and homelessness

<9th grade

9th grade

10th grade

11th grade

High School Graduate/GED

Some college

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Masters Degree

N/A

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

7

3

8

7

28

5

1

4

0

2

27% of surveyed (12 adults) reported receiving special education services in school. 38% did not graduate High School or receive their GED.


Other statistics 57% served time in jail (5 women, 32 men)

23% served time in prison (1 woman, 14 men)

13.8% said they were placed in foster care as a child

U.S. Citizenship

93% said they were US citizens,

3% said they had legal residency

3% said they were undocumented

1% did not answer

Income and Resources

Surveyed homeless on January 28, 2015

Employment & financial support sources

Disability (SSI)

Child support

Unemployment insurance

Blank

Relatives / friends

Social security

Employed part time (under 30

hours)

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

4

4

5

6

7

14

18

Income sources identified in the last 6 months surveyed could choose more than one type

29% (31) had employment at the time they were surveyed 41.5% (32) said they had employment income within 6 months of the survey 53% (35) indicated they receive food stamp assistance


Occupations listed for full and part time workers

Full Time (18) Part Time (14) Auto Body

Baker

Electrician

Groundsman (Tree Service)

Labor Ready (temp)

Logistics/operation

Manager

Pipe Fitters Helper, Zachary

Restaurant in WV

Seasonal Retail

Shelter Head Monitor

Unloader Retail

Clothes sorter

Custodian

Landscaping/painting

Mover

Server

Temp jobs

Odd jobs

Panhandled in DC

Snow removal/warehouse



Income resources applied for but did not receive in the last 6 months

Relatives / friends

Social security

TANF

Other

Disability (SSDI)

Jail

Unemployment insurance

Disability (SSI)

Food stamps

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1

1

3

3

4

4

5

5

9

Com

munit

y S

erv

ices

Shelter

Transitional housing

Permanent Housing

Job Training/placement

Substance abuse treatment

Mental health treatment

Food pantry or meals

Vouchers for transportation

GED or English classes

Emergency financial assistance

Legal aid

Child care assistance

Public assistance

Medical services

Dental services

Drop-in center

Domestic violence services

Showers

Shelter and care

Medication

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

56

2

1

4

5

14

39

11

3

4

3

3

14

20

3

15

13

34

33

18

3

6

16

9

2

3

2

4

4

8

4

1

2

3

10

3

2

0

2

2

4

34

26

31

39

33

11

32

39

32

36

38

28

27

31

22

27

16

14

27

1

7

3

2

0

0

0

1

1

2

3

2

3

2

4

7

3

1

1

1

1

16

19

19

19

15

13

17

18

19

19

21

18

13

17

18

20

14

15

17

Used Tried, but could not obtain Did not seekDid not know Did not answer


HealthSurveyed homeless on January 28, 2015


Health

Excellent; 5; 8%

Very good; 19; 29%

Good; 18; 28%

Fair; 17; 26%

Poor; 5; 8%No Answer; 1; 2%

How is your general health?

Very Ea

syEa

sy

Som

ewha

t diff

ucult

Very diffuc

ult

I hav

e no

t nee

ded

health

care

Not A

nswer

ed0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

5

17

13

19

5

1

How easy is it to get healthcare?

HealthHow many days was your physical health not good in past 30 days?

0

1

3

4

5

7

10

13

14

15

20

21

30

(blank)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

26

1

2

3

2

1

1

1

1

4

1

2

13

7

(blank)

30

21

20

15

14

12

10

7

5

4

2

0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

8

12

1

1

3

1

1

4

2

2

4

1

25

How many days was your mental health not good in past 30 days?


52% of surveyed responded that had experiences of stress, depression and/or problem with emotions

HealthHow many days did poor mental or physical health keep you from usual activities in the past 30?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

10

15

30

(blank)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

41

1

1

3

2

1

1

3

1

8

3

Days

kept

from

usu

al act

ivit

ies

Number of ER visits in the past 3 months

0

1

2

3

4

10

(blank)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

37

16

5

2

3

1

1

ER

vis

its

in p

ast

3 m

onth

s


316 total days an average of 5 days per person

54 visits total an average of .84 visits per person

Health How many times were you

admitted to the hospital this last year?

How many total days did you stay in the hospital this past year?

0

1

2

3

4

(blank)

0 10 20 30 40 50

45

5

10

3

1

1

Tim

es

adm

itte

d t

o h

osp

ital

0

1

2

3

5

6

7

9

14

15

17

18

(blank)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

45

2

4

1

1

1

1

2

3

1

1

2

1

Days

in h

osp

ital


Health

Med

icaid

Med

icare VA

Priva

te in

sura

nce

None

(blank

)

No an

swer

05

101520253035404550

14

50 1

44

1 1

Where do you go for healthcare? (could choose more than 1 answer)

Primary insurance

Rockingham Memorial Hospital

Free Medical Clinic of the Northern Shenandoah Valley

Harrisonburg Rockingham Community Health Center

Shenandoah Memorial Hospital

Does not go for healthcare

Other

Page Memorial Hospital

St. Lukes Free Clinic

Warren Memorial Hospital

Winchester Medical Center

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

1

2

3

3

6

5

8

8

9

32

Healt

hca

re p

rovid

ers

HealthMedical conditions identified

HIV+/AIDS

Liver disease/cirrhosis

Tuberculosis

Frostbite/hypothermia/immersion foot

Hepatitis C

Kidney/renal disease

Emphysema

Cancer

Heatstroke/exhaustion

Diabetes

Heart disease/arrhythmia

Asthma

Other

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

0

2

7

1

16

1

6

5

9

0

3

0

14

Other conditions: arthritis (5), pregnancy (2), blood clots (1), broken neck (1), thyroid disease (1), gallbladder stones (1), COPD (1), chronic bronchitis (1) hip issues (2), osteopenia (1)



Estimated cost of hospital admissions 159 days of total hospitalization were reported.

Virginia average cost* of 1 day of hospitalization at a non-profit hospital; $1,630.00*

Estimated cost of all admissions: $259,170.00

44 of 64 persons indicated they did not have insurance. 13 of these reported a total of 76 days admitted to the hospital.

Estimated cost of hospitalization for the uninsured: $123,880.00

*From 2010 hospital data; http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/lists/average-cost-per-inpatient-day-across-50-states-in-2010.html


Other barriers to self-sufficiency Have you ever abused drugs or alcohol? Yes (32) 49*%

Have you consumed alcohol every day past month? Yes (6) 9.3%

Ever used injection drugs or shots? Yes, (7) 10.7%

Ever treated for drug or alcohol abuse? Yes, (13) 20%

Ever received treatment for mental health issues? Yes, (28) 43%

Have you been a victim of a violent attack since becoming homeless? Yes, (13) 20%

Do you have a permanent physical disability that limits mobility? Yes, (16), 24.6%

Have you had a serious brain injury or trauma that required hospitalization or surgery? Yes, (1), 7.6%

Trusted Agencies – Northern Planning Group

parole officer

Access Independence

Other

Dept Rehab services

Northwestern Community Services

Shenandoah Alliance for Shelter

Adult protective services/Social Services

Choices

Winchester Salvation Army

WATTS

Laurel Center

Mt. Carmel Church Program

House of Hope

C CAP

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

3

3

5

5



Participants were asked if they had anything else to say…

“You need housing for people who are on limited incomes; senior housing.”

“There needs to be a better way of knowing what resources are available.”

“Just trying to get housing issue straightened out. Tired of being without a place to live.”

“I need assistance with banking and establishing accounts”

“I really do need a place to live due to my physical health. My health will not allow me to endure homelessness much longer. I need help badly. Thank you for anything you can do for me.”

“It can happen to anybody & you too. Nobody is exempt. Don’t look down on me, look at me like a man. Listen to us.”


We would like to thank the people who shared their stories with our community volunteers. Your willingness to talk to us helps us all.

We would like to thank each community volunteer for their help and participation in the Point-In-Time count effort and administering the Housing Needs Index and Vulnerability Survey.

A special thank you to Rita Poteyeva, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Justice Studies and her James Madison University Research Methods class for codifying the survey answers for the Continuum of Care. Her assistance has been invaluable to our community.

Thank you

The End

homelessness in the northern valley 2015 surveyed homeless populations in winchester, front royal,...

Documents

time survey

northern planning group

time count

northern valley

homeless adults

age of surveyed homeless

surveyed homeless populations

surveyed individuals