This May, SPIN is joining with other local nonprofits in a campaign for counting homeless families as part of our efforts to help meet needs and end homelessness in Orange County.

Assessment Week: Tuesday, May 23–Thursday, May 25

Community Debrief: Friday, June 2, 9–11 a.m.

What is Family Assessment Week?
The Orange County Family Assessment Week was inspired by the success of the “100,000 Homes” campaign, a nationwide movement aimed at identifying homeless in local communities and assessing their needs. Orange County’s assessment week will be a focused effort to reach all of the community’s homeless families through the combined effort of the County, 211OC, and the A2 Family Cohort. The A2 Family Cohort is comprised of the following organizations: American Family Housing, Collette’s Children’s Home, Families Forward, Family Assistance Ministry, Mercy House, Pathways of Hope, Serving People in Need (SPIN), and South County Outreach. The A2 Family Cohort has was created in 2014 to help collaborate in the shared vision to end family homelessness by 2020.

Our Principles
We believe we can end family homelessness in Orange County by providing appropriate housing interventions to meet each family’s needs. By knowing each homeless family by name and having an assessment of their needs, we can provide the needed housing interventions and supportive services to reduce the time each family experiences homelessness, in turn bringing us closer to ending family homelessness.

Based on best practices nationwide, we will follow this key framework:

• Housing first: Permanent, safe, appropriate, and affordable housing, with the support necessary to sustain it, happens first and fast. We believe housing is a right for all families.
• Knowing who’s out there: Every homeless family is known by name because a system of care has been established that any family on the verge of homelessness can easily access.
• Tracking our progress: With the support of all participating local family-serving agencies, data collected during the Family Assessment Week will be incorporated into our local Coordinated Entry System. This effort will help inform Orange County cities and the county of needed interventions and create a plan and timeline for ending family homelessness.
• Improving local systems: Support the local effort to build coordinated housing and support systems that are simple to navigate, while targeting resources quickly and efficiently to the families who need it the most.

How Can You Join the Campaign?
Assessment sites, volunteers, and monetary donations will be needed to execute Orange County Family Assessment Week. For more information call SPIN at 714-751-1101, or email:
Jean Wegener: jeanw@spinoc.org, Ladeshia Goubert: ladeshiag@spinoc.org, Kim Frazier: kimf@spinoc.org.