Guest:  Dominic Johnson

Topic:  Rapid Re-Housing Program for the homeless via HUD

Host:  Welcome to Independent Perspective, a Public Affairs presentation of Western New York Independent Living (WNYIL). Our guest today is Dominic Johnson, Independent Living Specialist in Rapid Re-Housing for Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR), and your host is yours truly Ernie Churchwell. Welcome to the program, Dominic.

Guest:  Hello.

Host:  You're here because you are the go-to person for an exciting new program that the Batavia center is doing in collaboration with other community organizations, referred to as Rapid Re-Housing. Who is that intended for, and what does it provide?

Guest:  So, the Rapid Re-Housing program, it's intended for individuals that are homeless. They meet the HUD definition for homeless. So that can get a little tricky and complicated for individuals, so how I explained it as its to meet the HUD definition that is either you are sleeping in a place that's not meant for habilitation that could be outside, in your car, or any one of the social services in the three counties we cover which are Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming County are paying for you to be at a motel or hotel or any community organization is paying for you to stay and the in the hotel or motel. Those things will make you eligible for me to complete the assessment for, to see if you're eligible for the program.

Host:  And before we get too far for benefit of people that aren't involved in government processes when you say HUD, you mean the US Department of Housing and Urban Development?

Guest:  Correct.

Host:  Are they providing essentially a grant through another community organization to help us do this?

Guest:  Oh yeah so, the grant is through HAWNY which is the Homeless Alliance of Western New York. So, we run the program side, so we do all the screening, all the paperwork, and the assessments, and all the things that go into helping an individual find an apartment.

Host:  If someone is homeless and just happens to hear about your program or is referred to it by another organization, what do they need to apply for participation?

Guest:  So, if someone is referred to the program from a different organization, it's going to either they're just going either be homeless because they're living outside, or they're in their car or if community organization themselves is referring them. That's because maybe possibly they have paid for them to be in a hotel or motel, that could be food organization or social services, and then they just come with the paperwork that shows on there that this organization is paying for me to be at x y & z and then we can do the assessment, and then the system will score the assessment and then if the individual is eligible for the program. Then I go over the things within the program and what the program provides.

Host:  Would you say that in recent years there have been a larger number of homeless people because of developments in the community, in the economy and whatnot?

Guest:  Um, I would say that the homelessness, I don't know if so much maybe have increased, but maybe now it's being brought more to the forefront so people are now more aware that we do have a lot of homeless individuals. And that could be for a combination of things, and our area a lot of it stems from the fact that there isn't a lot of affordable housing so even if there's available housing, it's not affordable so those individuals, sometimes just end up homeless because they can't afford any of the housing that is actually available.

Host:  I know in the larger cities, gentrification has taken away a lot of affordable housing. I didn't ever think of the Batavia area and surrounding counties as being hotbeds of gentrification but has that been an issue?

Guest:  Yeah, it becomes more of an issue also in our rural counties because we don't right now have a shelter either. So even if an individual is homeless and they're sleeping outside and they don't have a vehicle, if a community organization or social services, doesn't put them up, they can be offered a bus pass to one of the missions but those are either in Rochester or Buffalo so it makes it very difficult in our area. So, that's one of the reasons why the program got funded.

Host:  How can people call you to get more information?

Guest:  You can reach me at 585-815-8501 extension 405.

Host:  Thanks for being with us, Dominic.

Guest:  Thank you.

Host:  You've been listening to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of WNYIL. Our guest today was Dominic Johnson, Independent Living Specialist and Rapid Re-Housing person at ILGR, and your host is yours truly Ernie Churchwell.