Fox Cities Housing Coalition has approved working on a new website. There will be information shared soon about the progress of that website. The information will be posted here. 

Liz Croley, the Coordinated Entry Specialist at the City of Appleton Health Department has put together a wonderful resource for housing information. Please check out this QR code and scroll down to Community Resources (you may need a temporary Canva login. We are working on this):  

Thank you for visiting and please check back for updates!! 

Another great website to check out is : https://www.wiboscoc.org/fox-cities.html.

 

CITY OF APPLETON NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FROM DEVELOPERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ARPA GRANT 

A Total of $3 Million Is Available for This Grant Opportunity  

 

APPLETON, Wis., Nov. 15, 2022 – The City of Appleton is now accepting applications from developers for its Affordable Housing ARPA Grant. This one-time funding of $3 million is to boost the supply of affordable housing through approved projects. 

 

Eligible projects should develop, repair and operate affordable housing and services or programs to increase long-term housing security to households and communities negatively economically impacted by the COVID pandemic.   

 

All interested parties are required to complete the formal online application for funding at Online Application. The City will hold three (3) Application Informational Sessions to provide a detailed overview of the grant application process. All sessions will be recorded; recording links/presentation materials will be posted to this site. Attendance is strongly recommended.  Register to attend on one of the following dates: 

 

REGISTER: Thursday, November 17th at 2:00 PM (CST) 

City of Appleton Affordable Housing ARPA Grant Application Informational Webinar 11-17-2022 

Affordable Housing ARPA Grant Application Information Session - November 17, 2022 

REGISTER: Wednesday, November 30th at 10:30 AM (CST) 

City of Appleton Affordable Housing ARPA Grant Application Informational Webinar 11-30-2022 

Affordable Housing ARPA Grant Application Informational Session - November 30, 2022 

REGISTER: Tuesday, December 6th at 11:00 AM (CST) 

City of Appleton Affordable Housing ARPA Grant Application Informational Webinar 12-6-2022 

Affordable Housing ARPA Grant Application Information Session - December 6, 2022 

 

Completed online applications (including all required attachments) are due to the City of Appleton by 4:00 pm on December 15, 2022. City of Appleton Affordable Housing ARPA Grant Applications must be submitted online, at Online Application. The City is unable to accept paper applications, including those by mail, fax, or email submission. For questions and technical assistance with your online application, please email AppletonARPA@bmc-llc.net. Please note, technical assistance and submission of questions will be available through 3:00 pm on December 15, 2022. 

Rent Smart PLUS!

(Attention Young Adults Ages 18-25)

Over the past few months, the Youth Needs Subcommittee of the Fox Cities Housing Coalition has been working hard to identify barriers that young adults face when renting in our communities. With the goal of helping to alleviate some of those barriers and the stigma that surrounds renting to youth, the subcommittee has created a program in partnership with LEAVEN and UW-Madison Extension Outagamie County called Rent Smart PLUS!.

This extension of the Rent Smart program is essentially an “insurance policy” for landlords. For eligible participants (must be a single household OR a head of household in a family where the head of household is aged 18 through 25), Rent Smart PLUS! and LEAVEN will provide “rental insurance” to landlords who agree to rent to young adults who have successfully completed the Rent Smart PLUS!. If at any point during the lease the young adult is unable to pay their rent, Rent Smart PLUS! and LEAVEN will pay the rent until a certain dollar amount limit has been reached. Rent Smart PLUS! can also assist with initial security deposits as well.

Individuals who go through the program do have participation expectations, such as participating in 2 financial coaching sessions (provided through the program’s financial coaching partners, Goodwill and Catholic Charities) and maintaining positive tenancy throughout the duration of their lease.

More information regarding eligibility and participation expectations can be found in this flyer.

Please feel free to distribute the flyer to your staff and clients! 

For eligibility and referral questions, you can contact MaryBeth Wohlrabe at: marybeth.wohlrabe@wisc.edu.

Young adults who are interested can register by clicking here, or by scanning the QR code on the attached flyer, or contacting MaryBeth.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension's Encouraging Financial Conversations series is a program designed for case managers, social workers, and other frontline staff to help empower clients to manage their money. This FREE series is being held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in August from 9:00-10:00 AM (August 2–18) via Zoom. Register here.

Positive conversations around money are grounded in respect, confidentiality, and creating a judgment-free zone. Helping professionals are frequently in a position to provide resources to individuals who may not seek out financial education. This series will help you feel more comfortable discussing finances with your clients. For more information, please visit https://finances.extension.wisc.edu/programs/encouraging-financial-conversations/.

Also, on August 11th, we will be offering an Encouraging Financial Conversations Booster Session on the topic of Financial Problem Solving. This FREE session will be held via Zoom from 10:30 AM - Noon. Completion of the series is not required to attend this single class. Register here.

Please reach out if you have any questions. I would be happy to tell you more about this series or answer any questions you may have.

Todd Wenzel
Extension Winnebago County
todd.wenzel@wisc.edu
920-232-1982

FCHC Youth Advisory Board's First Meeting Scheduled

 

The Fox Cities Housing Coalition Youth Advisory Board will meet June 9th from 4-5 pm at ACOCA Coffee and Cafe (500 W College Ave, Appleton, WI 54911).

Please share with young adults (approximately 14-24 years old) and invite them to come check out the opportunities, provide their input and explore the possibility of getting involved.

Questions? Contact Patti at pheffernan@heliosrecovery.com or 920-680-5911

 

Pillars is hosting an open house on Thursday, May 19 to celebrate the newest home in the Stable Housing program.

The open house includes a self-guided tour of the Appleton home along with more information about affordable housing. No registration is required, and two sessions are being offered: 10am - 1pm and 4pm - 7pm.

If you attend, please refer to the graphic and map below for details. We hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

Registration link: https://pillarsinc.org/events/report-to-the-community/ 

 

Hello Everyone!

Our February's Conversations Over Coffee will focus on Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. PIT is an annual effort led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to estimate the number of Americans without safe, stable housing.

You’re welcome to join us for all or part of Conversations Over Coffee, February 3, 7:30-8:30 AM. Simply register online now – it only takes a few seconds. When you REGISTER, you’ll receive an email with Zoom access info.

We are glad you are part of the Pillars team! Hope to see you there!

 

Ayanda Crispin

Event Coordinator

 

Pillars

605 E. Hancock Street, Appleton, WI 54911

Main: 920.734.9192 ext 126    Cell: 920.422.6497     Fax: 920.731.7087

Register today for Conversations over Coffee to learn more about  Point-in-Time (PIT)  happening Thursday, February 3 at 7:30 a.m.

 

Balance of State conducts surveys each year regarding gaps in services for those experiencing homelessness and housing barriers in our community. Please consider completing the Provider Survey yourselves and sharing the Client Survey with those accessing services. Here is where you can find the links for the surveys:

 

Client Survey
If you are a client receiving services, we would like to hear from you.  Please consider using this link to access our online survey or click here, to access a form that can be printed and completed.  Thank you for helping us determine the needs for the communities we serve. 

Service Provider Survey
If you are an employee of a service provider in the WIBOSCOC region we would like to complete either an online form or the hard copy survey about the Gaps and Needs in your community.  

The deadline to complete the surveys is December 31st, 2021. However, we ask you to complete these as soon as you are able. The surveys take about 10 minutes to complete and are anonymous. Printable PDF versions of both surveys are available for those without access to a computer or internet.

 

 Report to the Community

The Fox Cities Housing Coalition wants to thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to homelessness and housing instability in our community. In lieu of an in-person Report to the Community, the Fox Cities Housing Coalition has opted to share information virtually. If you’d like to learn more about what the Fox Cities Housing Coalition is, what we have been addressing and the impacts that the coalition has on the community, feel free to watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8qmhY_Rc_w&feature=youtu.be 

Youth Needs Survey - EXTENDED

The Fox Cities Housing Coalition is conducting a Youth Needs Survey.

This survey will gather data on rental barriers to youth and young adults who experience housing insecurity.

Please share this with any and all youth and young people that you know or that you think would have good insight to this information being gathered.

https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5A2mPlA6Xjw9seG

The survey collection has been extended.

Training Opportunity

Ryan Dowd is back! We have asked him to return with a variety of new topics.  We have scheduled 2 different full-day workshops with Ryan Dowd.   To register, please visit our new page on our website for trainings:  https://www.wiboscoc.org/trainings.html

 

September 30, 2021        9am – noon, 1-4 pm

• While the first session is directed for supervisors, everyone is welcome to attend.  Registration will be done through Eventbrite and can be found at:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ryan-dowd-september-2021-tickets-168987535267
• Cost: BOS members $75/person. If register 4+ then it is $50/person (plus Eventbrite fees). Non-member is $100/person.
• As a reminder, the sessions are not recorded. Sign up will be first come, first served. Participants should have access to a camera, speaker, and microphone.  Approximately 1 week before the training, you will be sent a ZOOM link.  Make sure the email address for the person registering is typed in correctly as that will be the email address used to send the link.

 

Topics that will be covered include:

• Supervisor training – Tips for managing frontline staff who work directly with individuals experiencing homelessness.  There is a special focus on how to coach them to deescalate conflict.

 

• Burnout – The science behind what burnout does to the brain and the research behind how organizations can prevent and reverse burnout with their staff.

 

• Service animals – Do you know the legal definition between a service animal vs. an emotional support animal vs. a pet?  Do you know what you can legally ask and what you can’t?  This training explains the two major laws that apply to most nonprofit organizations.

 

• Getting hit on by customers – How can you effectively stop the individuals you serve from sexually harassing you and your staff?  This training offers a very practical step-by-step framework for addressing sexual harassment from clients.

 

• Prejudice comments – This training addresses how to handle prejudicial comments (sexist, racist, homophobic, etc.) from the clients of your organization.  These situations are wildly complicated, so this training provides a myriad of strategies for people to choose from rather than a clunky one-size-fits all approach.

 

 

December 16, 2021         9am – noon, 1-4 pm

• We have asked him to conduct his core training and a few new add on sessions. Registration will be done through Eventbrite and can be found at:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ryan-dowd-december-2021-tickets-169140524863
• Cost: BOS members $75/person. If register 4+ then it is $50/person (plus Eventbrite fees). Non-member is $100/person.
• As a reminder, the sessions are not recorded. Sign up will be first come, first served. Participants should have access to a camera, speaker, and microphone.  Approximately 1 week before the training, you will be sent a ZOOM link.  Make sure the email address for the person registering is typed in correctly as that will be the email address used to send the link.

 

Topics that will be covered include:

• Enforcing the rules with compassion and empathy – This is Ryan’s core training.  It focuses on practical tools for deescalating and preventing conflict.  It does so, though, within a framework of helping individuals to understand the psychology behind why this approach works best with individuals experiencing homelessness.

 

• Police – When should you call the police?  When should you not?  How should you call the police?  What do you do when they arrive?  What do you do if the officer is a jerk or won’t assist?

 

• Traumatic Brain Injury – TBI is very common in homeless populations (> 50%).  It can have very specific (bad) effects on a person’s behavior.  This training explains the neuroscience behind the problematic behavior as well as specific strategies for working with individuals suffering from TBI.

 

For more information about Ryan Dowd, please visit:  http://www.homelesstraining.com/ and http://www.homelesslibrary.com/

Advance Child Tax Credit

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension has created a Spanish version of our fact sheet on the ACTC. The fact sheet contains important information on the ACTC, how to opt out of the payments, how to prepare for the impacts of the payments at tax time, and more. Please share this with your clientele and share with staff and partner agencies that work with Spanish-speaking individuals. We want to ensure everyone has access to this important financial information.

I have attached both the English version and the new Spanish version.

ACTC English version ACTC English

https://finances.extension.wisc.edu/2021/08/13/advance-child-tax-credit/

ACTC Spanish version ACTC Spanish

https://finances.extension.wisc.edu/2021/08/13/credito-fiscal-por-hijos-por-adelantado/

Todd Wenzel
​Human Development & Relationships Educator
University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
Winnebago County & Brown County

todd.wenzel@wisc.edu

 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES (DHS) HOMELESSNESS FORUM

Monday, August 23, 2021

Homelessness Forum will be held online using Zoom meeting technology.

Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

Please click this URL to join. https://dhswi.zoom.us/j/88662464610

Or One tap mobile:

+13017158592,,88662464610# US (Washington DC)

+13126266799,,88662464610# US (Chicago)

General Session

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

General Forum Information

9:00 a.m. Welcome/Announcements – Alfred C. Johnson, DHS

9:05 a.m. COVID-19 updates

      o Karen Boegler, Epidemiologist, DHS

      o Elise Balzer, CDC Public Health Advisor

      o Nick Tomaro, Public Health Emergency Response Planning Coordinator, City of Milwaukee Health Department

9:20 a.m. Care for the Wounded Helper: Understanding Secondary Traumatic Stress, Self-

Care and Creating Healthy Boundaries

      o Scott Webb, Trauma Informed Care Coordinator, DHS

10:15 a.m. Question/Answer period

10:30 a.m. Adjourn

The CDC’s moratorium on residential evictions is ending on Saturday, July 31, 2021 and many renters who have missed payments may be worried about keeping their housing. University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension Financial Educators Amanda Kostman and Todd Wenzel have created the included fact sheets—one for renters and the other suggesting eviction alternatives to landlords—to help provide resources that will allow tenants to stay in their homes. Please share these fact sheets in your communities and reach out with any questions. 

Resources for tenants

Eviction alternatives for landlords

Todd Wenzel  

​Human Development & Relationships Educator
University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension  

Winnebago County & Brown County 

todd.wenzel@wisc.edu

  

UW-Madison Extension Winnebago County                                    

625 E. County Road Y, Suite 600                                                    

Oshkosh, WI 54901                                                                          

Phone: (920) 232-1982                                                                     

Extension Winnebago County Website 

July 2021 Point in Time

The summer Point in Time event will take place on July 28th, 2021 and go into the early morning of July 29th, 2021.

On this day, volunteers will depart from the Salvation Army at 10:30pm and work through the community searching for people affected by homelessness who are staying on the streets or in another place not intended for sleeping or habitation. 

If you are interested in participating, please click the link below for more information and to sign-up. Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548a5a823a5fd0-july3

Landlord Survey Link

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TT58QJS

 The 2021 Wisconsin Brain Injury Conference will be held virtually on May 25th from 8-6.  Info and registration available on the conference website at https://ce.icep.wisc.edu/2021-wisconsin-brain-injury-conference

Balance of State Training and Quarterly Meeting: May 13th and May 14th

Balance of State Training Day: May 13th 

Ryan will share his understanding of the psychology of voluntary compliance, tools for de-escalation, & how underlying trauma affects life

About this Event

Content and Schedule Information:

Please make sure to register the email address of the person that will be attending the training.  The ZOOM training link will ONLY be sent to emails used to register for the event. This email will be sent on May 10th to the registered email.

This day long training takes place on ZOOM and covers 4 areas:

1) A deep understanding of individuals experiencing homelessness, utilizing research on trauma and communication styles etc. that helps staff understand those they serve.

2) How punishment works and why it doesn’t work very well with chronically homeless individuals.

3) Psychology of voluntary compliance: What does the research tell us about how to get people to voluntarily comply with rules (without using punishment).

4) Tools: This ties the other three areas together to give very practical skills for conflict de-escalation.

The online training will have an AM and a PM session.

8:00 am – 12 noon

There will be a break for lunch-12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

The trainings will resume at 1:00 pm for two one-hour trainings on:

1) How to manage frontline staff who deal with problematic behavior

2) How to deal with non-homeless people being jerks about homeless people

Cost is $75.00 for members and $125.00 for non-members of the Balance of State

Balance of State Quarterly Meeting: May 14th

Follow the link for details on how to register for the BoS training and Quarterly Meeting

https://www.wiboscoc.org/quarterly-meetings.html 

National Symposium to End Youth Homelessness

 

Our 5th Annual National Symposium on Solutions to End Youth Homelessness will bring together 1,000+ service providers, researchers, policymakers, funders, young people, and advocates from across spaces to build a virtual community of people who are committed to creating a world in which young people can thrive. Secure your login to join us on Tuesday, June 15th, and Wednesday, June 16th.   We are pleased to announce that our 5th National Symposium on Solutions to End Youth Homelessness is now HUD-approved! Project administrative funds awarded under the CoC and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Programs may, therefore, be used to attend the Conference.  WILL WE SEE YOU THERE?

 

Sliding Scale Registration Our registration tiers this year reflect a sliding scale, a tool for establishing economic justice. In this registration pricing system, everyone ultimately pays a similar percentage of their individual or organizational income to attend the Symposium. This scale is about recognizing the privileges and resources that make paid events disproportionately more accessible for groups with higher operating budgets and for individuals with greater wealth.   We hope that this sliding scale facilitates increased access to our virtual events and serves as an invitation for our community to both think and speak deeply about the societal factors that create such stark disparities in wealth and resources in the US. We trust our community to evaluate their needs accordingly.  REGISTER TODAY  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-national-symposium-on-solutions-to-end-youth-homelessness-registration-148985695225?aff=odeimcmailchimp&utm_source=PSY+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6c6becedbe-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_12_01_09_50_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3d74859afb-6c6becedbe-155692909&mc_cid=6c6becedbe&mc_eid=cb53078565