Overnight Shelter & Journey Program
UMD’s Community Shelter has 89 beds for men, 25 for women and nine family rooms which contain four beds per room for parents and their children, for a total of 150 beds. There are also 27 overflow mats that supplement the bed space when needed, especially when the temperature is below freezing known as White Flag nights.
From July-December 2009, the average nightly occupancy in the shelter was 135, and the space available for men was consistently operating at overflow capacity. A total of 743 guests were housed in the shelter.
The shelter offers two types of services: Overnight Shelter and the Journey Program. On any given night, approximately half of those staying at the shelter are Overnight guests, and the other half are in the Journey Program.
Overnight Shelter
Emergency shelter is available for an average of 70 single adult men and women per night. Overnight beds are assigned each afternoon to those waiting in line at 4PM. Guests have access to hygiene products and showers, the Clothing Closet, meals in the Café and Bread for the Journey. Overnight stays are for one night only and overnight guests may seek housing at the shelter up to 60 days per year. Information on local services is available upon request for overnight guests and local service providers frequent the shelter to make available services known, but extensive case management is not available for this fairly mobile population.
Journey Program
The Journey program provides all of the services of the Overnight Program, plus a longer term shelter commitment, a structured approach to recovery or lifestyle change, increased case management and coordinated referrals to others in Durham’s Homeless Continuum of Care Network. The program is available for up to 400 shelter guests per year who demonstrate a strong desire to work towards goals to move forward from the shelter to transitional or permanent housing with a viable plan for self-sufficiency.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) and others specializing in meeting the needs of homeless individuals emphasize that rapid intervention with case management, stabilization and re-housing during the early months of homelessness is the most effective way to prevent families and individuals from falling into patterns of chronic homelessness. (Opportunities for Systems Transformation and Sustainability, April 2009, NAEH) UMD’s new Journey Program takes such a housing stability-oriented approach to addressing homelessness in Durham, North Carolina. The goal is for the average length of stay for UMD Journey Program participants to be 90 days or less. The actual length of stay varies from person to person and is based upon continued progress towards the achievement of agreed upon goals.
Guests in the Journey Program are assigned a primary case manager who talks with them about their goals and assists with identifying opportunities for housing, employment, education, health care and other services that the guest has identified as important to self sufficiency and a successful exit plan.
UMD is committed to collaborating with local partners to implement the Journey Program. Two key ways that happens are through connections with Durham’s area wide System of Care and with the Rehousing Program operated out of the UMD shelter in conjunction with Housing for New Hope. The System of Care enables UMD and the guest to draw upon the resources in the entire community for situations needing extra attention. Through this system, a case review can be called with a host of area providers, physicians, lawyers, clergy and other professionals to work with an individual guest to identify a viable exit plan. The Rehousing Program is funded with federal stimulus dollars and works to help shelter guests who are highly motivated obtain a livable income, permanent housing and to have supportive services after they leave the shelter to help them continue to succeed. Visit Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP) to learn more about the collaborative effort.
The Journey Program serves four key constituencies.
- Journey Family- Up to nine homeless families can be assisted at a time with a goal of providing assistance to up to 60 families or 200 individuals per year.
- Journey Recovery- This portion of the Journey Program incorporates UMD’s Hope/Believe Recovery Program and helps up to 70 persons a year move from addiction toward recovery and independent living. Because UMD’s Recovery program is a six-month endeavor, the average lengths of stay will be longer than those for the other three Journey groups.
- Journey Outreach- Provides specialized care for up to 55 persons a year with special medical or mental health conditions that need to be incorporated into a long term plan.
- Journey Tech- Designed for up to 75 homeless persons per year whose primary concerns are underemployment and lack of the stable living conditions necessary to get back on track. Many of these are people who are newly homeless due to recent job losses or evictions. They are generally working part-time, in programs designed to enhance employability, in school or actively seeking employment.
