Homelessness Action Summit: The Latest on What Works February 24th at UCSB Campbell Hall

On Monday, February 24th, Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara and the Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness (C3H) will present the key opportunity of 2014 for concerned community members to engage in solutions to homelessness. Attendees will hear from top national and California leaders who are successfully reducing and preventing homelessness, and will learn about opportunities to shape local efforts. The Homelessness Action Summit will be held Monday, February 24th at 7:30 p.m. at UCSB’s Campbell Hall. The event is free and open to the public with RSVP.

One year ago, during national homelessness “registry week” more than 600 Santa Barbara County community members volunteered to survey individuals and families living on the street to identify those most vulnerable and collect other meaningful data. It was the largest local turnout in the country. The Homelessness Action Summit seeks to continue the momentum of community awareness and involvement by creating dialogue around real world examples of what is working to reduce and prevent homelessness in other California and U.S. communities.

“Homelessness in Santa Barbara County affects all of us, whether directly or indirectly,” said Glenn Bacheller, a Partner with Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara. “We encourage the entire community to come and take this opportunity to connect with some of the most dynamic leaders in the country, and to get empowered to shape our own local solutions as humanitarians, as businesses and as hands-on participants.”

Featured speakers include national experts Philip Mangano, President and CEO of the American Roundtable to Abolish Homelessness and former Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, who led the national strategy to prevent and end homelessness, and; Becky Kanis, Co-Founder of Social Change Agency and Director of the national 100,000 Homes Campaign, who successfully led the effort to reduce street homelessness in New York’s Times Square. Kanis was featured on CBS 60 Minutes on February 9th.

Attendees will also hear from leaders of other California communities about what is working in their regions, including how Pasadena has been working collaboratively to successfully reduce homelessness by 37%, with an imminent report anticipated showing further reduction by 10-15% during 2013.

Representatives from C3H and its community partners in health, housing and supportive services will also report on the current state of collaborative efforts in Santa Barbara County.

MEDIA ADVISORY

WHO: Presenters include:

• Philip Mangano, Former Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and President & CEO of the American Roundtable to Abolish Homelessness

• Becky Kanis, Director of 100,000 Homes Campaign and Co-Founder, The Social Change Agency

• Jody Ketcheside, Deputy Regional Director, Turning Point of Central Ca., Inc., Fresno

• Anne Lansing, Project Planner, City of Pasadena Housing Dept.

• Representatives and community partners from Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness (C3H) and Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara.

WHAT: The Homelessness Action Summit, an interactive opportunity to learn about and engage in solutions to homelessness for Santa Barbara County.

Summit topics will include:

• What is working around the U.S.

• What is working in other California communities

• Update on collaborative efforts in Santa Barbara County

• Opportunities for individuals, community groups and businesses to get involved

WHEN/WHERE: Monday, February 24th; 7:30 p.m. at UCSB Campbell Hall

RSVP: The event is free and open to the public, RSVP is required online at http://homelessnessactionsummit.eventbrite.com or call (805) 699-6535. Transportation & parking information available upon registration.

MEDIA CONTACT: Candice Nyholt/Juliana Minsky 805-687-3322; on-site 805-689-6618

Local businesses and nonprofits will be recognized at the event for their commitment to the goals of the Summit. For information on how to sign-up your organization to be recognized, please email c3hevents@gmail.com.

The evening Summit event will follow a comprehensive half-day workshop for invited local homelessness organizations and practitioners with keynotes by the featured speakers and hands-on breakout sessions on trends, policy, and “next” practices.

The Homelessness Action Summit organizers especially wish to thank the following Summit sponsors:

UCSB Arts & Lectures, Sara Miller McCune, McCune Foundation and Santa Barbara Foundation.

Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara cultivates effective philanthropists, strengthens nonprofits, and invests in collaborative solutions – building powerful relationships to tackle our community’s social challenges. www.socialventurepartners.org/santa-barbara/.

The Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness (C3H)

The purpose of C3H is to harness all resources available to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness, as well as minimize the impacts of homelessness in Santa Barbara County. The Collaborative was founded through bringing together the efforts of Bringing Our Community Home, Common Ground Santa Barbara County, regional Homeless Advisory Committees, other local community groups, agencies, non-profits, foundations, faith communities, people experiencing homelessness, government agencies, business and community leaders, and individuals through Santa Barbara County. C3H’s fiscal agent is the Santa Maria United Way. www.c3homes.org.