Please join us at our Open House. We are excited to be part of the neighborhood! We are located at 104 E Dampier Street, Inverness, FL. The public is invited to drop by on Friday, September 12th between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

For more information please contact Paula Holtsclaw or Barbara Wheeler at (352) 860-2308 or by e-mail at paulah2002@gmail.com.

For the first time in the 14 years of doing business, Mid Florida Homeless Coalition is fortunate enough
to have a dedicated office. This space will give us room for better management of time, volunteers and
distribution of information. Our office is located at 104 E Dampier Street, Inverness, Florida.

One of our key supporters is Smartphone Experts. They have been a supporter of Mid Florida Homeless
Coalition over the years in many ways, from monetary Holiday donations to guidance to website
support. So when they heard that we were finally getting an office, they were the first to offer help. Just
like when a person goes from a homeless shelter to a home, they are lacking the basic necessities, we
were lacking basic office furniture.

Smartphone Experts and Social Media Design, (now both under one roof), came to our rescue with a
donation of cubicles, chairs, bookshelves, tables, file cabinets and more. These gently used items are
a blessing to our organization and will help make us even more productive in the future. We are very
thankful to these two local companies.

Habitat for Humanity of Citrus County donated a conference table that was immediately put to good use
for sorting items donated by the District VII Realtors of the Florida Real Estate Association.

Be on the lookout for information for an upcoming Open House.

Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 286, Florida Statue, Section 286.0105,Sunshine Law, the Mid Florida Homeless Coalition has scheduled a conference, where two or more members of the Council on Homelessness will attend a workshop on March 31, 2014 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Wildwood Community Center, 6500 County Road 139 (a/k/a Powell Road), Wildwood, Florida 34785.

All interested citizens are welcome to attend.

Any questions please call Mid Florida Homeless Coalition at (352) 860.2308.

Don’t Miss Out!!

We are hosting our first annual conference in hopes of giving you up to date tools and information; allowing you to continually “open doors” of success for those you help serve. This conference has something for everyone: administrators, direct service staff, and volunteers.

We will be covering the important issues you face each day, including:
All you need to know about affordable housing
How to effectively tell your story
The latest information and resources on trauma informed care
Homeless outreach
Faith and Programming
Funding types and what you need to know
Working with children safely
Mental issues and how it impacts what you do
Among other topics

These sessions will give you the tools you need to further enhance your programs and services. For more information on speakers and sessions click here and join us for the Opening Doors conference!

Schedule
Opening Session – General Session I 9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Keynote Address – “Opening Doors”

Breakout Session I 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Name of Session: What is your mission – Stay the Course “The Effective Case Manager”
Presenter: Gloria Boone – National Certified ROMA Trainer – Lake Community Action Agency

Description: Because of the nature of social service agencies, it is a common occurrence for staff to become so engrossed in the day-to-day activities that they drift away from the mission of the agency. This workshop is designed to bring case managers to a focal point of their duties. The focus will be on Skills of An Effective Case Manager; Writing Effective Case Notes; and Mission Drift: What is Our Mission? What Are Our Challenges? What Are Our Opportunities? Does the Mission Need to be Revisited? and an Exercise: Writing a Mission Statement.

Name of Session: Demystifying Mental Illness
Presenter: Karen M. Rogers, MS, LMHC, Adult Clinical Services Director, LifeStream Behavioral Center

Name of Session: Gift-In-Kind Fundraising – Turn Your Material Gifts Into Cash!
Presenter: Bruce Gimbel, Executive Director, Jericho Road Ministries

How can I get the things I need to operate my agency? Do I have to buy everything I need?
Then, what do I do with the excess “stuff” people give beyond my needs? Starting a Thrift Store
is not a scary notion for me, is it for you? We will discuss the answers to these questions as you
seek the resources you need for your agency.

Name of Session: Homeless Outreach
Presenter:

Breakout Session II 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Name of Session: Funds – ESG – Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing and SSVF
Presenter: Heidi Blanchette and Mia Fink – Citrus County Housing Services and Latesha
Tayler – Family Endeavors

Learn how to determine if your clients who are at-risk of losing their housing and need rental or
utility assistance are eligible for Emergency Solutions Grant dollars or Supportive Services for
Veteran Families program dollars. Working with someone who is homeless and trying to get
back into their own housing? Learn if they are eligible for assistance through these funds. Has
your organization thought about applying for Emergency Solutions Grants and want insight
from an organization that has applied for, been awarded, and implemented such a grant? Hear
from an organization that has done this successfully and decide if your organization is ready to
apply.

Name of Session: “Domestic Violence – How to Help When Home Isn’t Safe”
Presenter: Shannon Sokolowski, Executive Director, Dawn Center of Hernando County & Detective Elizabeth Tinkham, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office
Description: Attendees will learn domestic violence dynamics (including different types of abuse), warning signs to help social service providers identify if relationship violence is present, and best practice strategies for intervention. Presenters will inform attendees of local resources available to survivors of violence including services provided by certified domestic violence centers, law enforcement agencies, the criminal justice system, and the civil legal system.

Name of Session: Faith-Based Agencies & Programs – How to serve God and The World Without Compromising Your Faith
Presenter: Bruce Gimbel, Executive Director, Jericho Road Ministries

You and your faith will impact your agency’s Organizational Structure, Stewardship, Mission Statement, Board of Directors, Leadership, Vision, Fundraising, Government Grants, Staffing, Marketing, Programs, Donors and more. Join me as we discern God’s will for you and your faith-based agency.

How to tell your story effectively – Public Relations
Presenter: Anne Black – Hernando-Pasco Hospice & Katie Mehl – Citrus Memorial
Hospital (Members of the Nature Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations
Association)

We are passionate about what we do, the organization that we believe in, and the cause we support. How do we share that passion? Hear what two members of the Nature Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association have to share with you.

Name of Session: What direction is your organization moving? – Strategic Planning
Presenter: Kenna Marriott

Learn the critical points about Strategic Planning and why it is the roadmap to success for your organization. Strategic Plans are what differentiate successful organizations from others as it is the heart of an organization’s success.  They give the organization specific, quantifiable and time bound direction rather than functioning with methodologies such as planning by project or even by crisis. The Strategic Plan begins with a well-constructed Vision and Mission which starts at the Board level and includes input from the entire organization and frequently their stakeholders. The Strategic Planning process carefully outlines accountabilities for the organization as a whole, the departments within the organization and sets the direction for all employees.  The goals and action plans within the plan place critical emphasis on what the organization is required to do to meet it’s, fulfill  its responsibilities and monitor its progress. These plans tell everyone the “who, what, where, why and how” of the companies planning because of its attention to the details of what can make it successful. They are utilized by non-union and union organizations as well as for profit and not for profit organizations.  Does your organization have a clear path to run on?

Lunch – General Session II -Panel – Housing 12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Presenter: Bill Aldinger, Supportive Housing Coordinator for the Florida Housing Finance
Corporation and member of the Office on Homelessness Council on Homelessness;
Shannon Nazworth, Director, Ability Housing, Florida Supportive Housing Coalition
and member of the Office on Homelessness Council on Homelessness, and Steve Smith,
Founder of New Beginnings of Lake County and member of the Office on Homelessness
Council on Homelessness.

Breakout Session II 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Name of Session: What direction is your organization moving – Strategic Planning
Presenter: Kenna Marriott

Name of Session: How to deal with stress in a healthy and productive way – Stress Management
Presenter: Rebecca Martin – Corporate Trainer; Florida-Certified Family & Dependency
Mediator

Name of Session: “What to know when working with children – Safe from Harm”
Presenter: Captain Lynn Irish, Corps Officer of The Salvation Army Citrus County Corps

Description: Many organizations work with children and families both through direct services and volunteers. In today’s world it is important to protect those children as well as our staff and volunteers. In this session you will learn an effective tool to put into practice in order to ensure the safety of your organization, staff, volunteers, and the children you work with.

Name of Session: “How to maximize a sense of physical and psychological safety – Trauma Informed Care”
Presenter: Terrie Cooper of SEDNET

Description: One in four children experience a traumatic event severe enough to affect their behavior, their ability to learn, or both. When exposed to a traumatic event, children as young as 18 months can have serious emotional and behavior problems later in childhood and on into adulthood. 35 percent of children exposed to a single traumatic event will develop serious mental health problems. This training is designed to share the impact trauma has on children and provide strategies that can be implemented to support them. Trauma informed care in educational settings maximizes a child’s sense of physical and psychological safety.

Closing Session – General Session III 3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Name of Session: Affordable Housing
Presenter: Bill Aldinger, Supportive Housing Coordinator for the Florida Housing Finance
Corporation and member of the Office on Homelessness Council on Homelessness

We would like to thank the following organizations for their willingness to submit an application again this year.

The grant committee met on Thursday and ranked the projects.Based on everyone’s willingness to make reductions in their budget requests, we will be able to include all four renewal projects in Tier 1 of the 2013 CoC Application. I have confirmed with HUD that we are allowed to do this with the understanding that if we reduce these budgets we will not be able to increase them at a later date.

The totals for the three permanent supportive housing projects were within one point of one another. The Ratings are as follows:

1) HMIS Renewal
2) LifeStream’s Hope House Renewal*
3) Lake County Shelter Plus Care Renewal
4) Citrus County Shelter Plus Care Renewal

*LifeStream’s Renewal will only be able to be submitted if they are able to get the Contract for the 2012 executed with a date of 12/31/13 prior to our submission of the CoC grant. They are working on this.

The procedure for the Review Process and Scoring Sheet can be located under Informational PDFs.
HUD CoC Grant Scoring 2013

Mid Florida Homeless Coalition has scheduled their annual count of those who are without a home. This one day count will take place on January 30, 2014. We are working with organizations throughout Citrus, Hernando, Lake, and Sumter Counties to develop a plan to identify and count these individuals and families. These numbers will be reported to the State of Florida as well as the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. This data is used to make funding decisions, as well as planning in our local communities. During these counts, we try to identify needs of the families and individuals and connect them to services. For more information, please attend one of our meetings or contact us by phone or email.

The Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014 Continuum of Care Program Competition was posted by HUD on November 22, 2013. This document along with a HUD Technical Correction document is on this website under Informational PDFs. Current recipient of funds have been notified that their renewal applications are due on January 3, 2014. Any organization choosing to submit a new application will also need to submit their application by January 3, 2014. Based on the HUD NOFA, all applications will be ranked. Please be advised that all Renewal projects will be given priority based on the Continuum of Care’s Ten Year Plan.