Regional Conference on Ending Homelessness to be held February 5 in Portsmouth
On February 5, Portsmouth will serve as host for the South Hampton Roads Regional Conference on Ending Homelessness. This event is sponsored by the Southside Regional Mayors/Chair Homeless Taskforce consisting of the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach. This is the 2nd of these conferences, and Portsmouth’s first time serving as host city. The event will take place at the Renaissance Portsmouth, Waterfront Hotel and Conference Center.
This year’s event will feature keynote speaker, Philip F. Mangano, the Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH). Mangano was appointed by President Bush to lead the ICH in 2002. He has successfully reduced homelessness in Massachusetts where he was founding director of a statewide coalition in that state. This year’s conference features a day long series of workshop sessions on topics such as: Social Entrepreneurism and Employment Strategies for Special Populations that Pay Dividends; Cost Effective Alternatives to Foster Care and Shelter Placements; Homeless Families and Trauma; and Motivational Interviewing and the Stages of Change. Presenters will be brought in from around the country, and early on-line registration is encouraged. A limited number of scholarships are available to attend the conference.
All participating cities are making strides in consolidating resources, talents, and shared vision in their strategic planning initiatives. Each city’s Mayor appointments a Task Force Member who serves the interests of their respective city and communities. Portsmouth’s Task Force Member, Robin Herbert, encourages practitioners, non-profits, churches, to register as soon as possible and take advantage of this 1-day training opportunity that offers a multitude of resources, information, and networking opportunities for urban communities. Herbert urges everyone to visit the website at: http://www.theplanningcouncil.org/homelssform.asp
Southside Hampton Roads is making a concerted effort in strategic planning for the homeless population. In February 2007, Portsmouth along with other local municipalities, joined forces and doors were opened at the Gosnold Apartments a new single-room occupancy permanent housing facility. Gosnold Apartments, located at 2425 Gosnold Ave. in Norfolk, VA, provided housing for six fortunate Portsmouth homeless citizens. The beautiful, new, state of the art facility houses 60 individuals with 6 assigned to Portsmouth, 42 to Norfolk residents, and 12 to Virginia Beach residents. A second facility, the Cloverleaf Apartments, is scheduled to open in September 2008, and will house an additional two Portsmouth residents. This development will be located on Military Hwy. in Norfolk.
The Virginia Municipal League (VML) awarded Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach as recipients of an award for “Achievement for Four-City Cooperation in Creating Housing for the Homeless”. The award was presented at a statewide VML Conference on October 16, 2007 in James City County. For more information contact Suzanne Puryear of the Planning Council at (757) 622-9268, ext. 3008 or spuryear (at) theplanningcouncil (dot) org.
