SAVE THE DATE: 2012 Homeless Awareness Conference

The Governor's Committee to End Homelessness (also known as the Missouri Interagency Council on Homelessness) has announced the dates of the 2012 Homeless Awareness Conference: November 14-15, 2012, in Jefferson City.

This event has evolved over the last ten years from a small gathering of agencies in the Capitol rotunda in Jefferson City to a substantive conference on raising awareness of homelessness in our state.  The conference will include the annual poster contest for students from Head Start level to high school; workshops on homelessness throughout the Capitol complex; a keynote speaker; and ample opportunity to network, problem solve, and share ideas.  DMH Housing will share more information as it becomes available here, on Facebook and on Twitter.

SAVE THE DATE: Missouri Housing Summit August 16-17

DMH Housing and Missouri Housing Development Commission are jointly planning the second annual Missouri Housing Summit, August 16-17, in Jefferson City at the Capitol Plaza Hotel.  This FREE conference aims to bring together agencies and non-profits interested in creating permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities with housing developers interested in creating these projects.  Uniting these common interests are the staffs of DMH Housing Unit and MHDC Community Initiatives with their combined wealth of technical assistance expertise, as well as experts from around the staete and around the country.  Get you questions answered and get building!  More information coming soon to DMH Housing's Web site; contact housing@dmh.mo.gov.

Register Now for the St. Louis R.E.N.T. Conference

Friday, May 25th, is the last day to register for DMH Housing's two-day R.E.N.T. Conference in St. Louis at St. Patrick Center.  We'll be delving deeply into a variety of topics that can help persons with disabilities find and maintain stable, accessible and affordable housing.  There is no cost whatsoever to attend, and we'll provide snacks and drinks the first day (afternoon), and a light brekfast the second day (morning).  For registration and conference agenda, see the DMH Housing Web site. For a quick map to the event, see the new Google Calendar on our site.  Don't miss it!

MHDC | NOFA | HPRP | NOW!

The headline says it all if you know the acronyms--and the urgent all-capped "NOW!"  The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) has published a NOFA for $2 million in HPRP (Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing) funds available through the Department of Social Services. Applicants must have prior experience in administering HPRP funds. The deadline to apply is already rapidly approaching: Friday, May 18, 2012.  We are assured that the application form is short and simple.

For all the details, see MHDC's Web site.

Update on R.E.N.T. Conferences



Columbia Public Library

Unfortunately, DMH Housing had to cancel the Hannibal R.E.N.T. conference because not enough people registered.  We did get eight registrations, but felt we needed more to make the project cost-effective.  However, the Columbia R.E.N.T. Confernce on May 16 at the Columbia Public Library is going forward, and the deadline to register for that conference is tomorrow, May 11.  Visit the DMH Housing Web site at http://dmh.mo.gov/housing/#RENT for registration information and conference agenda.

The St. Louis R.E.N.T. conference is coming up on May 31st and June 1st and registration is now available, along with the conference agenda, at the link above.  Visit the site for more information or check out various posts on our Face Book page and follow us on Twitter to keep up.

Eat a Butter Burger for Columbia Homeless Connect

Culver's in Columbia will be hosting a benefit for Project Homeless Connect in Columbia/Boone County on Monday, May 14, 2012, 4:30 - 7:30.  10% of sales will go the Project Homeless Connect, but you must have the above flyer for your purchase to count.  I'm not sure if printing out the above image will suffice for that, but you can email Gary Stoner at Burrell Behavioral Health and ask him to email you a PDF of the flyer.  Help Columbia Homeless Connect by spreading this information around.

Registration Now Open for Columbia and Hannibal R.E.N.T. Conferences

If you live in mid-Missouri or in the northeast/Hannibal area, you can now register for the first two R.E.N.T. Conferences on the DMH Housing Web site (previously described here on Missouri Housing Matters).

These free conferences target disability services consumers and their support workers, and are designed to provide information key to helping people with disabilities maintain stable and affordable housing.

Please share this information with your networks, and come Like our Facebook page!