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Among the many impressive aspects of the El Paso Coalition for the Homeless' continuum of services lie a variety of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) programs that encompass services intended for several disparate sub-groups of the homeless population. SROs, affordable housing projects specifically designed for long-term homeless persons, can have the immediate outcome of getting people off the streets and into permanent housing. Throughout our day of exploring and learning about many of the important features of El Paso's continuum of care, Ray Tullius, a Texas Homeless Network Board Member and Executive Director of the Opportunity Center for the Homeless in El Paso, concentrated on the SRO programs available for these specialized sub-populations.
Presently, there are three SRO programs in existence: the Magoffin Street SRO, serving the fragile homeless with a 20-unit residence; the Veterans TLC (Transitional Living Center) that provides shelter for 20 veterans; and the Missouri Street Residence, a 39-unit complex located in an older part of the city in proximity to the University of Texas-El Paso campus. Two future SRO projects, built from dilapidated, abandoned houses, will serve single women and women with children. The staff employed at the SRO programs maintain a unique system of outreach to various people living on the streets, and some of the programs incorporate education and job training into the later phases of occupancy.
All three of the SROs have strong, supportive communities, and housing similar sub-groups in one location allows staff to concentrate on serving the needs of a specific group with more focus and attention. Communal areas of the residences include the kitchen, living room, and bathrooms. In the Magoffin facility, individual rooms were sponsored and decorated by various groups from the community. There is also a strong presence outside the SROs supporting building and restoring efforts within the coalition. As Tullius explains, "We have been a big part of cleaning up the community, not only by providing places for them (the homeless) to go, but by restoring abandoned buildings that were once used as crack houses and things like that."
In order to become a resident of an SRO, a person is required to present basic documents, such as a current photo ID, birth certificate, a social security card, written verification of income, if employed, and verification of homelessness. There is also an interview with a screening committee, and an applicant for residence must exhibit a willingness to comply with the "house rules." Once an occupant moves in, he or she becomes part of the family environment and is expected to seek out employment or educational pursuits.
For as long as the need exists, the El Paso Coalition for the Homeless plans to put forth efforts to provide for all the homeless in its community. Numbers of those actively living on the streets are shockingly low compared to other communities, as the coalition takes the continuum of services very seriously, trying not to let anyone slip through the cracks. Funds are allocated based on determined need and prioritized based on possible gaps in services. Melinda Read, an employee of the El Paso Coalition for the Homeless, clarifies, "Even though it may sound like a fairy tale, we really try to take care of [organizations] that might need more than they were given a particular year by negotiating and talking about needs." The development of such diverse SRO projects demonstrates an exemplary attempt to provide accessible services for the underprivileged and economically disadvantaged of El Paso.
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