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11 <br /> 1 because of the vouchers. She said efforts need to be made to recruit and maintain <br /> 2 relationships with landlords who are willing to accept these vouchers. She said, the GFC issue <br /> 3 affected one fifth of the voucher holders in Orange County, and the relocation of these families <br /> 4 caused problems for other voucher holders who were looking for homes. <br /> 5 <br /> 6 Chiraayu Gosrani is a student at UNC, and he works with the Community Empowerment <br /> 7 Fund. He said the consolidated plan needs to involve stakeholders and people who are actually <br /> 8 facing homelessness and extreme poverty. He said a concerted effort needs to be made to <br /> 9 reach out to those communities to understand their needs and whether they are being met. He <br /> 10 said communication with landlords is also very important. He said there is a lack of information <br /> 11 with the landlords regarding what housing vouchers entail. He said many of the voucher <br /> 12 holders are turned down because of a criminal record or lack of ability to meet other <br /> 13 specifications. He said another issue is access to affordable housing. He said there is no <br /> 14 central location to find information about options for affordable housing. He suggested the <br /> 15 creation of a database to make this information accessible to caseworkers and organizations <br /> 16 working to place members into housing. <br /> 17 <br /> 18 Allan Rosen read from the following written comments: <br /> 19 Hello, I am Allan Rosen, project manager at the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC). I'm <br /> 20 here tonight for the housing and community development public hearing. I'd like to share some <br /> 21 information about IFC's work that we believe will be helpful in preparing Orange County's <br /> 22 Consolidated Plan. <br /> 23 <br /> 24 As most of you likely know, IFC is one of the principal agencies that address homelessness and <br /> 25 hunger in Orange County. Throughout our history, IFC has relied on partnerships with <br /> 26 community volunteers, congregations, businesses, civic associations, and peer social service <br /> 27 agencies. For housing and community development issues, we actively participate in the <br /> 28 Partnership to End Homelessness, the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition, and the <br /> 29 Family Success Alliance. <br /> 30 <br /> 31 For the past thirty years IFC has focused its effort on basic safety-net programs including <br /> 32 emergency shelter and transitional housing, free medical and mental health care for the <br /> 33 residents of our housing programs, a community kitchen, food pantry and crisis intervention <br /> 34 services for vulnerable individuals and families who are at-risk of becoming homeless. <br /> 35 IFC has 20 full-time and 8 part-time employees. Our annual cash budget is $1.75 million, which <br /> 36 is surpassed by $2.5 million in donated goods and services (including more than 40,000 <br /> 37 volunteer hours). <br /> 38 <br /> 39 I FC is very appreciative of the support it receives each and every year from Orange County and <br /> 40 the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill. This support is critical to keeping our programs <br /> 41 operating. <br /> 42 <br /> 43 In the interest of time, I'll submit detailed service deliver totals from the most recent fiscal year <br /> 44 in writing. However, with respect to our housing programs, in the last fiscal year: <br /> 45 • Community House provided 17,200 nights of safe shelter for 370 men <br /> 46 • HomeStart provided 13,400 nights of safe shelter to 200 women and 80 children <br /> 47 • Our Robert Nixon Free Clinic <br /> 48 ■ Provided free health care to 350 residents <br /> 49 ■ Provided free mental health care to 160 residents <br /> 50 ■ Dispensed 500 prescriptions <br />