Iowa Peer to Peer Homeless Symposium in Des Moines, IA

Group photo of some of the participants at the Iowa Peer to Peer Homeless Symposium held in Des Moines, IA July 17-18, 2013.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Des Moines Field Office hosted a two-day Iowa Peer to Peer Homeless Symposium in July 2013. The symposium was held at Meredith Hall at Drake University Campus. It was attended by over 135 participants from across three states representing 22 counties and 31 communities.

The symposium agenda was assembled to establish and facilitate relationships among local agencies. It also provided opportunities to share policy initiatives and programs relating to homelessness. The overall goal of the symposium was to achieve targeted reductions in homelessness requiring a collaborative effort focused on solutions.

Through collaboration of Federal, State, and Local governments, service providers and technical assistance (TA) funding the symposium encompassed fifteen different topics related to homeless issues. These issues included helping homeless persons access mainstream benefits and services, performance measures, the role of schools in homelessness, and administering grant funds.

Technical assistance money was provided through HUD's Office of Community and Planning Development to assist with the planning and coordination of the symposium. During the symposium the attendees expressed a desire to continue with the collaborative and effective team building approach on homelessness. It was determined that HUD would coordinate another homeless symposium in 2014 regardless of TA funding.

Des Moines City Councilman Chris Coleman providing welcoming comments to the participants of the Iowa Peer to Peer Homeless Symposium held in Des Moines, IA.

Des Moines City Councilman Chris Coleman and HUD Field Office Director Steve Eggleston both thanked participants for attending the symposium. They welcomed them to the City of Des Moines.

In addition Congressman Tom Latham provided a welcoming video thanking the participants for their work to end homelessness. Participants also heard from Lora Routt of the HUD Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, and Richard Cho of the U.S. Interagency Council of Homelessness.

These presentations were made possible through video conferencing technology. They explained the important role each department has in working to reduce homelessness and the need to collaborate.

Further information on HUD's Homeless Assistance can be found on our website.

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