| Practice Type: |
Promising |
| Program Name: |
IDignity - Providing Birth Certificates to Homeless |
| Organization: |
Orange County Health Department |
| Web site: |
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| Overview: |
There is a significant number of homeless people on the streets of Orlando. Homelessness carries many risk factors— the lack of healthy environments can lead to epidemics, and even violence can lead to death among this vulnerable population.
The goal of IDignity is to provide the homeless population with birth certificates to use as a foundation to help them secure other forms of identifaction, thereby allowing them access to services or benefits, which in turn gets them off the streets and possibly re-employed, making them productive citizens.
We held 11 events and issued approximately 600 birth certificates.
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| Year Submitted: |
2009 |
| Responsiveness and Innovation: |
There is a growing number of homeless people in Orange County who seek social services and yet are being denied due to the lack of legal identification.
This project involved five agencies that worked together to provide a service to the homeless population. Without any one of the agencies at the table, the individuals would not be able to receive services in the community. A birth certifiate is the first step in obtaining a social security card and a driver’s license (ID), which are required for renting motels, homes, obtaining permanent employment, registering their children for school, etc.
Since 2005, the Homeless Connect Office has hosted events to provide services to the homeless population; however, this is the first time in Florida that a vital statistics office has been involved in the events to provide birth certificates. Birth certificates are issued every day in an office environment to the average person; this project puts the office enviromnemt into the community to assist individuals—who in most cases would never be able to obtain a birth certificate due to lack of money— in obtaining the piece paper that will help change their lives.
Going into the community and helping the homeless individuals obtain birth certificates opens doors for them. This project began as a pilot and has grown to an ongoing monthly event.
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| Agency and Community Roles: |
The four local churches organize and provide the building and utilities for the event. The Homeless Connect Office provides the funding to the agencies. The Drivers License Bureau, Social Sercurity Office, Legal Aide, and local health department provide staff to deliver the necessary documents. All of the above partners are instrumental in the planning and organizing of these monthly events.
Working together with the Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security, Legal Aide, and the Homeless Connect Office to develop a process that allows the homeless individuals to obtain a birth certificate opens doors to services. This event has been so successful in partnering with the Drivers License Bureau that a Vital Statistics office has recently opened in a driver’s license office in Orange County.
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| Costs and Expenditures: |
There were no additional costs for this program. This is a monthly event in which we redirect our staff for coverage. |
| Implementation: |
There is a growing number of homeless people in Orange County who seek social services and yet are being denied due to the lack of legal identification.
This project involved five agencies that worked together to provide a service to the homeless population. Without any one of the agencies at the table, the individuals would not be able to receive services in the community. A birth certifiate is the first step in obtaining a social security card and a driver’s license (ID), which are required for renting motels, homes, obtaining permanent employment, registering their children for school, etc.
Since 2005, the Homeless Connect Office has hosted events to provide services to the homeless population; however, this is the first time in Florida that a vital statistics office has been involved in the events to provide birth certificates. Birth certificates are issued every day in an office environment to the average person; this project puts the office enviromnemt into the community to assist individuals—who in most cases would never be able to obtain a birth certificate due to lack of money— in obtaining the piece paper that will help change their lives.
Going into the community and helping the homeless individuals obtain birth certificates opens doors for them. This project began as a pilot and has grown to an ongoing monthly event.
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| Sustainability: |
This project is funded by a federal grant that the Homeless Connect Office obtained. Based on the number of clients served and the success of individuals receiving services, the grant recently received additional funding for another year.
The churches and the Homeless Connect office are applying for addtional grant opportunities and fundraising to sustain the project.
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| Lessons Learned: |
Information was not provided in 2009 |
