Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness 2018

Glossary of Housing Related

Terms and Acronyms

ALASKAN

AFS – Alaska Family Services

AHFC – Alaska Housing Finance Corporation

AK CHH – Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness

AMHTA – Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority

Agnew-Beck – Research firm located in Anchorage

BHS – Burchell High School

Blood-N-Fire Ministries – Meadow Lakes provider of services to the homeless

C o C– Continuum of Care

Covenant House – Youth Shelter/Center in Anchorage

CoDI – Co-Ocurring Dis-orders Institute in Alaska

Daybreak, Inc – Palmer based treatment service center, helping with homeless

DFS - Denali Family Services –

DSYS – Dorothy Saxton Youth Shelter –

Family Promise Mat-Su – Family focused homeless support ministry in Wasilla

FCSA – Family Centered Services of Alaska -

Healthy Transitions Program – program of DFS focused on assisting young people to

independent lives

HMIS – Homeless Management Information System

Job Corp – federally funded youth focused job training facility in Palmer

MSBSD – Mat-Su Borough School District

MSCHH – Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness

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MSHF – Mat-Su Health Foundation –

MS Health Services – agency in Wasilla focused on

MY House – Youth Homelesss organization in Wasilla

Presbyterian Hospitality House – youth programs in Fairbanks focused on homeless teens

ROSA House – Residential Opportunities and Services for Adolescents -

Salvation Army Mat-Su – Palmer based ministry reaching out to low-income folks in
need

VCI – Valley Charities, Inc- Wasilla based ministry serving low-income folks

VRS – Valley Residential Services – Wasilla based low-income focused housing

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FEDERAL

CDBG - Community Development Block Grant

CPD - Office of Community Planning and Development

Coordinated Entry – Program focused on assisting the most chronic homeless

ESG – Emergency Shelter Grant

FFMIA - Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996

FHA - Federal Housing Administration

FHEO - Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

FMFIA - Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982

GAO - Government Accountability Office

HAP – Basic Homeless Assistance Program

Housing Voucher – used by low-income family for housing assistance

HUD - Department of Housing and Urban Development

IPIA - Improper Payment Information Act of 2002

MV Act - McKinney-Vento Act – Act of Congress granting specific legal rights to

homeless students

OIG - Office of Inspector General

OMB - Office of Management and Budget

PART - Program Assessment Rating Tool

PAY FOR SUCCESS – Program focused on chronic homeless, with high recidivism, and
emergency health service use

PHA - Public Housing Agency

Section 8 voucher – housing voucher used by low-income family for housing assistance

Treasury - U.S. Department of the Treasury

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FUNDING

AMHTA – Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority

Capital Funds – funds used for buildings

Designated Funds – funds tied specifically to grant specifications.

Grant – money given for a specific purpose, not to be paid back.

MSHF – Mat-Su Health Foundation – The Foundation provides funding to support

programs designed to address health related problems in the Mat-Su Borough.

Matching Funds – funds required by a grantor, as a prerequisite to funding.

Operating Funds – funds used for operating costs

Rasmuson Foundation – The Rasmuson Foundation is a catalyst to promote a better life

for Alaskans.

Sustainability – able to continue on its own…

Target Population – the focus of your intentions…

Unrestricted Funds – funds that can be used as the organization sees fit

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GENERAL

CFO - Chief Financial Officer

CY – Calendar Year – January 1 through December 31.

Clinical Approach – diagnosis, then treatment

Collaboration – working together to benefit all

Community Beds – beds set aside to meet the needs of the general population, not for a
specific subpopulation or target population

Doubled Up – where an individual or family lives with another family or individual

without benefit of a lease other written agreement

FY - Fiscal Year – often July 1 through June 30th or same as calendar year

Homeless – MV Act defines homeless as “lacking a regular, adequate, night-time

residence. This includes; doubled-ed up, couch surfing, living in a campground, a trailer
or in a building not designed for housing.

Housing First – a program developed to first meet the housing need of individuals and
then assist them in other needs

Independence Support – no diagnosis needed, supports offered in the hope of leading the
youth to independent living

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – The hierarchy of needs emphasizes the importance of

self-actualization and is often pictured as a pyramid. The base of the pyramid is food,
shelter and safety. The pinnacle is self-actualization.

Mixed Housing – a housing complex that includes a mixture of tenants, some paying full
rent others receiving subsidized rent leases

MOA – Memorandum of Agreement

Partnership – where two or more community agencies work together toward a common
goal

Permanent Housing – housing intended to be permanent, as long as the lease agreements

are followed

Project Homeless Connect Mat-Su – The annual Point In Time count in January of each
year. Used to provide a one-stop service to homeless individuals and families.

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Re-Entry – often associated with prisoner release or youth returning to Alaska from
agencies outside the state

Residential Housing – housing designed to provide individual living units

SRO – A single room occupancy (more commonly SRO, sometimes called a single
resident occupancy) is a multiple-tenant building that houses one or two people in ...

Supportive Housing – housing that also provides supportive social services on site

Transitional Housing – housing intended to assist in an individual/family moving to

permanent housing

VI-SPDAT - (Vulnerability Index - Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool) is a

survey administered both to individuals and families to determine risk and prioritization
when providing assistance to homeless and at-risk of homelessness persons.

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YOUTH

FIT – Families In Transition – a McKinney-Vento based program of the Mat-Su Borough

School District focused on supporting homeless students.

Foster Homes – homes approved by OCS for placement of children and youth needing
support, usually one or two children placed in a home

Group Homes – homes designed to care for many children or youth, often based on a
family model, with “house parents” managing care

Host Homes – a system of matching willing homes with needy youth, care is given to
screen both the host family and the host student

MSBSD – Mat-Su Borough School District -

MV Act - McKinney-Vento Act – Act of Congress granting specific legal rights to

homeless students

MY House – Mat-Su Youth House organization formed in 2009 to seek community

support in meeting the needs of unaccompanied youth in the MSB

OCS – Alaska’s Office of Children Services, established to meet the needs of children
and youth abandoned or abused by family

Presbyterian Hospitality House – youth programs in Fairbanks focused on homeless teens

Shelters – temporary living units, designed to meet temporary housing needs

The Maslow Project – A Hand Up..Not a Handout! Maslow Project is a goal-oriented

resource center for homeless youth, school-aged through 21. Located in Medford, OR

Unaccompanied Youth – a youth not in the physical custody, or care, of a biological

parent or legal guardian

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