Bowman Systems and HUD Continuums of Care Provide Single Clearinghouse of Information and Assistance to Katrina Victims; Network of Services and Up-To-Date Database Is Needed to Help Speed Up Rebuilding.

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Bowman Systems and HUD's Continuums of Care have collaborated for years to build the infrastructure necessary to provide supportive services to the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless. On August 29, 2005, homelessness took on a whole new meaning as Hurricane Katrina made victims of millions of people along the Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas Gulf Coasts. Today, a "one-stop-shop" -- a complete solution for people with basic needs including housing, health care, job training, counseling, help enrolling children in school and many other services -- is a top priority among these new "homeless." It is a solution that Bowman and the Continuums of Care partnership have a proven record of success coordinating.

Manny Kiesser traveled from Anaheim, CA to a shelter at Hirsch Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana to offer help to victims of Katrina. "The people I met had lost everything, and at first, there was no way to reconnect them to their communities and the full spectrum of resources that were available to them. No one knew what benefits were available to the victims or how they could get those benefits. They were making phone call after phone call to various agencies and getting very little satisfaction. Volunteers from Northwest Louisiana's Continuum of Care and Bowman Systems helped coordinate the relief efforts and gave the evacuees a way to connect to the benefits. It was the first step anyone took toward helping these people rebuild their lives," said Kiesser.

A Continuum of Care is a local or regional coalition of service providers for helping people who are at imminent risk of homelessness by providing housing and services appropriate to the whole range of homeless needs in a community, from homeless prevention to emergency shelter to permanent housing.

Bowman System's SERVICEpoint(TM) software is used by the majority of Continuums of Care in the hard-hit Gulf Coast states. SERVICEpoint(TM) connects people to the federal, state and local agencies that offer immediate help with basic needs including temporary shelter, housing availability, food sources, clothing, reuniting families and loved ones, employment and financial aid. It also enables community service agencies to keep a complete case record of individuals receiving services so that they can assess, refer and track clients; coordinate care; plan and manage programs; gather statistics and share data with others in real-time.

The collaboration between Bowman Systems and HUD's Continuums of Care offers a complete package of assistance to individuals in an emergency shelter or displaced in a hotel or private home seeking to get their lives back on track after a disaster of this magnitude. It provides a vital component in planning rebuilding efforts, monitoring multiple programs, and coordinating ways to offer appropriate help on all levels to families and individuals.

Now, over a month after Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall, there is an urgent need to mobilize a coordinated response by putting evacuees in touch with a vehicle for accessing the full spectrum of mainstream resources available to them. Expanded utilization of the current infrastructure built by HUD and Bowman Systems would help these displaced persons become aware that there is a collaborative effort that they can use to find a home, a job and begin to rebuild their lives.