Miami Homes for All's mission is to promote community collaboration to prevent and end homelessness in South Florida.
Pictured at right: Terry Coble, Bobbie Ibarra (Executive Director), Rep. Michael Bileca, Michelle Cerrato-Dominguez
Miami Homes for All (formerly Miami Coalition for the Homeless) believes that the root causes of homelessness are lack of affordable housing for low-income people and a shortage of jobs that provide a living wage. We believe that our mission of ending and preventing homelessness in South Florida must be addressed in a holistic and participatory way that includes those most impacted by homelessness. We believe that effective community development should encourage underserved communities to achieve their full potential and help them to achieve sustainability. Toward that end, we have invested our resources in housing and other services for low-income people most at risk of homelessness, supported the passage of living wage ordinances, funded pilot programs that empower homeless people, and educated the community about the human and economic costs of homelessness.
In addition to investing our resources in the Florida Community Loan Fund, the Miami Coalition for the Homeless has supported the work of the grass roots group Homeless Formerly Homeless Forum; created a Speakers’ Bureau of formerly homeless persons; empowered those experiencing homelessness to shape public policy related to housing, poverty and homelessness; increased the number of homeless advocates; created and strengthened alliances dedicated to changing the system to end homelessness; coordinated and funded a county-wide indoor meals program; produced a Student Film Competition on homelessness; provided gap funding for homeless and at risk individuals; and helped bring into being many other innovative programs to prevent homelessness and change opinions on homelessness and its origins. The Coalition has become a leading advocate, working on systemic solutions at the federal, state and local levels to increase collaboration, obtain more funding for services and affordable housing, and protect the rights of those living in poverty in our community.
"The Miami Coalition for the Homeless (MCH) and the Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) announced in 2004 a new partnership between their organizations. As a first partnership of its kind in the nation between a local homeless coalition and a community development financial institution intermediary, MCH has shown leadership by making a program-related innovative investment toward ending homelessness. We have come together to create a new pathway for capital to flow to community organizations serving the homeless. MCH working with FCLF, means we have a great opportunity to create an independent pool of revolving capital that can be combined and leveraged with federal, state and local grants to build housing and reach people. It also means we can fill gaps and take risks, when government cannot or will not." - Bobbie Ibarra, Executive Director, Miami Coalition for the Homeless
