Prior Project Profiles of Marbut Consulting

Marbut Consulting has developed a unique systems-approach (based on the principles of Peter Drucker) that has been able to help communities to streamline their overall service delivery systems by increasing efficiencies and improving effectiveness.

In terms of outcomes, Marbut Consulting has been able to help communities to significantly increase the rate of “street graduations” while dramatically improving service delivery system. Communities that have adopted Dr. Marbut’s recommendations have been able to reduce “street level homelessness” by 47-93%.
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Haven for Hope, San Antonio, Texas
The Largest "Transformational Campus" in the USA

Nationally renowned Haven for Hope, located in San Antonio, Texas, is the largest and most comprehensive “transformational campus” in the United States. The overall campus sits on 37 acres with 15 major buildings and almost half a million square feet under roof. Total construction cost for Haven for Hope was approximately $125 million. In 2007, frustrated by the lack of real improvement in reducing homelessness, and as part of the concept development phase for the Haven for Hope Campus, Dr. Marbut conducted a nationwide best practices study. After personally visiting 237 homeless service facilities in 12 states and the District of Columbia, he developed The Seven Guiding Principles of Homeless Transformation which focuses on root causes and recovery, not symptoms and short term gimmicks. Currently more than 90 faith-based, non-profit and government service partners work together in partnership to holistically and proactively help nearly 2,300 residents on a daily basis. Going into year seven of operation, street homelessness in the CBD has dropped and sustained an 85% reduction. Additionally, more than 3,200 men, women and children have been housed, and there have been almost 2,000 job placements. Dr. Robert Marbut was the founding President and CEO.

Link to Haven for Hope, San Antonio, Texas
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Clearwater, Florida
Identifying and Implementing Strategic Improvements in Homeless Services

Marbut Consulting was contracted by the City of Clearwater to assess the local homelessness environment and propose a detailed list of strategic improvements as part of an overall Strategic Action Plan. Recommendations spanned 11 functional areas and amounted to a total of 47 action items, all of which were approved by City Council. Marbut Consulting was then contracted to help implement the Strategic Action Plan and to provide comprehensive sensitivity and engagement training to city departments that had “front-line” employees such as the police department, libraries, beach life guards, and the parks and recreation department. “Street-level” homelessness has sustained a five-year drop of more than 81%.
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St. Petersburg & Pinellas County, Florida
Restructuring the Entire Homeless Continuum of Care

Marbut Consulting worked closely with the City of St. Petersburg and a wide range of agencies within Pinellas County to develop a Strategic Action Plan to restructure and re-brand the entire Continuum of Care for veterans, males, females and families with children experiencing homelessness. Improvements have ranged from macro-level governance streamlining to agency-level enhancements, to changing how police officers engage individuals, to the creation of Pinellas Safe Harbor. St. Petersburg and Pinellas County have realized dramatic drops in street level homelessness. Street level homelessness has dropped 79%-93% depending on the time of day and area of the County.
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City of Buena Park, California
Successful Reduction of Street Level Homelessness and Encampments

Marbut Consulting made 11 major recommendations to the Buena Park City Council to address the growing level of unsafe encampments and excessive misuse of shopping carts. Buena Park had many unique challenges since there were very few service organizations within the City, and none of these agencies met the most basic of best practice standards. In the first year of the implementation of the Marbut Consulting Action Plan, Buena Park has been able to engage 47.2% of all the individuals experiencing homelessness into successful and sustainable recovery (only one individual relapsed in year one). These individuals are no longer living on the street. Additionally, encampments were reduced to zero and misuse of shopping carts was reduced to almost no misuse.
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Fort Smith, Arkansas
Assessing the Feasibility of a Transformational Campus

The Old Fort Homeless Coalition (Fort Smith’s Continuum of Care) enlisted the expertise of Marbut Consulting to educate and guide the city in developing an effective and sustainable service network planning. Marbut Consulting was also tasked by the Coalition to strategically assess the feasibility of a “homeless transformation campus” with a connected “low-demand facility” for men and women experiencing chronic homelessness. Construction on Fort Smith’s Riverview Hope Campus commenced on October 6, 2016.
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Prince William County, Virginia
Creation of a Strategic Action Plan for the Continuum of Care

Marbut Consulting conducted a needs assessment of the types of services (qualitative) and capacity of services (quantitative) needed in Prince William County, which is located just west of Washington, DC. This was based on street level observations and data from Point-in-Time-Counts, Homeless Management Information System reports (HMIS) and agency reports. Marbut Consulting then conducted a gap and duplication analysis of services between the existing inventory and the identified needs. Working with community stakeholders and members of the Continuum of Care, Marbut Consulting developed a Strategic Action Plan that included recommendations to redesign the overall homeless services system based on the assessment of the current systems/policies as well as the inventory of services and the analysis of service gaps and duplications. The community has started to actively implement the recommendations made by Marbut Consulting.
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Placer County, California
Community Development of a Strategic Action Plan for the Continuum of Care

Working directly with Placer County and the Homeless Continuum of Care, Marbut Consulting developed a Homeless Needs Assessment and Action Plan to evaluate and improve the efficiency and organization of homeless services providers. Placer County reaches from Northeast Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. Working with Placer County staff, stakeholders and the Continuum of Care, Marbut Consulting drafted a Strategic Action Plan. A community planning process (which included advocates, individuals who had experienced homelessness, service agencies, government staff members, elected officials, businesses, faith-based entities, civic groups, educational groups and other agencies) was then used to vet and recommend changes to the draft action plan report. Marbut Consulting then finalized the Strategic Action Plan and presented it to the Continuum of Care’s Homeless Advisory Group and to the County Board of Supervisors. As part of the first phase, a 97 bed homeless assistance center called Right Hand Auburn was opened within 90 days of the presentation of recommendations. Right Hand Auburn is only a short term response and the County has started the planning process to implement the longer term recommendations.
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Pinellas Safe Harbor, Clearwater, Florida
The Second Largest “First-Step” Program in the USA

Pinellas Safe Harbor, located in mid-Pinellas County on the western side of the Tampa Bay metro area, was designed as a “First-Step” transformational housing portal for adult men and women experiencing homelessness. In less than three months, Pinellas Safe Harbor became the largest residential facility in Pinellas County. In five months, it became the second largest “first-step” facility in the United States. It was featured on CBS Evening News during the 2012 GOP Convention and by NFL Productions. Dr. Marbut was the chief designer and strategic developer of the facility.
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Key West, Florida
Highest Percent Homelessness in the USA

Key West has the highest percent homeless population of any USA city (homelessness population divided by general population). Marbut Consulting was contracted by the City of Key West to assess the local homeless environment and propose a detailed list of strategic improvements on how to more effectively address the growing challenge of homelessness in Key West and the Lower Keys. Marbut Consulting made recommendations in 5 Strategic Functional Areas with dozens of Tactical Action Items.
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Panama City, Florida
Cultivating Community Buy-In to Address Chronic Homelessness

Marbut Consulting teamed up with the Mayor of Panama City, its City Council and the Homelessness Coalition Task Force to develop “community buy-in” initiatives for a comprehensive strategic effort to address and alleviate chronic homelessness in Panama City. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Prior Project Profiles of Marbut Consulting

Read more about the Services Provided by Marbut Consulting.