NEW BEGINNINGS’ RESPONSE TO COVID-19 and HOW YOU CAN HELP:

About

Partners Heading

Partnership and collaboration of agencies across the Continuum of Care are key to developing solutions to reduce and end homelessness.  Working together also maximizes resource allocation and efficiency.  New Beginnings of Tampa would like to specially thank these collaborative partners and organizations for working together for the greater good and making critical contributions to the solution:

• Veterans Administration
• Vietnam Veterans of America
• Florida Department of Children & Families
• All Team Staffing
• Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
• Feeding Tampa Bay
• Tampa Sports Authority
• Somebody Cares of Tampa Bay
• ACTS
• City of Tampa
• Salvation Army
• Metropolitan Ministries
• Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative
• Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
• Mission Smiles Dental
• Hillsborough HealthCare
• New Life Pentecostal Church of G

Prospective Sponsors:  Please Contact Us any time regarding any kind of donation

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Legal/Financial

FLORIDA “SOLICITATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS ACT” DISCLOSURE

NEW BEGINNINGS OF TAMPA, INC. IS A 501(c) 3 TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATION. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION (#CH-38500) AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE FLORIDA DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

It is the policy of New Beginnings of Tampa, Inc. (“New Beginnings”) to comply fully with all Federal, State, and local non-discrimination laws and regulations governing Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in housing. New Beginnings will not deny any individual an equal opportunity to receive services on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, familial status, or a mental or physical disability (unless the disability cannot be reasonably accommodated in a manner that enables the individual to qualify for services). It is the policy of the New Beginnings to provide reasonable accommodations for limitations or modifications needed by a disabled applicant due to a mental or physical disability of the individual.  Requests for reasonable accommodations should be made to the Assistant Director if present.  If the Assistant Director is not present, requests for reasonable accommodation should be made to the Director and/or other staff person on duty if Director is not available.

CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Ethics:  Of or of conduct in programs designed, implemented or operated by people in recovery A. CONDUCT

1. Treat each other with dignity and respect, understanding dignity.
2. Do not exploit relationships with others for personal gain. This could be interpreted by the relating to moral action and conduct; professionally right; conforming to professional standards.
3. Maintain high standards e acceptance of property, gifts or favor.
4. Be dedicated and loyal to programs supporting recovery. Be careful not to downgrade other programs.
5. Do not see yourself as having power or control over another.  Whether holding a paid or volunteer staff position or holding a volunteer administration position, you must exhibit self-control to guide or lead.
6. Be honest with yourself and others. Deception is not acceptable ethical behavior.
7. Be impartial at all times. No one participant/client is more important than another.
8. Work to resist gossip, hearsay and rumors. Quash derogative information at the source.
9. Seek to identify and resolve conflicts with others rather than ignore or dismiss them. If conflict resolution is not readily at hand, make an appointment to meet with executive staff to discuss the matter and options available.
10. Remember that in the eyes of the general public you represent people in recovery at all times and that your actions dictate how the community sees the recovery movement.

B. RESPONSIBILITY TO PEOPLE IN RECOVERY

1. Put the needs of the people first in all actions and situations.
2. Act to prevent actions that are harmful or discriminatory to any individual or group.
3. Avoid ALL appearance of evil. Protect the integrity of our gift-giving constituents. Do not take advantage of or appear to take advantage of others for personal gain by accepting gifts, moneys, favor of any kind. Direct contributors to executive staff for referral giving options: Direct contributor or potential giver to sponsor a specific aspect of the New Beginnings’ recovery program, or Direct contributor or potential giver to designate their contribution to a specific educational or vocational program, or Credit to an individual’s account at New Beginnings of Tampa, Inc., or Designate wills and estate giving to New Beginnings of Tampa, Inc. through the legal venue of their choice. Any other creative giving the contributor elects that will not directly profit paid staff, volunteer administrations or volunteer staff in any way, including board members of New Beginnings.
4. Under no circumstances do not sexually exploit or harass individuals. This includes language and innuendoes.
5. Do not “do for” others, instead “do with” or assist others.
6. Allow others to make their own decisions and choices in relations to their own lives.
7. Safeguard the interests and rights of others.
8. Do not act in any way that violates the civil, legal, or ethical rights of others.
9. Maintain confidentiality and privacy of others. Any and all staff are not to discuss confidential issues with non-staff persons, including New Beginnings’ peers.
10. Treat others with respect, fairness and honesty.
11. . Accept others for who they are, where they are and what they are, regardless of personal opinions.
12. Do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, national origin, sex, height, weight, physical or mental characteristics, sexual orientation, or marital status. Characterization or name labeling, even if intended in jest, can cause irreparable distraction from recovery.

Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative UNITY Information Network Privacy Notice for New Beginnings of Tampa A. What This Notice Covers This notice describes the privacy policy and practices of New Beginnings of Tampa with principal offices located at 1402 E. Chilkoot Avenue, Tampa, FL  33612. The policy and practices in this notice cover the processing of protected personal information for clients of New Beginnings of Tampa. Protected Personal information (PPI) is any information we maintain about a client that:

1. allows identification of an individual directly or indirectly
2. can be manipulated by a reasonably foreseeable method to identify a specific individual, or can be linked with other available information to identify a specific client.  When this notice refers to personal information, it means PPI.

We adopted this policy because of standards for Homeless Management Information Systems issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  We intend our policy and practices to be consistent with those standards.  See 69 Federal Register 45888 (July 30, 2004). This notice tells our clients, our staff, and others how we process personal information.  We follow the policy and practices described in this notice. We may amend this notice and change our policy or practices at any time.  Amendments may affect personal information that we obtained before the effective date of the amendment. We give a written copy of this privacy notice to any individual who asks. We maintain a copy of this policy on our website at https://www.newbeginningsoftampa.org B. How and Why We Collect Personal Information We collect personal information only when appropriate to provide services or for another specific purpose of our organization or when required by law.  We may collect information for these purposes:

1. to provide or coordinate services to clients
2. to locate other programs that may be able to assist clients
3. for functions related to payment or reimbursement from others for services that we provide
4. to operate our organization, including administrative functions such as legal, audits, personnel, oversight, and management functions
5. to comply with government reporting obligations
6. when required by law

We only use lawful and fair means to collect personal information. We normally collect personal information with the knowledge or consent of our clients.  If you seek our assistance and provide us with personal information, we assume that you consent to the collection of information as described in this notice We may also get information about you from:

1. Individuals who are with you
2. Other private organizations that provide services (identify)
3. Government agencies (identify)
4. Telephone directories and other published sources

We post a sign at our intake desk or other location explaining the reasons we ask for personal information.  The sign says:

“We Collect Personal Information Only When Appropriate.  We May Use Or Disclose Your Information To Provide You With Services.  We May Also Use Or Disclose It To Comply With Legal And Other Obligations.  We Assume That You Agree To Allow Us To Collect Information And To Use Or Disclose It As Described In This Notice.  You Can Inspect Personal Information About You That We Maintain.  You Can Also Ask Us To Correct Inaccurate Or Incomplete Information.  You Can Ask Us About Our Privacy Policy Or Practices.  We Respond To Questions And Complaints.  Read The Full Notice For More Details.  Anyone Can Have A Copy Of The Full Notice Upon Request.”

C. How We Use and Disclose Personal Information

We Use Or Disclose Personal Information For Activities Described In This Part Of The Notice.  We May Or May Not Make Any Of These Uses Or Disclosures With Your Information.  We Assume That You Consent To The Use Or Disclosure Of Your Personal Information For The Purposes Described Here And For Other Uses And Disclosures That We Determine To Be Compatible With These Uses Or Disclosures:

1. to provide or coordinate services to individuals  We share client records with other organizations that may have separate privacy policies and that may allow different uses and disclosures of the information.
2. for functions related to payment or reimbursement for services
3. to carry out administrative functions such as legal, audits, personnel, oversight, and management functions
4. to create de-identified (anonymous) information that can be used for research and statistical purposes without identifying clients

when required by law to the extent that use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the requirements of the law to avert a serious threat to health or safety if

1. we believe that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of an individual or the public, and
2. the use or disclosure is made to a person reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat, including the target of the threat

to report about an individual we reasonably believe to be a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence to a governmental authority (including a social service or protective services agency) authorized by law to receive reports of abuse, neglect or domestic violence

1. under any of these circumstances:
2. where the disclosure is required by law and the disclosure complies with and is limited to the requirements of the law
3. if the individual agrees to the disclosure, or
4. to the extent that the disclosure is expressly authorized by statute or regulation, and
5. we believe the disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm to the individual or other potential victims, or
6. if the individual is unable to agree because of incapacity, a law enforcement or other public official authorized to receive the report represents that the PPI for which disclosure is sought is not intended to be used against the individual and that an immediate enforcement activity that depends upon the disclosure would be materially and adversely affected by waiting until the individual is able to agree to the disclosure. and
7. when we make a permitted disclosure about a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence, we will promptly inform the individual who is the victim that a disclosure has been or will be made, except if:
8.  we, in the exercise of professional judgment, believe informing the individual would place the individual at risk of serious harm, or
9. we would be informing a personal representative (such as a family member or friend), and we reasonably believe the personal representative is responsible for the abuse, neglect or other injury, and that informing the personal representative would not be in the best interests of the individual as we determine in the exercise of professional judgment. for academic research purposes
10.  conducted by an individual or institution that has a formal relationship with the CHO if the research is conducted either:
11.  by an individual employed by or affiliated with the organization for use in a research project conducted under a written research agreement approved in writing by a designated CHO program administrator (other than the individual conducting the research), or
12. by an institution for use in a research project conducted under a written research agreement approved in writing by a designated CHO program administrator.
13. and any written research agreement:
14. must establish rules and limitations for the processing and security of PPI in the course of the research
15. must provide for the return or proper disposal of all PPI at the conclusion of the research
16. must restrict additional use or disclosure of PPI, except where required by law
17. must require that the recipient of data formally agree to comply with all terms and conditions of the agreement, and
18. is not a substitute for approval (if appropriate) of a research project by an Institutional Review Board, Privacy Board or other applicable human subjects protection institution. to a law enforcement official for a law enforcement purpose (if consistent with applicable law and standards of ethical conduct) under any of these circumstances.
19. in response to a lawful court order, court-ordered warrant, subpoena or summons issued by a judicial officer, or a grand jury subpoena
20. if the law enforcement official makes a written request for PPI that:
21. is signed by a supervisory official of the law enforcement agency seeking the PPI
22. states that the information is relevant and material to a legitimate law enforcement investigation
23. identifies the PPI sought
24. is specific and limited in scope to the extent reasonably practicable in light of the purpose for which the information is sought, and
25. states that de-identified information could not be used to accomplish the purpose of the disclosure
26. if we believe in good faith that the PPI constitutes evidence of criminal conduct that occurred on our premises
27. in response to an oral request for the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person and the PPI disclosed consists only of name, address, date of birth, place of birth, Social Security Number, and distinguishing physical characteristics, or
28. if the official is an authorized federal official seeking PPI for the provision of protective services to the President or other persons authorized by 18 U.S.C. 3056, or to foreign heads of state or other persons authorized by 22 U.S.C. 2709(a)(3), or for the conduct of investigations authorized by 18 U.S.C. 871 and 879 (threats against the President and others), and
29. the information requested is specific and limited in scope to the extent reasonably practicable in light of the purpose for which the information is sought.
30. to comply with government reporting obligations for homeless management information systems and for oversight of compliance with homeless management information system requirements.
31. Before we make any use or disclosure of your personal information that is not described here, we seek your consent first.

D. How to Inspect and Correct Personal Information You may inspect and have a copy of your personal information that we maintain.  We will offer to explain any information that you may not understand. We will consider a request from you for correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information that we maintain about you.  If we agree that the information is inaccurate or incomplete, we may delete it or we may choose to mark it as inaccurate or incomplete and to supplement it with additional information. To inspect, get a copy of, or ask for correction of your information, ask any staff member for access. We may deny your request for inspection or copying of personal information if: If we deny a request for access or correction, we will explain the reason for the denial.  We will also include, as part of the personal information that we maintain, documentation of the request and the reason for the denial We may reject repeated or harassing requests for access or correction. the information was compiled in reasonable anticipation of litigation or comparable proceedings the information is about another individual (other than a health care provider or homeless provider) the information was obtained under a promise or confidentiality (other than a promise from a health care provider or homeless provider) and if the disclosure would reveal the source of the information, or disclosure of the information would be reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.

E. Data Quality We collect only personal information that is relevant to the purposes for which we plan to use it.  To the extent necessary for those purposes, we seek to maintain only personal information that is accurate, complete, and timely. We are developing and implementing a plan to dispose of personal information not in current use seven years after the information was created or last changed.  As an alternative to disposal, we may choose to remove identifiers from the information. We may keep information for a longer period if required to do so by statute, regulation, contract, or other requirement.

F. Complaints and Accountability We accept and consider questions or complaints about our privacy and security policies and practices.  Complaints must be submitted in writing to this Agency and to: UNITY Grievance Committee Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative P.O. Box 1110 Tampa, FL 33601 The UNITY Grievance Committee will attempt to resolve your complaint.  Should further review be required your complaint will be escalated to the UNITY Steering Committee to determine a voluntary resolution of the complaint. Resolution of the complaint will be provided in writing to the agency and the individual filing the complaint. This Agency and the UNITY Information Network are prohibited from retaliating against you for filing a complaint. All members of our staff (including employees, volunteers, affiliates, contractors and associates) are required to comply with this privacy notice.  Each staff member must receive and acknowledge receipt of a copy of this privacy notice.

G. Privacy Notice Change History

1. Version 1.0.  June 1, 2005.  Initial Policy
2. Version 2.0 February 25, 2008 Amendment to Section B5
3. Version 3.0 May 6, 2014 Updated Logo