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Digital Fundraiser: Until the end of September along with Krispy Kreme: for every digital dozen doughnuts purchased, the CoC gets 50% of the price!
The annual CoC NOFO application has been released for FY23. We are requesting all NEW Project Applications be submitted by July 28th, 2023, by 5:00pm. Once preapplications are submitted the Ranking and Review Committee will review applications and either accept, reject, or ask an agency/individual to make modifications to their projects on August 1st. All accepted projects will complete the final application in the e-snaps system by August 28th, 2023, by 5:00pm. The Ranking and Review Committee will then score projects based on criteria in the NOFO and community needs and rank them from highest to lowest. In addition to reviewing and scoring project applications the SCCoC team will be completing a consolidated application as well so please be sure to adhere to all deadlines as they are released.
All accepted renewal and new projects will be announced by September 13, 2023, via the CoC listserv and website. All FY2023 CoC NOFO materials will be posted on the CoC website at www.summitcoc.org for your review.
Any agencies/individuals who plan to apply for these funds should be sure to review the SCCoC Membership Policy Membership-Policy.docx (live.com) to ensure eligibility. Please be sure to read though the preapplication and the NOFO attached prior to submitting a project application. If you have any additional questions after reading though the NOFO, please feel free to reach out to me.
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New Projects. (See section III.B.3.e for more information on New Project applications.)
(1) New PH-PSH projects must serve one of the following:
(a) persons eligible to be served by DedicatedPLUS projects as described in section
I.B.2.b.(7) of this NOFO in which case all units funded by the project must be used to
serve program participants who meet the qualifications for DedicatedPLUS; or
(b) persons who are experiencing chronic homelessness [see 24 CFR 578.3 definition of
Chronically Homeless] at the time they initially enroll in the project.
(2) New PH-RRH, Joint TH/PH-RRH, and SSO-CE projects must serve persons who qualify
as homeless under paragraphs (1), (2), or (4) of 24 CFR 578.3, Section 103(b) of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, or persons who qualify as homeless under
paragraph (3) of 24 CFR 578.3 if the CoC is approved to serve persons in paragraph (3).
(3) New DV Bonus projects (RRH, Joint TH/PH-RRH, and SSO-CE) must serve survivors of
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking who qualify as homeless under
paragraph (1) or (4) of 24 CFR 578.3 or Section 103(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act. Additionally, these projects may serve survivors of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, and stalking who qualify as homeless under paragraph (3) of 24
CFR 578.3 if the CoC is approved to serve persons in paragraph (3).
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HUD Homeless Policy Priorities
(1) Ending homelessness for all persons. In 2022, the United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness (USICH) presented All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End
Homelessness to the President and Congress. The plan is built around six pillars: three
foundations—equity, data and evidence, and collaboration—and three solutions—housing
and supports, crisis response, and prevention. The work funded through this NOFO will
support the actions and strategies proposed within the pillars. To end homelessness, CoCs
should identify, engage, and effectively serve all persons experiencing homelessness. CoCs
should measure their performance based on local data that consider the challenges faced by
all subpopulations experiencing homelessness in the geographic area (e.g., veterans, youth,
families, those experiencing chronic homelessness, and people with disabilities, including
those living with HIV/AIDS). CoCs should partner with housing, health care, and supportive
services providers to expand housing options, such as permanent supportive housing,
housing subsidies, and rapid rehousing. Additionally, CoCs should use local data to
determine the characteristics of individuals and families with the highest needs and longest
experiences of homelessness to develop housing and supportive services tailored to their
needs.
(2) Use a Housing First approach. Housing First prioritizes rapid placement and stabilization
in permanent housing and does not have service participation requirements or preconditions.
CoC Program funded projects should help individuals and families move quickly into
permanent housing, and CoCs should measure and help projects reduce the length of time
people experience homelessness. Additionally, CoCs should engage landlords and property
owners to identify housing units available for rapid rehousing and permanent supportive
housing participants, remove barriers to entry, and adopt client-centered service methods.
HUD encourages CoCs to assess how well Housing First approaches are being implemented
(3) Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness. In recent years, the number of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness has risen significantly, including a rising number of encampments
in many communities across the country. People living unsheltered have extremely high rates
of physical and mental illness and substance use disorders. CoCs should explore all available
resources, including CoC and ESG funded assistance, housing subsidies, and supportive
services to provide permanent housing options for people who are unsheltered. CoCs should
work with law enforcement and their state and local governments to eliminate policies and
practices that criminalize homelessness.
(4) Improving System Performance. CoCs should be using system performance measures
(e.g., average length of homeless episodes, rates of return to homelessness, rates of exit to
permanent housing destinations) to determine how effectively they are serving people
experiencing homelessness. Additionally, CoCs should use their Coordinated Entry process
to promote participant choice, coordinate homeless assistance and mainstream housing, and
services to ensure people experiencing homelessness receive assistance quickly, and make
homelessness assistance open, inclusive, and transparent. CoCs should review all projects
eligible for renewal in FY 2023 to determine their effectiveness in serving people
experiencing homelessness, including cost-effectiveness. CoCs should also look for
opportunities to implement continuous quality improvement and other process improvement
strategies.
(5) Partnering with Housing, Health, and Service Agencies. Using cost performance and
outcome data, CoCs should improve how all available resources are utilized to end
homelessness. HUD encourages CoCs to maximize the use of mainstream and other community-based resources when serving persons experiencing homelessness and should:
(a) Work closely with public and private healthcare organizations and assist program
participants to receive primary care, receive housing related services, and obtain medical
insurance to address healthcare needs. This includes developing close partnerships with
public health agencies to analyze data and design approaches that reduce homelessness,
improve the health of people experiencing homelessness, and prevent and address
disease outbreaks, including HIV/AIDS.
(b) Partner closely with PHAs and state and local housing organizations to utilize
coordinated entry, develop housing units, and provide housing subsidies to people
experiencing homelessness. These partnerships can also help CoC Program participants
exit permanent supportive housing through Housing Choice Vouchers and other
available housing options. CoCs and PHAs should especially work together to implement
targeted programs such as Emergency Housing Vouchers, HUD-VASH, Mainstream
Vouchers, Family Unification Program (FUP) Vouchers, and other housing voucher
programs targeted to people experiencing homelessness.
(c) Partner with local workforce development centers to improve employment
opportunities.
(d) Work with Tribal organizations to ensure that Tribal members can access CoC funded
assistance when a CoC’s geographic area borders a Tribal area.
(6) Racial Equity. In nearly every community, Black, Indigenous, and other people of color
are substantially over-represented in the homeless population. HUD is emphasizing system
and program changes to address racial equity within CoCs. Responses to preventing and
ending homelessness should address racial inequities to ensure successful outcomes for all
persons experiencing homelessness using proven approaches, such as: developing a
coordinated community response created in partnership with a racially diverse set of
stakeholders and people experiencing homelessness and partnering with organizations with
experience serving underserved populations. CoCs should review local policies, procedures,
and processes with attention to identifying barriers that result in racial disparities and taking
steps to eliminate barriers to improve racial equity and to address disparities.
(7) Improving Assistance to LGBTQ+ Individuals. Discrimination on the basis of gender
identity or sexual orientation manifests differently for different individuals and often
overlaps with other forms of prohibited discrimination. CoCs should address the needs of
LGBTQ+, transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals and families in
their planning processes. Additionally, when considering which projects to select in their
local competition to be included in their application to HUD, CoCs should ensure privacy,
respect, safety, and access regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation in projects.
CoCs should also consider partnering with organizations with expertise in serving LGBTQ+
populations.
(8) Persons with Lived Experience. The people who know best what solutions will
effectively end homelessness are those who are experiencing homelessness. HUD expects
CoCs to include people with lived homeless expertise and experience in their local planning
and decision-making process. People with lived experience should determine how local
policies may need to be revised and updated to improve the effectiveness of homelessness
assistance programs, including participating in planning and oversight activities, and
developing local competition processes. CoC leaders and stakeholders should prioritize
hiring people who have experienced homelessness in areas where their expertise is needed.
(9) Increasing Affordable Housing Supply. The lack of affordable housing is the main driver
of homelessness. CoCs play a critical role in educating local leaders and stakeholders about
the importance of increasing the supply of affordable housing and the specific consequences
of the continued lack of affordable housing. CoCs should be communicating with jurisdiction
leaders, including for the development of Consolidated Plans, about the harmful effects of
the lack of affordable housing, and they should engage local leaders about steps such as
zoning and land use reform that would increase the supply of affordable housing. This FY
2023 CoC NOFO awards points to CoCs that take steps to engage local leaders about
increasing affordable housing supply.
