The Homeless Continuum of Care Corner - Fall 2019

Arizona Balance of State Continuum of Care Notice of Funds Available

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Continuums of Care (CoC) was released on July 3, 2019. Approximately $2.3 billion is available in Fiscal Year 2019, including up to $50 million available for Domestic Violence (DV) Bonus projects nationally. The HUD CoC Program provides federal funds to help local organizations and governments deliver housing and services to people who have been experiencing homelessness.

Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) is the Collaborative Applicant and grantee for the 13 rural counties in the Arizona Balance of State Continuum of Care (AZBOSCOC) and is working with our partners to submit an application to retain our current budget. ADOH is the grantee for nineteen AZBoSCoC projects totaling $4,028,471. The majority of the projects include permanent housing, a combination of supportive housing for those with a disability, and rapid rehousing for those able to become self-sustaining within a matter of months. These programs operate at capacity and provide housing for a minimum of 354 households. This is a highly competitive application process and grants are competitively renewed for one year only.

This year, a total of $577,749 is being applied for bonus projects including DV. The Department plans to submit an application for a total of four new projects, two for Permanent Supportive Housing and two for Rapid Rehousing, for those who have experienced domestic violence.

The application was submitted to HUD, in September.

Point in Time count planning for January 2020 is under way

Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires every Continuum of Care across the nation to conduct an annual Point in Time (PIT) count in their geographic area of homeless individuals and families who are unsheltered. This count is combined with data provided by shelters to ultimately provide a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness in our communities within a specific time period. The information gathered is used by local, state and federal programs to allocate resources and better understand the needs of our communities’ vulnerable homeless populations.

Arizona Department of Housing coordinates the PIT count for the Arizona Balance of State Continuum of Care (AZBoSCoC), covering the 13 rural counties in the state. The Department submitted the 2019 HUD Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) at the end of September 2019 and is currently gearing up for the next annual PIT count that will take place at the end of January 2020.

Each County depends on citizens to conduct their local PIT counts and now is the time to get involved through a short-term volunteer commitment or by providing donations in-kind. From January 21-26, 2020, volunteers from homeless provider agencies, governmental organizations, local colleges, faith based groups, veterans’ service providers and local community members across the State will traverse the wide expanse of the 13 counties that are covered by the AZBOSCOC to find unsheltered homeless individuals. As part of the process, volunteers provide the people they encounter and interview with comfort items such as clean socks, meal gift cards, batteries, hats and scarves, food, hygiene supplies and other necessary supplies that have been donated by the community.

We hope you join us in increasing awareness of homeless populations in your community so that we can collectively improve services to end their homelessness. To learn more about volunteer opportunities or how you can help with in-kind donations, contact the Lead person/s of the Local Coalition to End Homelessness (LCEH) in your County below.

For those counties without a LCEH listed, please contact [email protected] for further information.