Continuum of Care News

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser . Upcoming: NHSDC Fall Conference The National Human Services Data Consortium (NHSDC) is a collaborative organization that understands the importance of data quality and the value of using valid and reliable data for community planning and performance measurement. NHSDC has worked for over 13 years to deliver conferences that allow Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) professionals to discuss current challenges and best practices while developing a critical network of peer support. As in past years, the NHSDC conference is a HUD-approved conference. T...

BY  ALAN PYKE   AUG 18, 2015 8:00AM CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK The effort draws on three different forms of federal power. Government attorneys are urging a federal court to strike down one local law criminalizing outdoor sleeping, which would create precedent that could be used elsewhere. The official federal homelessness task force is using its platform to discourage communities from   cracking   down   on   tent encampments , an act without the same bite as a court filing but one which is likely to be influential in the advocacy world. Armed with lawyers, data, and money, the federal government is discouraging local communities from passing laws that treat the daily realities of being homeless as crimes. Money talks louder than legal briefs and expert advice, though, and significant movement on how federal dollars get awarded for homelessness outreach work appears to be on the horizon. Any community that makes homelessness illegal may soon find it...

Spencer Platt/Getty Images Eight months after homelessness hit a record in New York City, you can still see the need of the city's most vulnerable in Tompkins Square Park. "Good morning! Two pieces?" asks Mario Cornejo, as he places slices of frosted banana bread on paper towels for a long line of hungry people. "It used to be just a small pot before," explains Cornejo, a volunteer with a New York group called Food for Life since 2008. "Now it's a big pot and bigger salad containers, more trays of cake." With warmer weather, he says he's seen more homeless people lounging in the park and lining up for free meals. "Some do live in shelters. Some live in the streets," he says. "We're going through difficult times." Homelessness in New York reached an all-time high last December, when about 59,000 people were sleeping in shelters, according to the city's records. That number has dipped ...

2015 NCHV Veterans Access to Housing Summit: Commit to Changing Your Community Discounted hotel room block now sold out, register now before we reach capacity!  "Can I really do that?" Your agency and community may have more flexibility in your resources than you think! At this year’s Housing Summit, you will have unprecedented access to national experts on the major housing programs serving homeless and at-risk veterans. You already know how GPD, SSVF, HUD-VASH, and CoC resources work… now go deeper into the possibilities of what you can do with them to best serve veterans in need.  Thanks to the small-group, interactive structure of this event, you will have the opportunity to discuss the needs of your community and troubleshoot the specific hurdles you are facing. Come prepared to work and set an agenda for change when you go home! You w...

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser . View Housing and Healthcare (H2) Initiative Action Plans by State In order to better meet the needs of people who are homeless and those who are low income and living with HIV/AIDS, HUD's Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) and the Office of HIV/AIDS Housing (OHH), in collaboration with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are sponsoring technical assistance (TA) to support states and communities in undertaking the systems changes needed to enhance integration and c...