News from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

Preparing for the FY16 CoC Competition with a Relentless Focus on Strengthening Our Systems               The mission of ending homelessness calls upon all of us to make extremely hard choices.  In preparing for the FY 2016 CoC competition, Executive Director Matthew Doherty encourages communities to maintain a relentless focus on addressing the most challenging issues. He also points to tools that will helpsupport your efforts to sharpen your systems.

Build Your Landlord Engagement Program with these Key Strategies     Landlords play important roles in your local efforts to end homelessness. Creating partnerships with private market landlords is critical and best accomplished through an outreach and engagement strategy. Read the latest article from Regional Coordinator Katy Miller, who walks us through the core components of landlord engagement programs and community initiatives.

Enhancing Outcomes for Youth Exiting Foster Care  The month of May is National Foster Care Month, a time to recognize that we can all help enhance the lives of children and youth in foster care. Deputy Director Jasmine Hayes discusses federal efforts underway to ensure that youth exiting foster care have the skills and supports to positively transition into adulthood and self-sufficiency.

New Tools from the VA    Two new tools have been added to the Department of Veterans Affairs online SSVF University to help you with your efforts to end Veteran homelessness.   The Master List and Case Conferencing tools, created as part of SSVF Grantees Technical Assistance, will also help you sustain the coordinated system you have built to assure that homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.