Continuum of Care

What is Continuum of Care?

A Continuum of Care is a regional or local planning body that coordinates housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals, primarily using funding received through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The CoC Program is designed to assist individuals (including unaccompanied youth) and families experiencing homelessness and provide the services needed to help such individuals move into transitional and permanent housing, with the goal of long-term stability. More broadly, the CoC Program is designed to promote community-wide planning and strategic use of resources to address homelessness; improve coordination and integration with mainstream resources and other programs targeted to people experiencing homelessness; improve data collection and performance measurement; and allow each community to tailor its programs to the strengths and challenges in assisting homeless individuals and families within that community.

The Four Parts of a Continuum.

HUD identifies four necessary parts of a continuum:

• Outreach, intake, and assessment in order to identify service and housing needs and provide a link to the appropriate level of both;
• Emergency shelter to provide an immediate and safe alternative to sleeping on the streets, especially for homeless families with children;
• Transitional housing with supportive services to allow for the development of skills that will be needed once permanently housed; and
• Permanent and permanent supportive housing to provide individuals and families with an affordable place to live with services if needed.

To read more about HUD Continuum of Care programs visit the website at: www.hudexchange.info/programs

For information about the Continuum of Care of Northeast TN visit the website at: www.archjctn.org/continuum-of-care-coc