Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care News
November 2018
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Texas Homeless Network is the lead agency for the
Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care (TX BoS CoC)
. The TX BoS CoC is a group of stakeholders that collaboratively plan and operate the CoC and a range of housing and services to prevent and end homelessness. The TX BoS CoC covers
215 counties
and includes 24 Local Homeless Coalitions (LHCs) that plan, deliver, and evaluate local systems.
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New TX BoS CoC Staff
Three new people have joined the CoC Team!
- Andrew Willard is the CoC Performance Coordinator
- Kyra Henderson is the CoC Data Coordinator
- Mollie Lund is the ESG and SSVF Coordinator
We are excited to expand our capacity to serve people experiencing homelessness and CoC members and communities even better!
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Built for Zero
Around this time last year, THN released an application to fund communities to participate in
Built for Zero
(BFZ). BFZ is a rigorous national change effort, coordinated by Community Solutions, working to help a core group of committed communities end veteran and chronic homelessness.
This initiative has provided amazing opportunities for the two communities selected to participate: Abilene and Denton. In December, they are launching a pilot project on
diversion
. This is the first time in the TX BoS CoC that communities have worked together to lead the design and implement a new system process based on best practices. We are inspired by this work these communities are doing and, as a result, the CoC Lead Agency plans on using
human-centered design among all initiatives.
Denton recently launched their
data dashboard, which really makes their data come alive. Check it out in its full glory
here.
Also, stay tuned because one of these communities will have a very exciting announcement in the coming months.
Keep up the great work, Abilene and Denton!
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Coordinated Entry Research Survey
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HMIS Team in Action
The CoC's Homeless Management and Information System (HMIS) Team was active in October! They visited and trained thirteen agencies in the Rio Grande Valley (Brownsville, Alamo, McAllen, San Benito, Harlingen, Weslaco, and Laredo) and several agencies in Lubbock.
They also presented a session at the National Human Services Data Consortium Conference in Portland, Oregon, the premiere conference for HMIS administrators. Their presentation received rave reviews, and a number of other CoCs requested to talk with them more about what they are doing in the TX BoS CoC.
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Safety Net for Students and Families -- Grant Application
The Safety Nets for Students and Families grant application process is now open.
The grants help service providers add capacity to meet the needs of children, youth, and families made homeless/displaced by Hurricane Harvey in all affected regions
except
Harris County.
*Note: These grants are for community-based service providers, but schools may partner with service providers to apply.
Safety Nets for Student Families is a joint project of:
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THN VISTA Program has 3 Project Openings!
Texas Homeless Network (THN) has opened 3 new project spaces for organizations and communities looking to expand their capacity and build new programming! If your organization has a project they need to start and could benefit from a full-time volunteer helping for 1-3 years for just $6,000, please contact Meagan Moore, VISTA Program Manager, at 512-861-2124 or
meagan@thn.org.
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What's Happening Across the TX BoS CoC?
Central Texas
Operation Stand Down – Central Texas Hosts Fall Stand Down for Homeless Veterans
North Texas
Denton Joins National Campaign to End Veteran Homelessness
West Texas
Mayor's Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness in Abilene Underway
Open Door Offers Resources, Rides to Help Homeless Population Vote
These articles were gathered from Google Alerts. If you have articles about your community's efforts to prevent and end homelessness that you want highlighted in our next newsletter, please email the articles to
txboscoc@thn.org.
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TX BoS CoC Lead Staff Recommend...
The following are resources TX BoS CoC Lead Staff have found in the last month that we feel would be beneficial in your local efforts to make homelessness rare, brief, and one time:
"Community Response Resources: Tools, Policies, and Templates for Addressing Unsheltered Homelessness"
CSH has released “Community Response Resources:
Tools, Policies & Templates for
Addressing Unsheltered Homelessness." Developing a coordinated strategy to address unsheltered homelessness can face challenges. This suite of tools is designed to assist communities in identifying and leveraging local champions and strengths, as well as to address challenges that may arise during the development and implementation of a comprehensive outreach and engagement system.
CSH also held a webinar to discuss the resources.
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Everyone In L.A. Toolkit
“Everyone In” is Los Angeles County’s coordinated effort to end homelessness. The
toolkit
shows how to get involved in their coalitions and CoC in as little as 2 minutes or as much as 1 hour. Check out their ideas, and share with your network!
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Upcoming Events
NOVEMBER
Coordinated Entry Unplugged
Tuesday, 11/13, 10:00-11:00 AM by webinar
TX BoS CoC General Meeting
Wednesday, 11/14, 2:00 PM
by webinar
Topic: Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and Data
THN Office Closed for Thanksgiving
Thursday, 11/22, and Friday, 11/23
Longitudinal System Analysis (LSA) Report Due to HUD
Friday, 11/30
DECEMBER
TX BoS CoC General Meeting
Wednesday, 12/12, 2:00 PM
Topic: Coordinated Entry
Coordinated Entry Unplugged
Tuesday, 12/18
THN Office Closed
Friday, 12/21 through Friday, 1/4/2019
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Anyone who works or lives in the CoC's geographic area, and all housing and homeless services projects in the CoC's geographic area, are considered to be members of the CoC. The CoC has an open invitation process, so members may join at any time.
Share this email with anyone you think may be interested!
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CoC General Meeting Schedule
Stay informed about CoC happenings by participating in the monthly webinars. Each meeting will feature a topic that is important to preventing and ending homelessness. November's topic is HMIS and Data.
Register here. See the
schedule for dates, topics, and registration links.
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CoC Program Funding
If you are a representative of a project that is interested in applying for United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program funding, please contact
txboscoc@thn.org
.
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The TX BoS CoC is a focus area of the Texas Homeless Network.
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See what's happening on our social sites
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