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Three County Continuum of Care March 2024 Newsletter (7th ed.)

1. Have You Heard?

Great news--we are hiring for the position of Business Manager! See the below section "Hiring" for more information.

2. Legislative & Advocacy Updates

The Western MA Network to End Homelessness reports that on "March 5, the Joint Housing Committee issued a 'favorable report' on Governor Healey's Affordable Homes Act, the $4.1 billion Housing Bond Bill that also includes significant Network priority policy changes such as the transfer fee for affordable housing and eviction record sealing." Make sure to subscribe to the blog for more updates!

Additionally, the Network's Annual Gathering will be on May 31st from 10:00-11:30am at Holyoke Community College and on Zoom. See the flyer here!

3. Community Updates

The CoC is so excited to share the news that the Resiliency Hub in Northampton (also a part of Community Action) has launched a community breakfast! Breakfast will be served early Friday morning (7:00am-9:00am) at First Churches on Main Street in Northampton (side entrance off Center Street). Read the full announcement from the Hub below:
 
"Through community engagement, we learned that our local unsheltered community was concerned about the coldest part of the day--after 3:00am until well after sunrise. We heard these concerns and began conversations with others on how to address this. The result is this breakfast at First Churches early Friday morning. We provide a welcoming space in the dining hall off the Center Street side entrance, for people to come and get a simple, nutritious breakfast, build community, to listen, share, and connect. In the harsh weather, it is a place and time that is easily reachable to people without transportation to come in from those elements before drop-in centers are open and there is no other place to go. 
 
The purpose is to meet people where they are at, to better understand each other, and to strengthen our community by listening and witnessing without trying to solve or fix. To hold space where people can engage as much or as little as they want, radical hospitality and being welcoming to however people want to show up. Honoring that people are experts in their own lives. We are more listeners than tellers. We are trying to do this through the process of sharing food and space with people in our community who are often excluded or invisible.
 
Please help spread the word and please join us!"

 

If you are interested in volunteering or would like to learn more, please reach out to Nan Sibley (nsibley@communityaction.us).
 

4. PIT Count

The 2024 Point in Time (PIT) Count of all people experiencing homelessness occurred on January 31st. This year, the CoC worked hard to increase awareness about the count and connected with many interested volunteers! Two training sessions were held, and we are so grateful to all those who volunteered time and resources, as well as the dedicated shelter and outreach staff that participated. Additionally, several local news outlets wrote stories on the count--check out what the Greenfield Recorder said here!

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Tabling event at the Greenfield Public Library; CoC staff were joined by members of our Youth Action Board (YAB)

Some of the items that were distributed

A full report will be available in the coming months, but the preliminary numbers show that at least 652 people were experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness in our three-county region (for reference, our 2023 final report was able to count 661 people). As we continue to receive completed surveys, we know this number will increase.

5. Articles & Interactive Pages

  • Rental assistance is health care, according to Medicaid - Vox 

    • "With rates of unsheltered homelessness reaching record highs in 2023, and rents growing to their most affordable levels ever, some states are preparing to use federal Medicaid dollars [to pay for housing- in the hopes that health will improve as housing stabilizes."

  • America's Rental Housing 2024 - Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies

    • This report covers many topics, from rental housing stock and markets, to affordability and other challenges​.

  • Housing Stability Monitor: Massachusetts Evictions & Foreclosures - Massachusetts Housing Partnership

    • This 2nd edition of the Housing Stability Monitor showcases "eviction and foreclosure data across the 351 municipalities in Massachusetts." The data goes up to October 2023.

    • Unfortunately, the data reveals that "statewide eviction execution numbers are the highest they have been in nearly three years and are more than twice as high as early pandemic trends."

    • It is noted that "foreclosure rates have remained stable relative to pre-pandemic trends. At the regional level, foreclosure petition rates show some variability among municipalities and across county lines" but the "inner ring suburbs have notably low rates of foreclosure petitions.

6. Upcoming Trainings & Events

A lot is happening in the next few months! Let's break it down month by month.

MARCH 

  • March 21st at 12:00-2:00pm: Understanding Trauma-informed Racial Equity (by Racial Equity Partners)

    • This training centers on the trauma-informed care framework and brain science that compliments the work of racial equity. Practices for self-care and healing in relationships will be highlighted, and discussion opportunities will be provided to further the understanding of trauma-resiliency, especially in the workplace and service provision.​

    • Register here!

  • March 28th at 1:00-2:00pm: Workers' Rights (by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office)

    • This training will cover the legal rights of an employee (18+); what the minimum wage is; restaurant/server/tipped employee wages; common violations; legal deductions; how to earn sick-time and what it can be used for; employment discrimination; and protections for undocumented immigrant workers.​

    • Register here!

APRIL

  • April 10th-12th: Fair Housing and Civil Rights Conference

    • The CoC's Shaundell Diaz (along with community partners) will be presenting on April 1x about the Reimagining Interim Housing framework. ​

  • April 18th at 4:00-5:00pm: SAVVY 18: Know Your Rights as an Adult (by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office)

    • This training will cover the basics of new adult responsibilities such voting, jury duty, employment as a legal adult, taxes, and general information on Massachusetts housing and auto care laws.​

    • Register here!

  • April 25th at 12:00-2:00pm: Diversity at Work: Representation & Belonging (by Racial Equity Partners)

    • This training will frame the concept of diversity in the workplace, as well as what it means to be represented and what it means to belong. Participants will learn important practices needed for effective recruitment and hiring to achieve greater representation. Additionally, this training will explore cultural humility and the ways to continue nurturing workspaces so that diversity is valued and social “norms” are expanded. Opportunities will be provided to discuss how participants may intentionally adopt and incorporate new practices that help all team members feel like they belong.

    • Register here!

MAY

  • May 16th at 12:00-1:00pm: AGO 101 (by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office)

    • This training will cover general information about what the AGO does, general information about the divisions within the agency. and the specific duties of the Community Engagement Division.​

    • Register here!

  • May 23rd at 10:00am-12:00pm: DV Training part 1 (by DV providers in Western MA)

  • May 30th at 10:00am-12:00pm: DV Training part 2 (by DV providers in Western MA)

    • A registration link will be sent out soon, but if you are interested in learning more about domestic violence, we encourage you to put a hold on your calendar for the above dates and times!

Additionally, the CoC will be partnering with community organizations later this spring to hold a Credit Success Workshop, Tenant's Rights and Responsibilities, and more. 

Finally, stay tuned for more information about a Three County CoC Gathering happening in person (!) in June! 

7. Hiring

As mentioned above, the CoC is HIRING for the key role of BUSINESS MANAGER. This team member will oversee all of the billing and fiscal management. This includes support in funding applications, procurement, tracking of various funding streams, billing and fiscal compliance, and a 3.5+ million-dollar budget of Federal, State, and local funding. 

Responsibilities include:

  • Developing, implementing, and overseeing the CoC Program internal fiscal systems.

  • Ensuring timely submission and payment of all CoC project invoices; effectively tracking project-billing practices; developing and following policies and systems in collaboration with Community Action fiscal department.

  • Acting as primary point of contact for all budget amendments and serving as liaison with HUD Field Office for budget amendments for sub-recipients. 

  • Monitoring fiscal reporting systems and quality assurance processes and working with program staff to track spending and process vouchers and purchase orders.

  • Administering multiple grants with diverse funding sources.

  • Maintaining information on state, federal, regulatory, and program administrative requirements as they relate to grants and funding. 

  • Participating in the annual CoC NOFO response, competition, and application process.

  • Communicating with TA providers, State and HUD Representatives re: project questions and compliance.

  • Providing leadership and coordination in building strong relationships with CoC partners, projects, and stakeholders; ensuring staff are supported and informed on the HUD regulations and CoC policies and procedures.

  • Working as a team with other CoC staff to support, enhance, and promote communication and consistency in the delivery of services.

 

Interested? Intrigued? Know someone who would love to do this work? Go here to see the full job description (including salary)!

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