News & Upcoming Events
Updated 2023 Governance Charters, Written Standards and Policies
Three County Continuum of Care Governance Charter 2023
Three County Continuum of Care HMIS Charter 2023
Three County Continuum of Care Written Standards 2023
2023 NOFO (see here for the CoC's Request for Proposals)
HUD has published the FY23 NOFO. Approximately $3.1 billion are available for CoC's to apply for. Application deadline is September 28th. Some notable changes and updates:
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HUD's definition of 'homeless' has been amended:
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any individual or family who—
(1) is experiencing trauma or a lack of safety related to, or fleeing or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous, traumatic, or life-threatening conditions related to the violence against the individual or a family member in the individual's or family's current housing situation, including where the health and safety of children are jeopardized;
(2) has no other safe residence; and
(3) lacks the resources to obtain other safe permanent housing.
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Rural communities will be able to use HUD funds to cover the cost of hotel/motel stays
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Housing First, reducing unsheltered homelessness, improving system performance, partnering with housing, health, & service agencies, racial equity, improving assistance to LGBTQ+ individuals, authentically engaging people with lived experience, and increasing the supply of affordable housing are all identified as policy priorities
May 12th Western MA Network to End Homelessness 7th Annual Event
On Friday May 12th, providers, advocates, and elected officials from all four counties of Western Massachusetts gathered at Holyoke Community College and on Zoom to share in the goal of providing safe & affordable housing for everyone. The CoC's very own Shaundell Diaz gave an inspiring presentation about her lived experience! Recording available here (passcode: c%?xTR10). Shaundell begins at the 52 minute mark. For more information, check out the WMNEH blog.
March 10th info session
For those who were unable to attend our Partner Procurement informational session, here is the presentation and here is a recording of the Zoom meeting (passcode: fw=q8@X^).
Exciting Opportunity!
As of February 28th, the application to contract for 48 beds of Permanent Supportive Housing scattered throughout Berkshire, Franklin, and Hampshire counties (currently operated by CHD) is available! Click here for full application packet. The application deadline is March 31st, with an informational session occurring on March 10th from 12:30-2:00. If you have any questions, please reach out to Janna Tetreault
Take a look at the new (December 2022) Three County Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry video!
Upcoming Quarterly Board Meeting
The Three County CoC is holding it's next quarterly board meeting on Wednesday, December 14th, 2022 from 3-5pm. Please see the attached agenda for more details.
Three County CoC 2022 Membership Survey
Last year, the CoC made the following update to our Governance Charter: "The Three County CoC is committed to having a Membership that reflects the diversity of populations served by the CoC, including diversity in race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, disability, geography, housing status, languages are spoken, and lived experience of homelessness. The CoC shall conduct periodic surveys to evaluate the diversity of current membership to identify diversity needs." Please help us to evaluate our strengths and needs in this area by taking a few minutes to complete this survey.
Recent News from Citizens' Housing & Planning Association (CHAPA)
Massachusetts Legislature fails to Pass Economic Development Bill, and Conference Committee releases ARPA spending bill.
join CHAPA's Annual Regional Housing Meeting, scheduled for Thursday, September 22, 2022 from 10-12.
Leveraging Health Care Resource List
The following resources provide further guidance as you work to leverage health care resources in your homeless system:
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Federal Health and Social Service Programs That Support People Experiencing Homelessness
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COVID-19 and the HCH Community: Needed Actions from Public Health and Emergency Response Systems
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Building Connective Tissue for Effective Housing-Health Initiatives
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Homeless in the ED: Partnerships to Improve Care, Pt. 3 (1-hour webinar)
“We All Have a Role to Play”: Jeff Olivet’s Full Remarks at NAEH Conference on Ending Homelessness.
The 2nd Edition of the Three County Continuum of Care Newsletter has been released, Read it Here!
Four Rivers School Spotlight on Upstanders!
Read more from the Students at Four Rivers School on Upstanders in the community. The students have been focusing on food insecurities and homelessness for the last year. As part of the Livable Franklin County Unit in 8th grade at Four Rivers, students researched, interviewed, and wrote spotlight profiles about 11 different incredible upstanders in our community. To us, an upstander is someone who recognizes injustice in the world and not only takes action but dedicates themselves and their work to resolving the many inequities present in our communities.
A Housing Vision for the Berkshires, has officially been made public!
The Western Mass Network to End Homelessness
has released our Budget & Legislative Priorities!
Sharing the new Executive Director of the USICH's inspiring vision for ending homelessness.
Read about House America
An All-Hands-on-Deck Effort to Address the Nation’s Homelessness Crisis is a federal initiative in which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) are inviting mayors, city and county leaders, tribal nation leaders, and governors into a national partnership. House America will utilize the historic investments provided through the American Rescue Plan to address the crisis of homelessness through a Housing First approach. Read the powerpoint here.
Visit the Western Mass Network to End Homelessness blog to learn about upcoming advocacy needs!
Racial Equity
CE System Evaluation! Over the past 6 months, The Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, in partnership with C4 Initiatives has evaluated our (along with other MA CoCs) Coordinated Entry System with an equity lens. Their efforts were to enhance and maintain equitable housing outcomes. Service Providers, CoC staff and leads and people with lived experience completed surveys and/or participated in listening sessions to give their perspectives, our data was evaluated...and here are the results!
You can find the public facing 2021 Three County CoC Racial Equity Action Plan here.
The Three County CoC, along with the Western Mass Network to End Homelessness, is dedicated to undoing structural racism and support Legislative priorities that address policies needed to increase equitable measures for people of color in the intersection of race and homelessness as well as upstream budget and bills that support funding to increase support for our most vulnerable populations. Here are our 2022 Budget & Legislative Priorities!