Three County Continuum of Care November 2024 Newsletter (10th ed.)

Have You Heard?

The CoC is so excited to welcome our new Compliance Manager, Natalie Burtzos! Natalie brings over 10 years of experience as a Senior Program Administrator and Licensed Social Worker, with a strong background in working with underserved populations facing housing instability. We are super excited that her expertise spans across tenant-based rental assistance programs, affordable housing policy, coordinated service systems, and federal housing programs. Natalie is also highly skilled in project management, program implementation, social policy analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Legislative and Advocacy Updates

On November 19th, over 50 of our Western Mass municipal officials and shelter providers met with Secretary Augustus of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. The Western MA Network to End Homelessness notes the recommendations our community provided to the Secretary.

EOHLC is also offering funds to for winter emergency shelter capacity. A number of organizations in our region have applied, and we will provide updates once the awards have been made.

Community Updates

Over the course of the summer, the CoC (in collaboration with its People with Lived Experience Action Board) conducted a Collection Drive to support the creation of Emergency Summer Cooling Kits. We received numerous donations and were able to assemble dozens of kits. These kits were distributed at community breakfasts across Hampshire and Franklin County. Huge thanks to everyone who supported this endeavor and who continually supports our most vulnerable community members.

Some CoC staff also participated in Habitat for Humanity's Government Builds Day!

On October 28th, the CoC submitted its funding application to HUD. The complete application is available here for anyone interested. We are excited to announce that we are applying for 2 new projects this year: a Permanent Supportive Housing program in Easthampton and a Rapid Rehousing program for survivors of/fleeing domestic violence. A Positive Place has also applied for additionally funding to provide housing for trans and nonbinary individuals that are at risk of HIV/AIDS.

The CoC has also started planning for the 2025 Point in Time (PIT) Count, the HUD-required yearly census to count all the people experiencing homelessness in a CoC's geographic area. If you are interested in participating in the planning/count itself, please fill out this form: https://forms.office.com/r/wM3HYDfuC0!

Finally, the Youth Action Board (YAB) has been working diligently on a video all about adultism and it is finally streaming. To check it out, click here! If you have any trouble accessing, please reach out to Michele Lafleur

Upcoming Events & Trainings

-HMIS Privacy and Security Training on November 25th from 12:00-1:00 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82646309712?pwd=Pa6uioxyOPbDjjayCyott3bantceLt.1

-PIT Count Planning on December 3rd from 3:00-4:00

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqd-qhqDwjE9I3d_peVefkmCJvRnfuwdBk

-Compliance Office Hours on December 6th from 11:00-12:30

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83843684136?pwd=zjCp1t3EWEqtGjFmkBMTeMwGaC5cs8.1

-Clarity HMIS End User Training (PSH, RRH, TH, Entry/Exit ES) on December 11th from 11:00-12:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83984404044?pwd=7W5avAl5MQokPub9MNxojzmChsBlOW.1

-Coordinated Entry HMIS Training on December 16th from 12:00-1:30

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84346025873?pwd=muafGR8xhHtxliEmTH81ACu10AopEu.1

-CoC Annual Meeting on December 17th from 1:00-3:00