Last week the Partnership for Strong Communities (PSC) in collaboration with Open Doors Connecticut hosted a congressional site visit at the Open Doors’ Smilow Life Center. Attendees included Rep. Jim Himes (CT-04), Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, State Representative Lucy Dathan, and other affordable housing advocates(see full list of attendees below).

Last week, the Department of Housing announced $5 million in awards to Coordinated Access Networks for the provision of supportive services for people experiencing homelessness during the winter months in non-congregate settings and for increases in year round shelter operations. The funds are being provided from state general funds through the Department of Housing.

The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has added a new page to their website, including trainings and tools shared to help assist Continuums of Care (CoCs) in their efforts to collect and report on the Point-in-Time (PIT) and Housing Inventory Count (HIC) data collected each year.

The tools include the PIT Count Methodology Guide, guidelines for sampling for the unsheltered population within a CoC, a Race and Ethnicity Analysis tool, data that has been collected in previous years, and Standards and Methodology training tools.

On December 3, 2019, the United States Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime announced a grant opportunity regarding housing assistance for victims of all forms of human trafficking. The grant supports the following types of housing assistance:

On October 18, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced its 2019 Family Unification Program Notice of Funding Availability. This grant provides rental assistance to families and youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and have been involved with the Child Welfare System.

The policy objectives of this program include:

In June 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rolled out Stella Performance Module (Stella P), a new innovative tool that presents complex homeless system performance measures data using visuals. Stella uses Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA) data to share insights into past system performance and opportunities for future improvement.

The Stella project is a two-part module:

On May 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a new proposed rule to Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. This amendment will prohibit HUD from providing housing financial assistance to individuals who are non-U.S. citizens and eligible residents. It will require HUD to verify recipients’ eligible immigration status for all individuals in a household and forbid people who do not have eligible immigration status from serving as the leaseholder even in “mixed-status” families.

On March 21, 2019, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 55 which announced the Notice of Funding Availability for the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program. This NOFA provides resources for community agencies to support Veterans that are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.

On March 14, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Fiscal Year 2018 Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program. This is the third round of funding being released under this new initiative to address youth homelessness. Approximately $75 million will be awarded to up to 25 communities.

Applications are due by May 15, 2019.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has developed a new resource to help communities identify racial and ethnic disparities and biases within their Continuum of Care (CoC). The CoC Analysis Tool: Race and Ethnicity includes data from the Point-in-Time Count and the American Community Survey.

Click here to access the tool and to learn more about how to use it for your CoC.