Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care News
June 2019
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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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Local Coordinator for State Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)
THN is the Local Coordinator for State Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding for the TX BoS CoC Program Year 2019 State ESG Local Competition.
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), the State Agency that receives State ESG Funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), allowed Continuum of Care (CoC) Lead Agencies across Texas to apply to host a local competition for ESG Program funding within their jurisdiction.
TDHCA designated THN as the ESG Coordinator for the TX BoS CoC, which means THN is responsible for allocating $3,332,143.00 in ESG Program funding for the 2019 Program Year. TDHCA will not accept ESG applications from entities in the TX BoS CoC as the agency has done in years past. Learn more about the ESG Program
here
.
THN will release application the materials on June 19 with a Q&A Webinar on June 21st and letters of intent due by close of business June 21st. Register for the Q&A webinar
here
.
Look for more social media posts, newsletters, and webinars to keep up to date on THN’s ESG Local Competition for the TX BoS CoC.
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VISTA Placements Available
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Texas Homeless Network has 2 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 per year, please email
vista@thn.org
.
We are also recruiting potential VISTA members throughout the state, so let us know if you know someone who may be interested.
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New Internal Monitoring Guidance
THN has released Internal Monitoring Guidance.
The purpose of this guidance is to inform projects in creating their internal monitoring policy, implementing their policy, and maintaining quality program files.
This guidance has been added to THN's website, under the
CoC Program-Funded Project Forms & Tools
section of the CoC Program page. This guidance was created in collaboration with high performing CoC Projects. If you have questions about THN's Internal Monitoring Guidance, please to contact Andrew Willard, CoC Performance Coordinator, at
andrew@thn.org
.
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THN Policy Stance Creation
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THN is currently working with our THN Advocates and CoC Leads to craft common language and ready-to-send statewide stances in response to local ordinances, federal laws, and state laws. We will be creating a stance on panhandling. If you are interested in joining the conversation to cultivate these stances, please become a
THN Advocate today
.
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CoC Board Nominations
CoC Board elections will be held in September. Nominations will be accepted in June and July. Consider running for a seat on the CoC's main decision-making body to represent the group you advocate for and serve. Eight seats will be elected for two-year terms that start in October 2019:
Seat 1: Person with lived experience of homelessness (currently or formerly homeless)
Seat 3: Chronically homeless persons
Seat 5: Homeless youth
Seat 7: Mental/behavioral health
Seat 9: Local government
Seat 11: Public Housing Agency
Seat 13: Business
Seat 15: Texas Interagency Council for the Homeless (TICH) or State government agency
More information coming soon!
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Request for Presenters
THN is looking for leaders in the TX BoS CoC to present at the Texas Conference on Ending Homelessness! We are looking for providers who are interested in leading a presentation or participating on a panel regarding:
- Case Conferencing
- Ending Homelessness: youth (ages 24 and under), chronic, Veteran, or family
- Direct Data Entry
- Criminalization of Homelessness
- Racial Equity
- Discharge planning: foster care, health care, mental health care, or correctional facilities
- Moving On Strategies
- Anything creative you are doing to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in your community
Speakers pay only $250 for conference registration, 44% off the regular conference rate! You'll also receive our undying appreciation! Please contact
sophia@thn.org
and tell her which topic(s) you are interested in presenting on.
For more information about our conference or to register to attend, go
here
.
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Multifamily Tax Credit Assistance Program Repayment Funds (TCAP-RF)
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) announced the availability of $200,000 in Multifamily Tax Credit Assistance Program Repayment Funds (TCAP-RF) for eligible predevelopment activities for Applications to finance affordable multifamily rental housing for low-income Texans through the Department. Applications under this Special Purpose Notification of Funding Availability (NOFA) will be accepted starting at 8:00 a.m. Austin local time on March 11, 2019, through November 26, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. Austin local time (unless ended sooner by Board Action) For more information, access the NOFA
here
.
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Joint Transitional Housing and Permanent Housing - Rapid Rehousing Webinar
We hope that y'all are thinking through the project component type(s) you want to apply for through the CoC Program. If you are interested in applying for funding to operate a Joint Transitional Housing and Permanent Housing - Rapid Rehousing (Joint TH and PH-RRH) project, we recommend that you attend HUD's recently announced webinar about this project component type on Tuesday, June 18th from 12:30-2:00 CDT.
"This webinar will explore how this new project type might fit into your community as well as the requirements you will be expected to follow if you receive HUD funding either through the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, as part of the Domestic Violence (DV) Bonus, or through the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP)."
For more information and to register for this opportunity, click
here
.
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Conference on Services to Youth and Families
The Annual Texas Network of Youth Services (TNOYS) Conference on Services to Youth and Families is being held at the Hyatt Regency Houston Downtown (1200 Louisiana Street) from June 26-28th. TNOYS is able to offer financial assistance to homeless education liaisons in many Harvey-impacted regions to help make attending the conference possible for them, especially those who would have to travel significant distances or would face other hardships to attend. Assistance is made possible through the Safety Nets For Students and Families grant. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Project Manager Margaret Nicklas at
SafetyNets@tnoys.org
for more information right away. More information about the conference is available here:
http://tnoys.org/2019-annual-conference/
.
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North Texas
East Texas
South Texas
West Texas
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These articles were gathered from Google Alerts and emails sent directly to us. 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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The following are resources TX BoS CoC Lead Agency staff have found that we believe would be beneficial to your local efforts to make homelessness rare, brief, and one-time:
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New Toolkit Available from NASH and NHLP
We know from work done by the Texas Council on Family Violence that approximately 90% of survivors access the mainstream housing crisis response system. Due to the high chances of interaction with survivors experiencing homelessness, it is important for everyone in the housing crisis response system to be trained appropriately.
Survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence have housing rights under federal law, as well as under many state and local laws. These rights are meant to ensure survivors have access to and can safely live in shelter or housing. Survivors have housing rights whether they want to stay in their housing or move out and find another place to live — be it a shelter, apartment, or house.
The Community Based Advocates Toolkit: A Resources Guide for Professionals Helping Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking and Dating Violence Survivors from
National Alliance for Safe Housing (NASH)
and the
National Housing Law Project (NHLP)
will help survivor advocates and homeless shelter and housing program advocates understand the basic housing rights of survivors and provide information to help survivors get assistance accessing their housing rights. The scenarios in the Toolkit are directly connected to laws that provide housing protections for survivors. This Toolkit also provides overviews of the laws that may apply, and offers sample demand letters that advocates and survivors can use to advocate for their rights.
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2019 Housing Impact Report: Trends in Housing Assistance and Who it Serves
"A home that’s made affordable through housing assistance increases stability, improves health and education outcomes, boosts financial security, and can lead to economic mobility for low-income families. Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation’s annual report, the Housing Impact Report (formerly known as the PAHRC Report), describes the latest research on the impact housing assistance has on families, adults, seniors, and children."
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Missed Opportunities: LGBTQ Youth Homelessness in America
"Missed Opportunities: LGBTQ Youth Homelessness in America highlights research related to the specific experiences of young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) and face homelessness. We learned that, compared to heterosexual and nontransgender youth, LGBTQ youth are disproportionately represented among the nearly 4.2 million youth and young adults in America who experienced some form of homelessness during a 12-month period. They also face a higher risk of early death and other adversities. On the positive side, this research points to actionable opportunities to better meet the needs of LGBTQ young people in our collective efforts to end youth homelessness."
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NCHV Conference Materials Posted
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JUNE
HUD Webinar: Joint TH-RRH Components Projects
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 12:30 pm.
CoC Rapid Re Housing Workgroup for CoC funded RRH providers
Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 10:00 am.
State Emergency Solutions Grant THN as the TX BoS CoC Local Coordinator
Friday, June 21, 2019 at 10 am.
HMIS: How To Improve Your Data Quality
Monday, June 24, 2019 at 2:00 pm.
JULY
J
uly Coordinated Entry Unplugged Call
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at 10:00 am.
Topic:
Eligibility Matrices and The Original Ghost Profile Build Out in HMIS
July 2019 Texas BoS General Meeting Webinar
Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 2:00 pm.
Topic: Affordable Housing
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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. See the
schedule for dates, topics, and registration links.
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CoC Program Funding
If you are a representative of an agency 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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Your CoC Team
Get your questions answered and some face to face time with all of the CoC staff on the second Tuesday of every month during the CoC General Meetings.
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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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