Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care News
March 2021
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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 Local Homeless Coalitions (LHCs) that plan, deliver, and evaluate local systems.
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CDC Eviction Moratorium Still in Effect Despite Court Ruling
The Justice Department has appealed a ruling by a federal district court in Texas, which held that the Centers for Disease Control’s eviction moratorium is unconstitutional. As Justice’s press release explains, the decision does not apply to any other landlords or tenants beyond this specific case and the moratorium remains in effect. A National Low Income Housing Coalition fact sheet cites three other federal district court decisions that upheld the moratorium. The National Housing Law Project provides a legal analysis of the Texas ruling.
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Join the Independent Review Team (IRT)
THN has begun our recruitment for the Independent Review Team (IRT) for the 2021 CoC Program competition. We are seeking direct service providers (case managers, intake workers, shelter staff, etc.) and community stakeholders for a PAID opportunity to influence CoC programming within the BoS.
If you are interested, please complete the Google Form.
Feel free to share this information with people who have lived experience of homelessness and other community stakeholders.
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Join the Community Investment Committee (CIC)
The Community Investment Committee is seeking additional regional representation!
The goal of the CIC is to make decisions that ensure equitable access across the CoC to funding and professional development opportunities. CIC members review funding applications and opportunities for CoC members to participate in training paid by the CoC. The expected time commitment varies between 2 and 5 hours per month.
The TX BoS CoC Board recently voted to increase regional representation from one committee representative per region, to two per region. There are six open seats on the CIC, one from each region. Nominations are open to anyone who lives or works in the TX BoS CoC. The deadline for submitting nominations has been extended until Sunday, March 14, 2021 at 11:59:59 PM.
Questions about this process can be directed to jim@thn.org
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NLIHC Virtual Housing Policy Forum 2021
NLIHC’s Virtual Housing Policy Forum 2021: A New Day will be held on March 30 and 31, 2021, from 12:00-4:00 PM CST.
The forum will feature keynote speakers and panels on Racial Equity and Housing Justice, State and Local Emergency Rental Assistance Programs, Achieving a Housing Entitlement, What the Election Means for Affordable Housing/Capitol Hill Insiders Panel, Best Practices in Organizing, and more.
Registration fees are $50 for NLIHC members; $75 for non-NLIHC members; $5 for NLIHC members with low incomes; and $10 for non-NLIHC members with low incomes. Persons with low incomes include residents of public and assisted housing, voucher holders, students, seniors, VISTA members, and AmeriCorps members.
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MARCH
*No CoC General Meeting in March
Executive Committee of the CoC Board Meeting
Thursday March 4, 2021, 2:00 - 3:30 PM CST
*Closed Meeting
Grassroots Action: How to Create Collective Voice and Power through Community Organizing
Tuesday, March 9, 2021, 2:00 - 3:30:00 PM CST
With mutual efforts supporting communities during the recent Texas winter storm (and long before) many are wondering where to start building such community-led action in their area. One form of mutual aid we are covering this month is grassroots organizing. Learn from speakers Chris Harris and Seneca Savoie on how grassroots organizing starts and what it looks like in motion. Through learning about grassroots organizing structure and function, you will walk away with more knowledge about the successes and benefits of grassroots organizing.
Who Should Attend: General BoS Members, Local Homeless Coalitions, General Public
Barriers Fund Program Subrecipient HMIS User Training
Wednesday March 10, 2021, 10:00 - 11:00 AM CST
Texas Homeless Network will host an HMIS User Training Webinar for sub-recipients of the TX BoS CoC Barriers Fund Program. In this training, staff will provide a walk-through of the Barriers Fund Program project and also demonstrate how to upload support documentation to client files.
Who should attend: All CSBG-CV Program Recipients (Attendance is mandatory)
Coordinated Entry Steering Committee (CESC) Meeting
Tuesday March 16, 2021, 10:15 - 11:45 AM
*Closed Meeting
TX BoS CoC Board Meeting
Wednesday March 24, 2021, 2:00 - 3:30 PM
*Closed Meeting
April
CoC General Meeting
Wednesday April 14, 2021, 2:00 - 03:30 PM
Topic: HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, including FY 2021 competition
Executive Committee of the CoC Board Meeting
Thursday April 1, 2021, 2:00 - 3:30 PM
*Closed Meeting
TX BoS CoC Board Meeting
Wednesday April 28, 2021, 2:00 - 03:30 PM
*Closed Meeting
Our webinar platform is Adobe Connect, please make sure you are using the most up to date software from Adobe's Downloads and Updates page
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Funding Opportunities
Check out the page on THN's website for the full descriptions of currently available funding options here. |
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Homelessness Awareness Day (HAD)
Join us on April 7, 2021, for THN’s first-ever virtual Homelessness Awareness Day (HAD). Participants will have the opportunity to meet with the offices of their own state legislators to talk about the issues facing people experiencing homelessness and low-income renters. We are also looking for HAD Captains who can help organize members of their own community to participate in these meetings.
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Texas Rent Relief Program
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has emergency funds to help renters pay rent and utility bills (including past due rent and utilities).
For Information, call toll-free 1-833-9TX-RENT or 1-833-989-7368 or email info@texasrentrelief.com.
Monday-Saturday, 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST
Help is available in multiple languages.
Both landlords and tenants can use the website to create an account and submit their application. If you need assistance with completing an application, call 1-833-9TX-RENT.
The program can help renters with the following costs starting as far back as March 13, 2020 (a person could potentially request assistance for up to 11 months of past due bills):
- Past due, current and up to 3 months of expected rent costs
- Past due, current or up to 3 months of expected utility and home energy expenses
- After the initial 3 months of forward assistance, you can apply for 3 additional months of assistance if funds are still available
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Texas Eviction Diversion Program
TDHCA, in partnership with the Office of Court Administration, will host a Texas Eviction Diversion Program (TEDP) webinar on Wednesday, March 10th. at 1:00 PM CST, to provide an overview of the program.
The TEDP helps Texas tenants stay in their homes and provides landlords an alternative to eviction. The program provides up to 15 months of rental and utility assistance for eligible tenants who are behind on their rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have been sued for eviction. Both the tenant and the landlord must agree to participate.
To learn more about the application process and program eligibility visit https://texasrentrelief.com/ or call 1-833-989-7368 (1-833-9TX-RENT) for assistance.
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What's Happening across the TX BoS CoC? |
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North
South
East
West
Central
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 to be 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 at THN believe would be beneficial to your efforts to make homelessness rare, brief, and one-time: |
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HUD to Enforce Fair Housing Act to Prohibit Discrimination
on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
“Housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity demands urgent enforcement action,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of FHEO, Jeanine M. Worden. “That is why HUD, under the Biden Administration, will fully enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Every person should be able to secure a roof over their head free from discrimination, and the action we are taking today will move us closer to that goal.”
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"Anti-Discrimination and Equal Access -- The intent of this policy is to standardize the quality of assistance persons experiencing homelessness can expect from homeless services projects across the CoC’s geographic area, and ensure that projects receiving CoC Program and ESG Program funding are meeting HUD requirements. This policy provides guidelines for service providers in the TX BoS CoC to ensure that they are not further contributing to discrimination and marginalization of community members."
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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.
THN invites members to participate in the CoC's activities. Learn more on the email list, the website, and social media. CoC General Meeting minutes and recordings are posted on THN's website, in the TX BoS CoC "Get Involved" page. Presentations by and conversations between CoC members and staff on relevant topics keep members informed and up-to-date.
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 bi-monthly webinars. Each meeting will feature a topic that is important to preventing and ending homelessness. See the Get Involved page 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 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program funding, please contact txboscoc@thn.org.
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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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