Please allow us to introduce the Central Mississippi Continuum of Care (CoC), one of hundreds of CoCs nationwide that were established in 1987 by Congress through the first federal law specifically addressing homelessness. The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, later renamed the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, provides federal financial support for a variety of programs to meet the many needs of individuals and families who are homeless. The authorized housing programs are administered by the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
HUD provides financial support to communities in the form of grants and requires each community to come together in a CoC to submit a single comprehensive application rather than allowing direct applications from individual providers. HUD’s intent in creating this structured application process was to more rapidly stimulate community-wide planning and coordination of programs for individuals and families who are homeless. The grant funds are then disbursed to the various homeless service providers who requested support for their programs for people experiencing homelessness within each community. Each year, the grantees can apply for renewal and new providers can apply for project funding. The CoC formulates and periodically revises a Strategic Plan tailored to its communities to reduce and eliminate homelessness. In carrying out this plan, the membership participates on various committees to accomplish its goals. Baselines that measure our performance are captured in a grant-funded database system called the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). A major component of the baseline is the Point-in-Time (PIT) count. Once a year CoC members and volunteers go out into the communities and to shelters and agencies, solicit direct contact with people experiencing homelessness, and record information that results in a snapshot of homelessness within the same 24 hours NATIONWIDE.
The Central Mississippi CoC office is located at 1217 North West St, Jackson, MS 39202. The Central Mississippi CoC functions through its membership, led by an 11-15-person board of directors. The members consist of any and all organizations and stakeholders within the community who want to make a difference and work together to improve the lives of homeless people and those in danger of becoming homeless. The CoC has quarterly meetings on the 3rd Thursday of the corresponding months.
A membership application is required, and there is a fee of $50 - $300 depending on the size of your organization. Individuals are also welcome to join our work. We welcome you to join us during our next meeting, introduce yourself and take time to see what we are all about. Your participation and insights are needed as we work toward ending homelessness in Mississippi and the United States!
