What is the CoC?
Rita Carr
Director of Community Planning
Here in Johnson County, there is a broad coalition of service providers, local government offices, faith groups, housing providers, and community members working on responses to homelessness. This coalition is called the Johnson County Continuum of Care on Homelessness. It was created over 20 years ago as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) began requiring communities across the country to create Continuums of Care (CoCs) to submit consolidated applications for CoC funding, coordinate homeless services at the local level, track data locally and create responses based on the data. UCS serves as the CoC Lead Agency.
The Johnson County CoC meets each month to share information on best practices, resources, and gather feedback on upcoming projects related to housing instability. The CoC meeting topics include best practices, person-centered approaches, domestic violence awareness, youth homelessness awareness, fair housing and equal access rules, and many other training topics requested by members.
The CoC is led by a Board that is made up of representatives from nonprofit providers, local government agencies, people with lived experience, UCS, and the CoC’s Homeless Management Information System Lead Agency. The Board meets throughout the year to ensure the CoC is responsive to needs identified by the community and is also meeting HUD’s requirements.
To learn more about the Johnson County Continuum of Care on Homelessness, review the fact sheet, contact ritac@ucsjoco.org or check out our website at https://ucsjoco.org/homelessness/.
Recap of Point in Time (PIT) Count
In January, CoC agencies and volunteers led the annual Point in Time Count, a one-night survey of everyone experiencing homelessness outdoors, in a shelter, or in a transitional housing project throughout the county. Teams of volunteers went looking all throughout the county finding people staying outdoors, in their cars, and other unsheltered locations. While this is a one-night snapshot, the survey collects important data each year that helps organizations and city and county governments monitor trends over time.
Over the last 10 years, Johnson County has seen a growing number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. As costs of housing and other basic necessities have risen much faster than wages, more households are at risk of losing their housing. It’s critical that people from all sectors step up to be a part of solutions.
Join our team!
UCS is Seeking a Part-time Training and Facilitation Project Manager
UCS is seeking a highly motivated and passionate individual to join our team as a Part-Time Project Manager. This role will primarily focus on training and facilitation related to:
- Racial Equity and Inclusion
- Civic Engagement
- Advocacy skills
- Community connectedness
The Project Manager will also be involved in research and data analysis related to the social determinants of health to support the overarching work of UCS.
More information and application details can be found here.
