MaineHousing works with homeless service providers and other organizations toward a shared goal of preventing and eliminating homelessness in Maine. Collaborative efforts underway include:
Continuum of Care is a collaborative planning process to develop programs to address homelessness and to apply to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for homeless assistance funding through a competitive grant. Programs that can be funded through the Continuum of Care include:
- - which develops housing and related support services for people moving from homelessness to independent living.
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- which provides rental assistance with social services, and provides supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities. - - provides rental assistance on behalf of homeless individuals in connection with the moderate rehabilitation of single room occupancy dwellings.
Homeless clients access supportive and SRO housing through their case workers. For more information on the Continuum of Care effort, review the following documents:
HUD requires that every Continuum of Care work together to implement a shared data system designed to provide an unduplicated count of homeless individuals, information on the number of people who are homeless, related demographics, and their needs over time. In Maine, development of an HMIS system is part of a larger strategic vision and dedicated statewide system which will allow agencies to share information for the purpose of better serving the needs of people who are homeless. HMIS is designed to protect client confidentiality while at the same time bringing together the agencies and people who can provide assistance. Access to the HMIS system is restricted to homeless service providers, but aggregate data and periodic reports will be published as they become available.
The Statewide Homeless Council is designed to coordinate and establish statewide policies on homelessness, including providing leadership to end homelessness, developing an educational campaign, and making policy and program recommendations to the Governor, Legislature, and MaineHousing. The council is chaired by Nancy Fritz, representing the Governor’s office. Other members are the Director of MaineHousing and three representatives from each of the three regions of the state. The Statewide Homeless Council adopted Maine's Plan to End and Prevent Homelessness in March, 2008.
MaineHousing provides financial assistance to assist some of the existing emergency shelters with program and operating support. For more information on Shelter Funding, review the following documents.
| Manager of Homeless Initiatives |
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Email Me |
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(207) 626-4632 |