Supporting Federal Efforts to End Homelessness

Hundreds of thousands of families and more than one million children are homeless in America each year, and the numbers are increasing. Female-headed families, veterans, and LGBT youth are among those most at risk, often due to extreme trauma that precedes and is made worse by homelessness.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program supports geographically-based collaborations that plan and implement community-wide solutions to homelessness, including the provision of housing and support services that foster housing stability. AIR’s National Center on Family Homelessness provides training and technical assistance to Continuum of Care (CoC) grantees, with partners Center for Social Innovation and HomeBase.

In 2013, HUD debuted Continuum of Care 2.0—an online training curriculum developed by AIR and the Center for Social Innovation to assist grantees. This innovative curriculum uses a variety of media— including online modules, podcasts, and YouTube videos—to assist CoCs in understanding new HUD regulations essential to their work.

AIR and partners also developed and conducted Continuum of Care Program Start Up trainings in more than a dozen cities across the country to provide HUD grantees with knowledge and skills to successfully implement their HUD-funded projects.

In St. Louis, AIR has engaged city government in transforming the distribution and use of HUD housing funds. Using best practices in systems change, the AIR team is guiding the Mayor and City Council toward a new allocation process that aligns with HUD priorities.

To facilitate HUD’s annual count of people who are homeless, AIR and partner Simtech Solutions developed online trainings to support use of a new mobile App developed by Simtech for community volunteers and civic leaders who conduct the count. For more information, see HUD Point-in-Time Survey Tools and Mobile App Overview.