The Springfield-Hampden County Continuum of Care (CoC) is a network of municipalities, organizations, community residents, and businesses that coordinate initiatives with the primary goal of ending homelessness in our community. The Springfield Hampden County CoC covers all cities and towns within Hampden County Massachusetts. The City of Springfield, through the Office of Housing, serves as its lead.
The CoC’s members work to address homelessness through a coordinated, community-based process of identifying needs and building a system of housing and services to address those needs. The phrase “Continuum of Care” represents three things:
- A system of housing and services that provides a broad range of homelessness prevention and intervention services to the community;
- A local group of stakeholders who, as an administrative entity, coordinate a year-round planning effort and prepare the annual applications for Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance grants; and
- A Federal competitive grant program authorized by the HEARTH Act of 2009.
The Springfield-Hampden County CoC is operated in accordance with its Governance Charter, approved by CoC members in September 2013 and reviewed annually. A Board of Directors meets quarterly and oversees activities and progress.
Membership in the Hampden County CoC is open to all stakeholders in Hampden County, including nonprofit homeless assistance providers, victim service providers, faith-based organizations, governments, businesses, advocates, public housing agencies, school districts, social service providers, mental health agencies, hospitals, universities, affordable housing developers, law enforcement, and organizations that serve veterans and homeless and formerly homeless individuals.New members may enroll at any time during the year by providing to the CoC Administrator their names, contact information, and any relevant affiliations.
Springfield-Hampden County Continuum of Care 