The City of Huntsville is taking another step in its regional approach to addressing homelessness, helping establish a new governance board that will coordinate housing and homeless services across Madison, Limestone and Morgan counties.
The city’s Community Development Department announced Monday it has assisted in creating a new governance board for the AL-503 Continuum of Care, a regional coalition of homeless service providers responsible for coordinating federal homelessness programs and resources.
The board will guide efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness while improving access to housing and supportive services designed to move individuals from homelessness into permanent housing.
“The creation of this Board marks another important milestone in our efforts to strengthen the region’s response to homelessness,” said Scott Erwin, Huntsville’s Community Development Manager. “Following the launch of the Homeless Services Team, this is a meaningful step forward in building a coordinated, effective structure that uses data, collaboration and accountability to help ensure homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring.”
The new board includes representatives from local governments, nonprofit organizations, housing providers, healthcare systems, law enforcement, businesses, faith-based organizations and individuals with lived experience of homelessness.
Among its responsibilities, the board will establish regional goals and policies, oversee the Coordinated Entry System that connects individuals with housing and services, monitor program performance and identify gaps in available resources. The board will also oversee the responsible use of federal homelessness funding and develop long-term regional strategies to improve outcomes across the three-county area.
The announcement builds on the city’s expanded homelessness response launched over the past year.
In June, Huntsville officials reported that the city’s newly created Homeless Services Team had helped permanently house 22 individuals during its first year while strengthening coordination among agencies providing housing, behavioral health, addiction treatment and other support services.
City officials said the new Continuum of Care governance board will further strengthen that collaborative approach by bringing together partners from across north Alabama to coordinate housing resources, improve service delivery and support long-term housing stability for residents experiencing homelessness.
The Community Development Department said it will continue working with the new board and regional partners to improve coordination, maximize available resources and expand efforts to reduce homelessness throughout Madison, Limestone and Morgan counties.
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