About

The Homeless Leadership Coalition (HLC) is a collaboration of community partners in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Coalition membership includes 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,  people with lived experience of homelessness, and others who care about the issues facing our unhoused neighbors. The HLC works to prevent and end homelessness by improving regional and cross-system collaboration and coordination so that our communities will have a comprehensive response in place that ensures homelessness is prevented whenever possible, or if it can’t be prevented, it is a rare, brief, and non-recurring experience.

We are driven by the knowledge that together “we are stronger, healthier, safer communities where people can thrive when everyone has a safe, stable place to call home!”

HLC is the Continuum of Care for Central Oregon

Homeless Leadership Coalition serves as Central Oregon’s Continuum of Care (CoC), OR-503.  The federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designates a group to function as the Continuum of Care (CoC) for a given geographic area. CoCs represent communities of all kinds, including major cities, suburbs and rural areas. In this role, the HLC’s governing board provides oversight of HUD funding for homeless services and ensures member agencies are participating in community-wide planning and strategic use of resources to prevent and end homelessness. The Continuum of Care concept refers to the spectrum of services and infrastructure needed to address the different needs of individuals at different points within the cycle of homelessness including street outreach, temporary shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing.  The Continuum of Care program model encourages a collective impact approach to resolving homelessness. Learn more about the CoC program requirements and models here.

What does HLC Do?

• Promotes a community-wide commitment to employ best practices to prevent and end homelessness
• Conducts system planning, prioritization, a gaps analysis and coordination of the work of CoC member agencies
  • Central Oregon’s 10-year plan to end homelessness, The High Desert Home
• Secures funding for efforts by providers and government entities to prevent homelessness and quickly re-house individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon, while minimizing the trauma and dislocation that homelessness causes to individuals, families, and communities. This is done primarily through preparation of CoC’s collaborative application for funds known as the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
• Organizes the annual Point in Time Count (PIT) Count of individuals who are experiencing homelessness throughout all of Central Oregon
• administers an electronic data collection system that allows homeless service providers to record client information and track services provided by implementing the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
• Promotes access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by individuals and families experiencing homelessness by implementing and overseeing a Coordinated Entry System
• and evaluates how the CoC is performing using HUD’s System Performance Measures.

CoC Funded Projects: