Member Newsletter: April 29, 2024

There were 105 members in attendance at the CoC meeting on April 25th. Of these, 98 were voting members (those who have attended a membership orientation are eligible to vote). There were 80 votes in favor of the proposed slate of board candidates, 16 opposed, and 2 abstentions. 

Congratulations on the election of the first CoC Board! 

You can read more about each board member here. 

The board will meet in May or June and a meeting notice and materials will be shared with the membership 7 days in advance. Early work of the new board will be to appoint the time-sensitive Funding Committee first, and then begin the process of standing up the remaining committees. Board meetings are open to the membership body and the public.

The newly seated CoC Board:

from left to right

Top Row: Christian Chambers, Lacy Hoyle, Katie Miller, Melina Arrowood, April Burgess-Johnson, Josh Morrow, Debra Campbell, Mike Lamb

Bottom Row: Mayor Esther Manheimer, Celeste Ordiway, Rick Freeman, Karen Hayes-Roberts, Monique Pierre

Not Pictured: Scott Rogers and Jenny Moffatt

Not all representative board seats were filled during this round of board applications. There will be a second round of board elections in the coming months to fill the remaining representative seats:

• Local Non-Governmental Funder
• Community Member
• Business Community
• Supportive Provider Network
• Faith Community

2024 Point-in-Time Data

This year's Point-in-Time (PIT) Count data was shared at the membership meeting.  An improved approach helped us identify more people this year for a more accurate count. 

Full details are available in the meeting slides.

5 Key Takeaways:

1.  *This PIT data does not show us an increase in unsheltered homelessness.  In an apples to apples comparison with prior years' methodology, it shows a 32% decrease!

2.  This PIT data does give us a more accurate picture than we've had in the past about unsheltered homelessness that's more in line with what providers and the community have always seen and expressed.

3.  The service system lost about a hundred beds during the pandemic.  Emergency shelter and transitional housing are critical parts of the service system, and it's great to see this essential system capacity back up this year to pre-pandemic levels.

4.  PIT data has always been and will always be imperfect.  Our bigger focus should be on improving year-round data collection through HMIS so the CoC has more meaningful and reliable data to drive its decision-making about programs, funding, policy, and system design changes.

5.  More accurate PIT data is a great launchpoint for the new CoC.  The more the membership, board, and committees understand about who's homeless in our community, the better your strategy can be to develop an effective response for people who are suffering and for the community as a whole.

Apply to be on the Funding Committee

Governance Charter Committee Details:

Each committee of the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care will include at least one person with lived experience of homelessness. The board will appoint all voting members of each committee, including the Chair, based on a slate of candidates developed by the Nominating and Membership Committee in partnership with the Lead Agency. Committee Chairs may be either Board or CoC members and are responsible for facilitating inclusive and constructive discussion, maintaining the CoC's Code of Conduct during meetings, and advancing the goals of the CoC. Committee information and the Code of Conduct can be found in the Governance Charter. 

Funding Committee:

• Analyze federal, state, and local funding dedicated to the homeless system

• Identify and pursue strategic funding opportunities to support the homeless system

• Provide outreach to philanthropic and non-traditional funders that may be able to support the homeless system and make recommendations to the Board regarding where the CoC should make application

• Provide recommendations to the Board and CoC membership on potential reallocation of resources based on CoC plans, strategies, priorities, gaps, and system performance

• Provide recommendations to the Board on strategic resource allocation, including serving as the rating and ranking committee in the annual CoC Competition and reviewing project applications for Emergency Solutions Grant funding

Applications are due on Friday, May 3rd at 5:00 p.m. Please allow about 15 minutes to complete the application. 

You will receive email confirmation that your application was submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation email or are having difficulty with the application, please email homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov.

Invite your networks to join the CoC

Do you know someone - either an individual and an organization - who has an interest in ending homelessness in our community? Invite them to become a member of the CoC! This body will only be as effective as those who are part of the membership, so we want and need all voices at the table.

• Individual Membership Form
• Organizational Membership Form
• Governance Charter (formally adopted on February 29, 2024)
• CoC Overview

Please email homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov if you need a paper copy of any of the above materials.

Maintain Fidelity to Data and Evidence

Data will help guide all decisions in program, funding, policy, and system design changes. As part of this commitment, the CoC will employ quality services which reflect the CoC community values. To promote quality services, the CoC will provide training in evidence-based approaches across the service delivery system.

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Read the Governance Charter, formally adopted on February 29, 2024.

Please email homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov with any questions.

Thank you!