What is SMAC?

 Continuum of Care Overview

The Continuum of Care is a regional planning body of representative stakeholders designed to promote a shared commitment to the goal of ending homelessness with a focus on

• quickly rehousing homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to individuals, families, and communities by homelessness

• promoting access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs

• optimizing stability and self-sufficiency for individuals and families while homeless and once housed

The purpose of the Continuum of Care:

It is a strategic plan to address the use of HUD resources and their interface with other funding sources, developed through a community-based process to address homelessness based on: the identified needs of homeless individuals and families; the availability and accessibility of existing housing and services; and the opportunities for linkages with non-homeless mainstream housing and services resources. Through the Continuum of Care planning process, a community can:

• Identify the size and scope of the homeless problem

• Inventory the resources available in the community to address the problem of homelessness, including both homeless resources and non-homeless targeted housing and service resources (referred to as "mainstream" resources)

• Rank the community's needs in order of priority

• Strategically plan the range of services and housing that should be implemented to address homelessness

• Identify available leveraging resources that can be used to address homelessness.

In addition, the Continuum of Care applies for HUD McKinney Homeless Assistance resources. These resources are invaluable in providing housing and supportive services for people who are homeless. These funds are made available through a national competition announced each year in HUD's Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).