Asheville Reporter

The Continuum of Care (COC) recently held its meeting on April 25, 2024, where a new leadership Board was elected. The Board, consisting of various representatives and appointed seats, will play a crucial role in guiding the collaborative efforts of the COC. As stated by the Continuum of Care, "The Board will participate in training and will set strategy for the CoC’s collaborative work."

In addition, the COC emphasized that membership is open to all individuals and organizations interested in understanding and addressing homelessness. According to the Continuum of Care, "CoC Membership is open to all individuals and organizations with an interest in understanding homelessness and taking action to address it."

During the meeting, the COC discussed the 2024 Point-In-Time (PIT) count results. These results indicated a positive shift towards pre-pandemic shelter and transitional housing capacity, along with an improved accuracy in the unsheltered count. The Continuum of Care highlighted, "Results reflect a return to pre-pandemic shelter and transitional housing capacity and a more accurate unsheltered count due to an improved count process and a 72% increase in volunteer participation."

The 2024 unsheltered count plan involved various stakeholders and professionals to enhance accuracy. This included input from Community Responders, APD, outreach staff, and Peer Support Specialists. The revised methodology led to the identification of 102 additional individuals who would have been missed in previous counts.

Moving forward, the newly elected COC Board will utilize the PIT data to shape strategies for the future. The full report will be made available on the Homeless Strategy Division data webpage. The Continuum of Care encourages community members interested in contributing to the homelessness response to join and participate in collective action.