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This page provides Continuums of Care (CoCs), grantees, and other stakeholders a series of messages and related materials about SNAPS policy priorities and key information relating to the implementation of the CoC and ESG Programs. View related SNAPS Weekly Focus messages.
October 28, 2021 - In this SNAPS In Focus message, HUD strongly encourages local homelessness providers and community leaders to enhance and expand infection control measures.
October 16, 2020 - In this SNAPS/OHH In Focus message, SNAPS and OHH highlight the importance of flu vaccination to protect the health of individuals and families.
January 15, 2020 - In this SNAPS In Focus message, HUD provides examples of the importance of meaningfully and intentionally integrating those with lived experiences of homelessness into the decision-making structure of our work at the system and program level.
August 13, 2019 - In this SNAPS In Focus message, HUD provides guidance on the different ways CoCs and FBOs can collaborate to support local efforts to end homelessness.
July 30, 2019 - In this SNAPS In Focus message, HUD provides guidance on helping people and families transition from Permanent Supportive Housing to more stable, independent housing.
July 16, 2019 - In this SNAPS In Focus message, HUD provides guidance on engaging strategies that help work toward ending homelessness in rural America, specifically by collaborating and developing partnerships.
June 4, 2019 - In this SNAPS In Focus message, HUD provides information on Stella, the new strategy and analysis tools that helps CoCs use data analytics to understand how their system is performing and more completely address homelessness in their area.
August 17, 2018 - In this SNAPS In Focus message, HUD provides information on coordination with USICH and other federal partners to bring rural communities to the forefront as they launch their rural strategy, All Routes Home: Ending Homelessness in Rural America.
April 9, 2018 - In this SNAPS In Focus message, HUD provides community examples, best practices, and resources to assist communities with preventing and ending youth homelessness.
December 1, 2017 - In this SNAPS/OHH In Focus message, SNAPS and OHH commemorate World AIDS Day 2017 and highlight how critical safe, stable housing is for the health and well-being of persons living with HIV/AIDS.
August 23, 2017 - This SNAPS In Focus message explains the purpose behind some of the major changes in the 2017 CoC Program Competition.
July 24, 2017 - This SNAPS In Focus message kicks off a series of messages HUD will release about improving crisis response systems.
July 13, 2017 - In this message, SNAPS Director Norm Suchar explains the purpose of the joint component project and how HUD will expect these projects to operate.
May 4, 2017 - SNAPS Director Norm Suchar reflects on the FY 2016 CoC program competition by quantifying the initial competition outcomes and providing insights to CoC scoring.
January 18, 2017 - This message from SNAPS and OHH provides grantees, stakeholders, and partners with some thoughts about their programs as they move into a new year and a new Administration.
October 14, 2016 - This message discusses the publication of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program NOFA.
August 29, 2016 - In this message, Deputy Assistant Secretary Ann Oliva discusses the intersection between human trafficking and homelessness and HUD’s recent work with its federal partners to ensure access to its programs for this vulnerable population.
July 25, 2016 - In this message, Deputy Assistant Secretary Ann Oliva covers important issues for CoCs to contemplate in projects that serve people fleeing domestic violence, a critical component of a comprehensive homeless services system regardless of component type.
May 16, 2016 - In this message, SNAPS Director Norm Suchar takes a moment to reflect on the FY 2015 CoC Program Competition, explain the competition results, and describe some of the policy decisions made.
Related Materials
Competition Resources: Next Steps for Projects Not Renewed in the FY 2015 CoC Program Competition
This announcement provides resources that are available to CoCs and providers regarding next steps for projects that were not renewed in the FY 2015 CoC Program Competition.
April 7, 2016 - In this message, Deputy Assistant Secretary Ann Oliva congratulates the four communities participating in the Zero: 2016 initiative that have met the Federal criteria and benchmarks as well as the Zero: 2016 definition of “functional zero.”
December 21, 2015 - This message discusses opportunities for CoCs to help participants of homeless assistance programs enhance their economic security by collaborating with state and local organizations that administer programs covered by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of July 2014.
December 14, 2015 - In this message, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Ann Oliva discusses how Recovery Housing programs may be structured, how they fit into the CoC, and how they can offer meaningful choices for people with substance use disorders.
Related Materials
This Policy Brief aims to provide clear guidance regarding the expected and effective operation of the subset of HUD-funded Recovery Housing programs in order to strengthen performance and improve the achievement of outcomes by these programs.
December 9, 2015 - This message discusses the challenges transgender people face in accessing community services and HUD's commitment to ensuring that all persons experiencing homelessness have access to inclusive and nondiscriminatory housing.
December 7, 2015 - This message is the second of two messages about the Final Rule on Defining “Chronically Homeless” and focuses on the policy and practical implications of the final definition.
December 3, 2015 - This message is the first of two messages about the Final Rule on Defining “Chronically Homeless” and focuses on the process that HUD used to develop the final definition.
November 2, 2015 - This message discusses the intersection of domestic violence and homelessness and announces several initiatives aimed at serving survivors of domestic violence.
October 27, 2015 - This message discusses planning resources for CoCs, including funds for the CoC planning grant in the FY 2015 CoC Program Competition.
October 2, 2015 - This message discusses updated criteria and benchmarks for communities to assess their progress to end veteran homelessness by December 31, 2015 – the target date established in Opening Doors.
August 5, 2015 - This message discusses strategies for increasing housing for homeless veterans and provides tools and resources to help communities reach this goal.
July 14, 2015 - This message provides feedback on the FY 2014 Funding Process and provides an overview of what to expect from the upcoming FY 2015 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).
July 8, 2015 - This message discusses the key findings of the 18-month outcomes from the Family Options Study and how these findings can be used to inform local and national policy decisions to end homelessness amongst families by 2020.
Related Materials
This brief outlines the Family Options Study's key findings and delves further into the policy implications for CoCs and ESG Program recipients, as well as PHAs.
June 18, 2015 - This message is the second of two parts on family homelessness. It focuses on two types of interventions that can have a meaningful impact on ending family homelessness: rapid re-housing and housing subsidies.
June 10, 2015 - This message discusses strategies from HUD and its federal partners for ending veteran homelessness in 2015. HUD's strategies aim to increase leadership, collaboration, and coordination among programs serving veterans experiencing homelessness, and promote rapid access to permanent housing for all veterans.
Related Materials
USICH Blog: Fully Utilizing HUD-VASH to Achieve the National Goal of Ending Veteran Homelessness
The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) recently published a blog that discussed how communities can fully utilize HUD-VASH in order to achieve the national goal of ending Veteran homelessness.
April 2, 2015 - This message is the first of two on family homelessness, and it is intended to help HUD's stakeholders learn more about where they are nationally, what HUD has learned about family homelessness, and what its priorities are in this area.
March 19, 2015 - This message discusses HUD's prioritization in permanent supportive housing to help end chronic homelessness. This message also highlights Notice CPD-14-012 which establishes recordkeeping requirements for all recipients of CoC Program-funded permanent supportive housing to document the chronically homeless status of program participants. HUD recently released Frequently Asked Questions to address the most common questions and concerns for this Notice.
Related Materials
This Notice establishes an order of priority for households served in permanent supportive housing and provided uniform recordkeeping requirements for all recipients of CoC Program-funded permanent supportive housing to document the chronically homeless status of program participants.
March 11, 2015 - This message features a letter from Norm Suchar, Director of the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) as of December 29, 2014. Mr. Suchar details his goals for SNAPS and its mission to end homelessness.
December 12, 2014 - This message discusses the data released in the 2014 Point-in-Time (PIT) count, including how the report is used, the limitations of the data, how to use the data in meaningful ways, and how we can work together.
October 14, 2014 - This message discusses HUD's goal of ending the youth homelessness by 2020. HUD is working with federal partners to improve the federal response to youth homelessness in a variety of ways, including re-evaluating and improving data collection and performance measures strategies.
October 6, 2014 - This message discusses the intersection between the homeless services system and the criminal justice system, including the increase in laws and practices that criminalize homelessness and therefore adversely impact people experiencing homelessness across the country.
October 6, 2014 - This message features a guest blog by Mayor Ralph Becker of Salt Lake City. Mayor Becker discusses how Salt Lake City is working toward its goal of getting people into housing and off the streets as quickly as possible.
August 14, 2014 - This message discusses the results of the FY 2013 portion of the FY 2013 - FY 2014 CoC Program Competition and highlights what generally went well and where communities could make improvements in the future.
August 6, 2014 - This message discusses rapid re-housing (RRH)—which follows Housing First principles—as a model and best practice. RRH is one of the key strategies in Opening Doors, and it achieved positive outcomes during the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP).
Related Materials
This brief provides an overview of the core components and practice considerations of the rapid re-housing model generally, and not under a specific funding type.
July 25, 2014 - Welcome to the first SNAPS In Focus message! This message discusses the Housing First model and the impact of using Housing First principles in permanent supportive housing to serve people experiencing chronic homelessness.
Related Materials
Housing First in Permanent Supportive Housing Brief
This brief provides an overview of the principles and core components of the Housing First model. It also provides information to permanent supportive housing providers about how they can implement a Housing First approach if they are not already doing so.