Homelessness. It’s a phrase that encompasses a multitude of stories and struggles, because homelessness is not a one-size-fits-all issue. It is a complex web of circumstances, decisions, and external factors. People can find themselves homeless for many reasons, including job loss, mental health challenges, addiction, family breakdown, or soaring housing costs. Each of these factors…
Tag: end homelessness
How Social Work Helps the Homeless Cope With
Mental Illness
The lack of proper and stable housing puts people in physical danger. Not only are they more susceptible to diseases, but they’re also vulnerable to theft and assault from living on the streets. More importantly, mental illness, in addition to adverse childhood experiences and substance use, are risk factors for homelessness. Indeed, it’s estimated that…
Chronic Homelessness
A person experiencing chronic homelessness is generally defined as an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition, who has been homeless for more than one year. It’s more common for people experiencing chronic homelessness to also deal with a certain disability, mental health condition, addiction or other debilitating conditions that restrict their ability to escape…
FY 2022 CoC Program and Special Unsheltered Funding Opportunity
The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development released two Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for which the Alliance and other Marion-Polk region nonprofit organizations, governments, faith-based organizations, and tribal organizations are eligible to apply: the annual NOFO for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program funding and a special NOFO for unsheltered homelessness. The Request…
What is a Continuum of Care?
The Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance is a Continuum of Care (CoC). You may have heard our name used synonymously with the “Alliance” or “CoC,” because we use these terms interchangeably to describe our organization. Our official name is Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance. To shorten it we use “the Alliance,” but are categorized as a CoC…