The Mississippi Balance of State, established in 1991, is dedicated to streamlining and strengthening the current delivery system of services through greater collaborative planning, partnership and program execution. It is the vision of the Continuum of Care members to create a seamless, comprehensive system of services. In 2014, the CoC worked to establish clarity in identity by separating from its collaborative applicant, MUTEH Inc. whom still supports the CoC by coordinating HMIS for the Continuum.

What is a Continuum of Care?
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocates HUD homeless assistance grants to organizations that participate in local homeless assistance program planning networks. Each of these networks is called a Continuum of Care (CoC). HUD introduced the CoC concept to encourage and support local organizations in coordinating their efforts to address housing and homeless issues and reduce homelessness.

The focus of the Continuum of Care Coalition includes increasing services needed in the state, supporting the involvement of all agencies in Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), and facilitating increased commitment from area service providers and governments.

CoC committees at the city, county and state level coordinate their efforts to produce annual plans that identify the needs of local homeless populations, the resources that are currently available in the community to address those needs, and additional resources needed to fill identified gaps. The CoC process is a community-based approach that encourages the creation of collaborative, comprehensive systems to meet the diverse needs of local homeless populations.

Who Should Participate?

• Government entities, elected officials
• Non-profit organizations
• Financial institutions
• Businesses
• Housing developers
• Churches
• Health care providers
• Neighborhood associations
• Educators
• Media representatives
• Homeless and formerly homeless persons

What Does a Continuum of Care Achieve?

• Identification of gaps
• Expansion of existing or development of new services
• Collaboration for funding opportunities
• Reduction in duplication and streamlining of services and activities on an ongoing basis

Fundamental Components of a Continuum of Care

• Outreach, intake, and assessment to identify an individual’s or family’s service and/or housing service resource
• Emergency shelter and safe, decent alternative to the streets
• Transitional housing with supportive services to help people develop the skills necessary for permanent housing
• Permanent housing and permanent supportive housing

For more information about MUTEH or how to become a MUTEH Continuum of Care member, see our Membership Application.