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The Continuum of Care is the description of our community’s strategy for resources and issues related to homelessness and the process used to create that strategy. HUD is emphasizing the importance of increasing coordination among diverse homeless assistance providers and others in the community.

They believe that a Continuum of Care system serves the specific needs of all homeless sub-populations within the community. The Continuum of Care is a Community-wide effort that provides a comprehensive service to the different needs of homeless individuals and families.

It’s a strategy communities may use to shape a comprehensive and coordinated housing and service delivery system. The Continuum of Care assists communities in planning for and providing a balance of emergency, transitional and permanent supportive housing and services resources to address the needs of homeless persons so they can make the critical transition from the streets to jobs and independent living.

The geographic area included in the 2000 Continuum of Care application is Akron, Ohio, Barberton, Ohio and Summit County.

1. Abstract
   
   The Akron/Summit County Continuum of Care represents a broad collaborative effort of homeless service providers, hospitals, the University of Akron, foundations and neighborhood organizations in the City of Akron and the County of Summit. In recent years, homeless providers have made an effort to work together to develop a system to provide emergency, transitional, and permanent shelter to homeless individuals, families, and special needs populations. Today, there is a system in place that provides the homeless with not only shelter, but supportive services to equip them with the necessary tools to assist them in overcoming this difficult period in their lives. The Continuum of Care Community Committee has been meeting to further evaluate the needs in the community and to identify any existing gaps that may exist. As a result of these meetings, additional gaps have been identified in the system.
   
   The 2000 Akron/Summit County Continuum of Care application includes nine Supportive Housing Projects, a $3,057,200 request. Of these, four are renewal projects totaling $1,580,471 and five are new projects totaling $1,476,729. These projects address high and medium priorities in the community’s Continuum of Care Gaps Analysis. The projects address the needs of women and children, youths, single men and women in treatment and recovery from substance abuse, and the HIV/AIDS population.

2. Planning Process for Developing a Continuum of Care Strategy

1. Identify the lead entity for the Continuum of Care planning process
   

The Akron/Summit County community has actively developed a Continuum of Care for the homeless. The City of Akron is the lead entity for the Continuum of Care planning process. The size of the community enables substantial resources to be directed towards homeless needs and a system in place which can quickly respond to the needs. The community is small enough so that development work can be readily initiated and accomplished and turf issues are kept at a minimum. The City of Akron has established a strong working relationship with homeless and supportive service providers. The City encourages providers to expand services in an effort to reach all homeless populations.

Each year the City sponsors a Needs Meeting to identify the needs of the Community in preparation for the Consolidated Plan; homeless service providers and supportive service agencies are invited to the meeting. The meeting includes a special segment on the needs of the homeless population.

2. Describe your Community’s Continuum of Care planning structure
   
   The Akron/Summit County Community has developed a Continuum of Care for the homeless. The Community has expanded the organizations involved in the Continuum of Care process. This was done in an effort to be more inclusive of the planning process. In February 1999, when agency directors met to discuss the community-wide Continuum of Care, directors looked at who was currently included and identified the missing links in the system.
   
   Over 100 individuals are involved in the Continuum of Care process. These individuals will continue to be involved in the development and evolution of the Continuum of Care.
   
   
3. List the dates and main topics of Continuum of Care planning meetings held since June 1999 and planned for in the future.

Future planning activities:

The Akron/Summit County community is committed to the continuing development of the Continuum of Care strategy. In an effort to ensure the further development of the Continuum of Care Strategy the community is committed to the following planning activities.

5. Using the format below, list the specific names and types of organizations involved in your Continuum of Care (CoC) planning process, such as State and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, banks, neighborhood groups, housing developers, businesses, foundations, service providers, and homeless or formerly homeless persons; the subpopulation(s) the organization/entity represents; and each organization’s level of participation in the planning process, e.g., attends monthly planning meetings, committee member, committee chair, etc. If more than one geographic area is claimed on the 2000 Application Summary page, indicate which geographic area each organization represents in your Continuum of Care planning process.

Subpopulations Key: General (G), Seriously Mentally Ill (SMI), Substance Abuse (SA), HIV/AIDS, Veterans (VETS), Domestic Violence (DV), and Youth (Y)

3. Continuum of Care System Under Development

   1. Vision for Combating Homelessness
      
      The Continuum of Care Community Committee and the Community Service Coordinating Committee have adopted a vision, strategy, goals and action steps for the Akron/Summit County area to address the needs of the homeless in our community.
      
      Vision: The Akron/Summit County community will collaborate to prevent and eliminate homelessness in the community.Strategy:To provide a continuum of housing and supportive services to homeless persons allowing them to progress toward permanent housing, independent living, and self-sufficiency, in an effort to impact homelessness in the Akron/Barberton/Summit County community.

   2. Describe your community’s strategy to carry out that vision with specific future-oriented goals, action steps, responsibilities and target dates for completion. Use the following format in describing each of your goals.
      
      (Add as needed to reflect the number of goals for your community.)
      
      Action steps reflect initial efforts to address each of the goals but additional action steps nee d to be identified by subcomittees in subsequent years to fully achieve goals.

3. Using the format below, describe the fundamental components of your Continuum of Care system currently in place and those your community is working toward. Indicate how homeless persons receive or access assistance under each component.

4. Movement of Homeless Persons from one component of the system to another and How Components are Linked

Outreach, Intake, Assessment

The Community has several outreach and prevention programs in place in an effort to prevent homelessness. The Community is in the process of identifying all rental assistance programs available within the community to prevent homelessness or provide first months rent to those exiting a shelter. Several referral mechanisms exist to offer guidance to individuals and families in need of shelter. These referral networks may consist of outreach teams, telephone referrals, or shelter providers. During this process, the immediate needs of the individual are determined and they are referred to the appropriate emergency shelter, transitional shelter, permanent supportive housing, or permanent housing.

Emergency Shelters

Emergency shelters are temporary, short-term shelters available to lessen an immediate need. Stay at an emergency shelter may vary from one night to up to thirty days. While at the emergency shelter, a more comprehensive evaluation of the clients’ needs is completed and supportive services are also available to the clients. Clients are encouraged to seek employment and housing while at the shelter. After their stay at the emergency shelter, clients move to either transitional housing, permanent housing, permanent supportive housing or return to their previous residence, depending on the circumstances of the clients.

Transitional Housing

Transitional housing offers homeless individuals and families an option prior to moving into permanent housing. In many instances, families are not equipped financially or psychologically to move to permanent housing after a homeless episode. Clients have other issues that need to be addressed before they are ready to live in a stable home situation. Transitional housing offers decent, long term, low cost housing while the clients are receiving supportive services, job training or an education. Transitional housing counselors offer one-on-one case management addressing the specific needs of the client. Childcare is often available to those clients receiving job training or attending classes at the university. Transition shelters offer housing and supportive services for up to two years. After their stay at a transitional shelter, clients usually move to permanent supportive housing or permanent housing.

Permanent Supportive Housing

Permanent Supportive Housing recognizes that certain individuals and families in the community are likely to need an ongoing level of support in order to maintain stable, functioning lives in the community. This need can be due to a physical, mental or emotional/chemical impairment. Without such support, those persons run the risk of becoming homeless and/or engaging in unhealthy behavior.

Clients access permanent supportive housing from either emergency shelters or transitional housing

Permanent Housing

Permanent housing is the purpose and goal for all shelter options. Housing in the city is generally affordable. However, the low levels of public assistance and the historically low minimum wage make many families vulnerable to homelessness. At the same time, rental rates have increased at a faster rate than have ownership housing costs. Renting is the option most often used by the poor. The population which has the most difficulty in finding decent housing at a price they can afford are single persons and female headed families.

The East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation has developed over 200 houses through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC). These houses are available to low-income families on a lease/purchase basis. Families lease the house for 15 years and then have the option to purchase. The B.M.R. Development Corporation constructed 41 LIHTC family housing units in Akron. These units are available to very low income disabled populations and very low-income single parents. Over 300 LIHTC units were developed at Waterford at Portage Trail. These units are also available to low income individuals or families.

4. Gaps and Priorities

Continuum of Care: Gaps Analysis

* Needs for individuals are greater than needs for families

Although some priorities for renewals may not be ranked high, the need would significantly increase without these projects

Describe the Community’s Process and Rationale for Completing the Relative Priority Column in the Gaps Analysis Chart

The community process for developing relative priorities on the Gaps Analysis sheet is an ongoing process. The Continuum of Care Community Committee and the Coordinating Committee reviewed Gaps Analysis and Relative Priorities identified in the 1999 Continuum of Care application.

High Priority:

• Permanent supportive housing for both individuals and for persons in families with children
• Supportive service in dual-diagnosed sub-population (Mental Health Care and Substance Abuse Treatment.)
• Supportive Service for Life Skills Training
• Housing and Supportive Services for Substance Abuse population.

Medium Priority:

• Transitional housing for all populations
• Assistance geared to prevent repeat occurrences of homelessness among all populations, but especially the seriously mentally ill
• Housing or supportive service for youth and victims of domestic violense.
• Housing placement services and life skills training for individuals and persons in families with children.

Low Priority:

• Emergency shelter facilities
• Housing or supportive service slots for relatively small populations
• Services where assistance is already available, such as community job training.

Describe how Each Project Will Fill a gap in Community’s Continuum of Care

All of the proposed projects will either fill a gap, or in the case of Renewal projects, continue to fill a gap in the community.

1. H.M. Life Opportunity Services (Treeside)
   This Renewal Project for the Supportive Housing Program will allow for the continuation of this transitional housing program. The program will provide housing to 50 homeless, single parent families over a three-year period
2. Community AIDS Network (C.A.N.)
   This Renewal Project for the Supportive Housing Program will allow for the continuation of this transitional housing program. The program will provide transitional housing and supportive services to 18 men over a three-year period.
3. Legacy III
   This Renewal Project for the Supportive Housing Program will allow for the continuation of this transitional housing program for single women exiting a substance abuse program. The program is a six-month transitional program that provides the tools necessary for single women to become self-sufficient
4. H. M. Life Opportunity Services (Aftercare)
   This Renewal Project for the Supportive Housing Program will provide for the continuation of supportive services to single parent families exiting an emergency or transitional shelter. The program will offer case management for up to six months.
5. Summit County Children Services Board – Transition to Independence
   This new project for the Supportive Housing Program will provide three units of transitional housing to homeless youths in the first year and expand to 12 units in year three in Akron and Summit County. The program targets youths 18 to 25 who have left the Children Service Board care and have found themselves homeless.
6. Community Drug Board – Project OPTIONS
   This new project for the Supportive Housing Program will allow for transitional shelter for men or women with children in residential treatment for substance abuse. The program will serve 24 families over a three-year period
7. Community Drug Board – Project HOPE
   This new project for the Supportive Housing Program will allow for transitional shelter for single men or women in residential treatment and recovery for substance abuse. The program will serve 18 individuals over a three-year period.
8. Oriana House – The Midtown Project
   This new project for the Supportive Housing Program will allow for supportive services by formerly homeless individuals residing at Midtown Apartment Services include case management, chemical dependence and/or mental health screening and 24-hour property supervision and support.
9. Catholic Social Services – Housing Stabilization
   This new project for the Supportive Housing Program will allow for additional case management services to house and stabilize the homeless.

6. f. Describe the relationship between Project Priorities and the Relative Priorities on the Gaps Analysis Chart

Project priorities were determined by the Technical Review Committee, which reviewed all of the submitted projects and ranked them according to needs met, numbers served in the Community and gaps identified by the Gaps Analysis chart and the Relative Priorities as determined by the Continuum of Care Coordinating and Community Committees. Renewal projects received the highest rankings based on the essential services they already provide. This assures that all existing projects will be continued with no reduction in services currently in place.