What: The Coordinating Committee to End Homelessness (CCEH) is the lead entity for ongoing community planning for Home Again: a 10-year plan to end homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County. The committee provides broad-based feedback on implementation issues. It also is charged with updating the 10-Year Plan document over time so that it will continue to be a viable tool in a changing environment. CCEH also develops strategies for ending homelessness that are incorporated into the Continuum of Care plan.

The CCEH supports the planning processes for the Continuum of Care application by reviewing the following:

• the continuum of available housing and services available,
• the housing and service needs assessment,
• the gaps analysis,
• the project prioritization criteria;
• McKinney project prioritization;
• the plan to coordinate McKinney funds with mainstream resources; and
• other options to increase resources to homeless programs.

Why: The participatory and broad-based CCEH ensures that our community is doing everything possible to end homelessness through effective programs that meet the greatest needs. Participants can advocate for creative solutions to help improve existing programs and bring ideas for new solutions.

How:

Who: Participants are from various interest groups, networks, commissions, and planning efforts. They represent homeless and formerly homeless persons, housing providers, the business community, the private sector, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, as well as staff from the City of Portland’s PHB, Multnomah County’s DSCP and Domestic Violence Coordinator’s Office, the Housing Authority of Portland and HCDC. Membership is open and reflects the diversity of people and institutions interested in ending homelessness.

Key Tasks:

• Recommend community standards for programs serving homeless persons.
• Offer providers and consumers an opportunity to hear about existing, new and changing programs.
• Discuss gaps in services and brainstorm solutions.
• Evaluate strategies to develop a peer review process among providers.
• Approve members of the McKinney Evaluation Committee, which ranks annual projects for HUD Continuum of Care funding
• Track goals outlined in the 10-Year Plan

Meeting Schedule/Time Commitment: the CCEH meets on the 3^rd Wednesday of the month from 3:00-5:00pm at the First United Methodist Church.

Subcommittee: The Evaluation Committee evaluates provider progress toward established goals of ending people’s homelessness and makes recommendations for improvement and shifting of resources as appropriate.

Oversight entities: CCEH receives oversight from the Housing and Community Development Commission to ensure coordination with housing, services, and economic opportunity policy for Portland, Gresham and Multnomah County. The Citizens Commission on Homelessness, which oversaw the development of the 10-Year Plan, continues to have oversight on the 10-Year Plan, issues related to its implementation, and recommended changes.

Staff to committee: Jennifer Chang, Homeless Program Coordinator, City of Portland, Portland Housing Bureau, 421 SE 6^th, Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97204 (503) 823-0883 jennifer.chang@ci.portland.or.us.

Approved by Coordinating Committee to End Homelessness 9/28/05.