C.O. homelessness group spotlights mental health issues

Homelessness is a very visible issue in Central Oregon, and the need continues to grow due to many factors, including; lack of affordable housing, few “living wage” jobs, substance abuse, mental health conditions and lack of social service access, to name but a few.

The Homeless Leadership Coalition(HLC) is a large group of social service providers, public and non-profit agencies, faith-based providers and concerned citizens from the tri-county area charged with governance of the Central Oregon Continuum of Care (CoC), OR-503. HLC’s mission through engagement of the community includes education, advocacy, planning, prioritization and accountability for services to persons experiencing homelessness.

The full charter may be accessed athttp://www.cohomeless.org/

The Continuum of Careis eligible to apply for grant funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide services and assistance to persons experiencing homelessness.

The HLC consists of a voting membership that represents the broad spectrum of service providers. Meetings are held at the downtown Bend branch of the Deschutes Public Library on the first Friday of each month at 8 a.m.

These meetings are open to the public and anyone who is interested in helping the effort to end homelessness is encouraged to attend.

As representatives of homeless servicessectors, HLC voting members meet monthly, immediately following the general HLC meeting, to decide what efforts and actions shall be taken by the CoC to address the needs of our community members currently experiencing homelessness.

At the meeting on Friday,membersvoted unanimously to form a committee that addresses mental health, as related to homelessness. The formation of this committee aims to provide guidance and direction to the HLC in order to better serve our community members experiencing homelessness due to underserved mental health issues.

In addition to the committee on mental health and housing; HLC currently has three additional committees; Homelessness Prevention & Services; Affordable Housing/Housing Services; Systems Integration, Education &Outreach and the public is highly encouraged to attend the regular HLC monthly meeting in order to connect and participate with these committees.

All four committees exist to collect input, ideas and createnetworking opportunities in order to provide guidance to the voting membership for action by the HLC.

The HLC is the vehicle through which our communities can communicate directly with public and private entities providing services to the growing population of homeless individuals and families in our region.

The next HLC meeting will be held on Friday, May 6 at the downtown Bend branch of the Deschutes Public Library from 8-9:30am. Community attendance and participation is highly encouraged. Interested people will have a chance to meet the voting membership, co-chairs Don Senegal and Cody Standiford, Secretary Tara Feurtado and the committee chairs to learn more about the mission of the HLC.

People will also have the opportunity to join the four committees to make their voices heard and provide input that will go directly to the voting membership for action.