Continuum of Care/Supportive Housing Program (COC/SHP)

The Wisconsin Balance of State Continuum of Care (WIBOSCOC) is a membership comprised of agencies state-wide who serve, support, and care about individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The Fox Cities Housing Coalition is 1 of 21 WIBOSCOC active members and engages agencies in the Fox Cities community that offer housing, services, and opportunities to those experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.

The City of Appleton serves as the collaborative applicant and lead agency for the administration of the four (4) CoC grants, receiving $371,996 for the 2023-2024 program year.

Community partners include:

• ADVOCAP
• Pillars, Inc.
• Salvation Army of the Fox Cities

  * Paying member

The primary purpose of the Continuum of Care program is to:

1. Promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness;
2. Providing funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and local governments to re-house homeless individuals and families rapidly while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities as a consequence of homelessness;
3. Promote access to and effective use of, mainstream resources by homeless individuals and families; and
4. Optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Point in Time Count (PIT)

The Point in Time, or PIT, count is a statistically reliable, unduplicated count of people experiencing homelessness during a designated one-night period. This count is conducted twice per year in the Fox Cities, January and July. A PIT is intended to capture a minimum amount of information on persons that are homeless and are living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens for the homeless, domestic violence shelters, or who are unsheltered living on the streets of any place not meant for human habitation in order to create a “snapshot” of what homelessness looks like in a neighborhood, city, or state. The data collected through this process is reported and provided to the US Congress, the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), and the WIBOSCOC.

For more information on the national strategic plan to end homelessness issued by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, see the Opening Doors plan.

For more information about homelessness and HUD’s homelessness programs, visit the HUD website.