Special Initiatives
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit RFP
(Materials will be posted as they become available.)
Shared Housing
Shared housing is when two or more people live together and share common space in temporary or permanent housing. Each person or household within the shared housing situation has their own lease.
The BoSCoC can provide technical assistance to support agencies or regional collaboratives who want to offer shared housing as an option to clients and property owners to help maximize available housing units. E-learning and additional resources will be posted soon.
Veteran Homelessness
In 2010, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) introduced the first comprehensive federal strategy to prevent and end homelessness. This plan, called Opening Doors, outlined a number of goals related to ending homelessness in the U.S. – the first of these committed to ending Veteran homelessness by 2016.
In 2015, the USICH, along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), adopted a vision of what it means to end homelessness and shared specific criteria and benchmarks for ending Veteran homelessness in order to help guide communities as they take action to achieve the goal, with a focus on long-term, lasting solutions.
In line with the federal goals outlined in Opening Doors, the Ohio Balance of State Continuum of Care (BoSCoC) has committed to a goal of ending Veteran homelessness in the CoC by 2017. To that end, the Ohio BoSCoC has focused recent efforts on expanding availability of critical housing resources for homeless Veterans and improving our coordinated system response. The Ohio BoSCoC has determined that ending Veteran homelessness in our CoC means the following:
Where Veteran homelessness does occur, it is rare, brief, and non-recurring. More specifically, every identified homeless Veteran who is unsheltered in emergency shelter or in Transitional Housing in the Ohio BoSCoC is provided permanent housing, if they want it, within an average of 30 days. To achieve this, the Ohio BoSCoC is committed to the principles of Housing First, which means our system is primarily focused on quick placement into permanent housing, respecting Veteran choice, and targeting our resources to those with greatest needs.
Using the federal criteria and benchmarks as our map, the Ohio BoSCoC has developed a coordinated and standardized response to Veteran homelessness, resulting in a significant step toward our goal of ending Veteran homelessness.
Documents
Guidance for Completing the Homeless Veterans Data Elements in HMIS – updated April, 2022
Ohio BoSCoC: Coordinated Entry System Plan for Homeless Veterans (2019)
Training
Ending Veteran Homelessness in the Ohio BoSCoC: Progress and a Path Forward Webinar Presentation – August 30, 2016
Ending Veteran Homelessness in the Ohio BoSCoC Webinar Presentation – July 9, 2016
Additional Resources
USICH Criteria and Benchmarks for Achieving the Goal of Ending Veteran Homelessness
U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and Veterans Benefits locations
Youth Homelessness
COHHIO Youth Initiative
Youth Homelessness System Improvement Grant – Request for Proposals
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio $2,000,000 through the Youth Homelessness Systems Improvement (YHSI) grant to address youth homelessness. This grant supports six of Ohio’s nine CoCs in improving the holistic system of care for young people (up to age 25) at risk of or experiencing homelessness and housing instability, with a particular focus on youth exiting foster care and youth exiting involvement with the justice system. There are three categories of work that will be conducted as part of the grant: planning and partnerships, coordinated entry, and data. YHSI activities are intended to build upon previous work done through the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program in Ohio’s awarded communities; in the BoSCoC that includes Homeless Planning Regions 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14, and most of 17. See below for the Coordinated Community Plans for those regions.
The Ohio Balance of State Continuum of Care (BoSCoC) is releasing a Request for Proposals to obtain the professional services of a firm or individual to partner with the BoSCoC to gather and analyze system of care data that contribute to or prevent youth and young adult homelessness and provide a report with recommendations on policy and practice initiatives.
RFP Ohio BoSCoC YHSI Data Consultation
Proposal packages must be submitted in a single PDF to erinhachtel@cohhio.org by November 24, 2025.
Questions about this RFP may be submitted to erinhachtel@cohhio.org. Answers will be provided and posted to https://cohhio.org/boscoc/special-initiatives/#youth by November 20, 2025.
Ohio BoSCoC Youth Action Board
Learn more about the YAB here – https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17Gk8Wstgn/
Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP)
Ohio BoSCoC YHDP Coordinated Community Plans, 2024 and earlier
Youth Lead The Way: Round 7 Balance of State Coordinated Community Plan
Coordinated Community Plan to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness in Southeast Ohio
Coordinated Community Plan to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness: Ohio BoSCoC Region 6
