Covid Eviction Legal Help Project was formed to expand the capacity of legal aid organizations in MA to provide urgently needed legal assistance in COVID-related eviction cases. They have launched a new website to provide information about resources and services. If you need help with an eviction in Massachusetts you may be eligible for free help from a lawyer. There are six regional legal aid programs who will assist low income tenants ; in New Bedford, South Coastal Counties Legal Services (and member of the HSPN) is the regional legal aid [ Continue reading. ]
STREETSHEET COVID-19 EDITION RELEASED!
The City of New Bedford's Office of Housing & Community Development has released a COVID-19 Edition of its StreetSheet. This special edition sheet includes important community resources that are especially relevant during the public health crisis. Information includes resources for shelter access, prevention of homelessness, legal services, housing assistance, food access and where to file for MA Unemployment Insurance. In addition, current COVID testing sites are described by location and test days/hours. Go to the HSPN [ Continue reading. ]
Valuing the voice of those experiencing homelessness…through the VOTE!
With all that is going on in the word it might be easy to dismiss the importance of registering to vote, especially if you live in a shelter, your car, the woods or at a friend's house. Just because someone might be experiencing homelessness doesn't mean they can't register to vote and then vote! Your voice matters, and there's no greater way to be heard than ensuring you vote! Check out the three different ways you can register to vote and what you need to know today by checking out the New Bedford HSPN's Voting and Homelessness Fact Sheet [ Continue reading. ]
2020 POINT IN TIME NUMBERS RELEASED!
The City of New Bedford has conducted its annual “Point In Time” (PIT) count that creates a census of those individuals and families experiencing homelessness within the city, both sheltered (living in emergency or transitional housing) and unsheltered (on the streets/in places not meant for human habitation). Concurrent with that is the development of the city's "Housing Inventory Count" (HIC) that provides an inventory of specific emergency, transitional and permanent housing opportunities for those experiencing homelessness in New Bedford. This is [ Continue reading. ]
2020 STREETSHEETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW!
The City of New Bedford's Office of Housing & Community Development has released the 2020 StreetSheet! Go to the HSPN Resource Page to access a copy of the sheet in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Hard copies of the StreetSheets are also available upon request by contacting Jennifer.Clarke@newbedford-ma.gov. (Copies will be available for distribution once City of New Bedford's municipal office hours resume.) [ Continue reading. ]
HUD ANNOUNCES NEW BEDFORD COC AWARD!
HUD awards $1.6 million in homeless assistance funding to New Bedford Article originally published in the Standard Times February 11.2020 NEW BEDFORD – The group tasked with combating homelessness in the area has been awarded a grant from the federal Department of Housing & Urban Development under its Continuum of Care program. The Homeless Service Providers Network, led by the City’s Office of Housing & Community Development, has been awarded $1,673,610 in homeless assistance funding The grant awards announced at the end of January are [ Continue reading. ]
2019 IN REVIEW
The HSPN has completed a review of its actions over the past year focusing on the work it undertook throughout 2019. A copy of the powerpoint is available here: HSPN ANNUAL SUMMARY.2019 [ Continue reading. ]
2019 CONSOLIDATED COC APPLICATION
You can now access a copy of New Bedford's 2019 CoC Consolidated Application! The FINAL COC APPLICATION.2019 along with the APPLICATION ATTACHMENTS are available through these links. You can also access a copy of the PROJECT PRIORITY LISTING here as well! The CoC Application was reviewed and approved in a unanimous vote by the HSPN Executive Committee on September 19, 2019. If you have any questions about any of these materials or the individual projects that will be submitted as part of the overall 2019 package to HUD before September 30, 2019, [ Continue reading. ]
HMIS DOCUMENTS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!
At its August 15, 2019 membership meeting, the New Bedford Homeless Service Providers Network (HSPN) voted to update its Policies and Procedures document (available here:HMIS POLICIES PROCEDURES.2019 FINAL) as well as its Governance document (available here: HMIS GOVERNANCE.2019 FINAL) that guides the HSPN's use of data. These documents describe the way in which the organization's Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is to be administered and operated in order to ensure the highest quality data. Although the use of HMIS is encouraged by all [ Continue reading. ]
COC COMMUNITY PRIORITIES for 2019
(Approved by the HSPN membership on June 20, 2019.) The City of New Bedford’s HSPN membership adopted its CoC Community Priorities at its regular meeting of June 20, 2019. Those priorities are available here: 2019 COC COMMUNITY PRIORITIES [ Continue reading. ]
