Join us for a two day seminar on Moral Injury and the Pathways to Recovery!  This workshop builds on last year’s convening and explores moral injury and promising practices in recovery.  For more on Volunteers of America’s work on moral injury, please visit: https://www.voa.org/moral-injury-center/the-war-inside

Please share with your networks and any interested parties!

Moral Injury:  Pathways to Recovery

September 19-20, 2019

The Senator Inn, Augusta, ME

For more information and to register:  www.voanne.org/WarInside

Please join the Resource Committee on Friday, September 13, 2019 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am for a training on Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity. 

This training will be held at MaineHousing, but also available via video at the following sites:

• Community Health and Counseling Services, 42 Cedar St, Rm 304 in Bangor
• Shalom House, 106 Gilman St. in Portland
• Sunrise Economic Council, 7 Ames Way in Machias

On September 21, 2016, HUD published a final rule in the Federal Register entitled “Equal Access in Accordance with an Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs.” Through this final rule, HUD ensures equal access to individuals in accordance with their gender identity in programs and shelter funded under programs administered by HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD). This rule builds upon HUD’s February 2012 final rule entitled “Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity” (2012 Equal Access Rule), which aimed to ensure that HUD’s housing programs would be open to all eligible individuals and families regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. The final rule requires that recipients and subrecipients of CPD funding, as well as owners, operators, and managers of shelters, and other buildings and facilities and providers of services funded in whole or in part by any CPD program to grant equal access to such facilities, and other buildings and facilities, benefits, accommodations and services to individuals in accordance with the individual’s gender identity, and in a manner that affords equal access to the individual’s family.

See the attached flyer for more details.

Norm Maze

As requested at the MCOC Meeting yesterday…

Homeless Solutions Rule Approval  Process Timeline
8/15/2019	Present recommended changes at the MCOC
8/20/2019	Request from Maine Housing Board permission to enter Rulemaking.
8/20/2019	Post draft on MaineHousing website and send to interested parties
9/17/2019	Public Hearing at MaineHousing -opportunity for   stakeholder input -10 days for written comment begins
10/15/2019	MaineHousing Board meeting -present summary of written comments -Request Board approval

Attached, please find the approved Resource Committee minutes from our July 12, 2019 meeting.

Norm Maze

Just a friendly reminder to make sure you are aware that all New and Renewal Project Applications must be submitted to MCOC in esnaps no later than Friday, August 30, 2019 in order to be considered for inclusion in the FY2019 MCOC NOFA Application to HUD. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. (Please note – this site scrambles email address, so I am trying to work around that here…)

stibbitts(insert @ symbol)mainehousing.org

Here are a few more things for the Maine Continuum Of Care meeting this afternoon that did not make it into the last post. The two HMIS documents are DRAFTS – they are being shared now so people can review the content over the next couple of weeks and send comments to me (stibbitts@ mainehousing.org by Aug 29th, please) to share with the HMIS Team. We will be bringing the FINAL versions to the September meeting for a vote.

This is a reminder that the Maine Continuum of Care will be meeting this Thursday, August 15th, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at three locations, and via GoToMeeting, for those not able to make it to one of the meeting rooms.

Please see the agenda for details including the GoToMeeting link and call in number, and remember – you can use your computer audio, or the conference phone line – but not both!

MaineHousing is seeking a Homeless Initiatives Program Officer to conduct Program Monitoring. This position will be responsible for guiding and overseeing the monitoring, compliance and provision of technical assistance to all Emergency Shelter and Housing Assistance Program (ESHAP) Grantees across the State of Maine.

For full details, follow the link, below…

https://www.jobsinme.com/jobs/376754

This is a reminder that the Maine Statewide Homeless Council will be meeting on Tuesday August 13, 2019 from 9:30 to 12:30 in the Board Room at MaineHousing, 353 Water Street in Augusta. Please see the Agenda and other materials for additional details, including a call in number for those not able to attend in person.

The mission of the Maine Continuum of Care (MCOC) is to plan and coordinate an inclusive system that helps Maine people avoid or exit quickly from homelessness, and to address the underlying causes of homelessness. MCOC promotes comprehensive and coordinated approaches to housing while making sure that our programs assist participants in maximizing access to community resources. MCOC supports a system of intervention, assessment, referral, direct care and aftercare for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

MCOC develops and manages the annual Continuum of Care (CoC) application process for federal McKinney-Vento funding from HUD. To accomplish this, MCOC collaborates with community stakeholders regarding continuum-specific goals related to ending and preventing homelessness. MCOC develops and supports public policy to assist people who are homeless and advocates for systems change as well as necessary funding at the state and federal level to develop needed housing and services for people who are homeless in Maine.

MCOC has open membership for all individuals and/or organizations within the state that have an interest in and subscribe to the mission and policies of MCOC and who, through their participation, will contribute to MCOC’s ability to carry out its mission. Each member of MCOC is a vital link in a collaborative community network and as such shares in ideas, concerns and decisions regarding the development and deployment of resources to address the needs of people who are homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless.

There is no membership fee to participate in MCOC, and we actively encourage participation from all parts of the state by providing video and teleconferencing connections for our regular monthly meetings. MCOC meetings are typically held the third Thursday of each month from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Participating individuals or organization are eligible to vote once they have attended at least 50% of meetings in the previous 12 months. One vote is recorded for each agency.

For more information about the Maine Continuum of Care and other efforts to address homelessness in Maine please visit and subscribe to www.mainehomelessplanning.org or contact  Scott Tibbitts, Continuum of Care Coordinator, at gro.g1568607030nsiuo1568607030henia1568607030m@stt1568607030ibbit1568607030s1568607030 or one of the MCOC Chairs: Vickey Rand at gro.g1568607030nisuo1568607030hmohc1568607030@yekc1568607030iv1568607030  ; Awa Conteh at vog.e1568607030niamr1568607030ognab1568607030@hetn1568607030oc.aw1568607030a1568607030  ; or Norman Maze at gro.c1568607030niesu1568607030ohmol1568607030ahs@e1568607030zaMN1568607030