TO:
Interested Agencies
FROM:
Homeless Alliance of Western New York (HAWNY)
DATE:
February 19, 2015
SUBJ:
Local Applications – Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Program Funding
______________________________________________________________________
FY2015 LOCAL APPLICATION PROCESS
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Continuum of Care fund is a nationwide competition for
homeless funding. This competition is usually it is a two-step process. First, a local application has to be submitted in
response to the Request For Proposal (RFP) released by the Homeless Alliance of Western New York (HAWNY), the
CoC lead agency of Buffalo, Niagara falls, Erie County and Niagara County. There is a procedure for ranking and rating
the applications. Please refer to the detailed procedure in the CoC Funding Guidelines. Projects that make the selection list
will advance to the federal application process once HUD releases its Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). Applicants
are responsible for the preparation of both the local application and the eventual electronic submission of their project
application if the project is approved locally for funding. This document is an RFP in preparation of the local application
process. HAWNY must receive applications on or before Thursday March 26, 2015 at 4:00 PM. Applications
submitted after this deadline will not be considered for funding.
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION BY E-MAIL IS REQUIRED


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Completed local applications should be sent as a Word document or .pdf file.
Completed budget workbooks should be sent as an Excel document or .pdf file.
Scan and/or attach any required attachments, documentation, etc. and email to: Nate Pyzikiewicz
pyzikiewicz@wnyhomeless.org and / or Kexin Ma kexinma@wnyhomeless.org
APPLICATION MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE
Information regarding application materials has been widely distributed by email. They can be found on the HAWNY
website (www.wnyhomeless.org) under the CoC page CoC Funding Competition. Please share this information with
any organization that you think may be interested.
The application materials include:
• 2015 CoC Local Application RFP (this document)
• 2015 CoC guidelines(including 2015 scoring criteria)
• 2015 New project Budget workbook
• 2015 New project local application
• 2015 Renewal Project Budget Workbook
• 2015 Renewal project local application
All the scoring criteria for new or renewal projects are listed in 2015 Scoring Criteria. Renewal projects who were
awarded funding in FY2014 CoC competition will need to submit the completed 2015 Budget workbook for the renewal
project, the 2015 renewal project local application and all the attachments required under the application—their most
recent audited financial statement, documentation of match and leveraging, most recent HUD monitoring report (if not
submitted in a past year), and the CoC and HMIS monitoring report (if there is one during this year). Any new projects
must submit the completed 2015 Budget workbook for new projects and the 2015 new project local application, as well as
their most recent audited financial statement, documentation of match and leveraging, or any other supportive document.
2015 CoC Homeless Assistance Program Funding
TIMELINE
February 19, 2015
Local Application Released
February 19-March 20, 2015
New projects consultation section* (by appointment)
February 25, 2015
Renewal projects applicant workshop**
March 26, 2015
Local Applications are due by 4:00 PM
Electronic Submission Required!
April 1-7, 2015
Site visits for new projects
Mid-April, 2015
CoC Review Committee Rating/Ranking Meeting
Late April to early May, 2015
Organizations notified of their preliminary ranking
The final rating and ranking results, and the deadlines for submitting HUD project applications into E-snaps will be
announced when the HUD announcement for FY2015 is released.
*Please contact Dale Zuchlewski, Executive Director 716-853-1101 ext. 405 or Zuchlewski@wnyhomeless.org to make
an appointment
** Attendance at The Renewal Projects Applicant Workshop is required for all renewal applicants.
2015 HUD Priorities and CoC Project Request
HUD’s ending homelessness goals:
1. Prevent and end chronically homelessness in 2017.
2. Prevent and end homelessness among families, children, and youth in 2020.
CoC Project Request:
1. Rapid Rehousing projects who serves homeless families who are residing in shelters or living on the
street
2. Permanent Supportive Housing for chronically homeless persons
Definitions
HOMELESS:
The New Homeless Definition (effective 1/4/2012 under the HEARTH act) has four categories:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Category 1 –( Homeless) Literally Homeless: An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and
adequate nighttime residence, meaning: An individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that
is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for
human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground;
An individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide
temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels
paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state, or local government programs for low-income
individuals); or
An individual who is exiting an institution (e.g., jail, hospital)
a. where he or she resided for 90 days or less AND
b. resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering
the institution
Category 2 – (Homeless) Within 14 days of losing home: An individual or family who will imminently lose their
primary nighttime residence, provided that:
(i) The primary nighttime residence will be lost within 14 days of the date of application for homeless
assistance;
(ii) No subsequent residence has been identified; AND
(iii) The individual or family lacks the resources or support networks, e.g., family, friends, faith-based or
other social networks needed to obtain other permanent housing
Category 3 – (Homeless) Youth/Children: Unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age, or families with children
and youth, who do not otherwise qualify as homeless under this definition, but who:
(iv) Meet the homeless definition under another federal statute; AND
(v) Have not had a lease, ownership interest, or occupancy agreement in permanent housing at any time
during the 60 days immediately preceding the date of application for homeless assistance; AND
(vi) Have experienced persistent instability as measured by two moves or more during the sixty day period
immediately preceding the date of application for homeless assistance; AND
(vii) Can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time because of chronic
disabilities, OR chronic physical health or mental health conditions, OR substance addiction, OR
histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse (including neglect), OR the presence of a child or
youth with a disability, OR two or more barriers to employment, which include the lack of a high school
degree or General Education Development (GED), illiteracy, low English proficiency, a history of
incarceration or detention for criminal activity, and a history of unstable employment
Category 4 – (Homeless) Fleeing Domestic Violence: Any individual or family who:
 Is fleeing or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other
dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or family member,
including a child, that has either taken place within the individual’s or family’s primary nighttime residence
or has made the individual or family afraid to return to their primary nighttime residence;
 Has no other residence; AND
 Lacks the resources or support networks, e.g., family, friends, faith-based or other social networks, to obtain
other permanent housing.
CHRONICALLY HOMELESS:
An unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition, or an adult member of a homeless family who
has a disabling condition, who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, OR has had at least four (4)
episodes of homelessness in the past 3 years. The term “homeless,” in this case, means a person sleeping in a place
not meant for human habitation (e.g., living on the streets), in an emergency homeless shelter, or in a Safe Haven as
defined by HUD.
DISABLING CONDITION:
A disabling condition is defined as: (1) a disability as defined in Section 223 of the Social Security Act; (2) a
physical, mental, or emotional impairment which is expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration,
substantially impedes an individual’s ability to live independently, and of such a nature that the disability could be
improved by more suitable conditions; (3) a developmental disability as defined in Section 102 of the Developmental
Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act; (4) the disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any
conditions arising from the etiological agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome; or (5) a diagnosable
substance abuse disorder. A disabling condition limits an individual’s ability to work or perform one or more
activities of daily living.
RESOURCES:
“Opening Doors,” the federal strategic plan to end homelessness, can be found at:
http://www.usich.gov/PDF/OpeningDoors_2010_FSPPreventEndHomeless.pdf
The 2013 Annual Report – State of Homelessness in Erie County can be found at:
www.wnyhomeless.org under “Local Stats”
If you have questions regarding HUD regulations or eligible costs/activities, please refer to HEARTH Act Interim Rules
https://www.onecpd.info/resource/2033/hearth-coc-program-interim-rule/ or you may Ask a Question on the OneCPD
Resource Exchange website: https://www.hudexchange.info/
REMINDER:
Please complete the local application(s) thoroughly and accurately. Follow the instructions and answer all of the
questions. Application reviewers may have little or no knowledge of your organization or your proposed project. Anyone
reading your application should be able to gain a clear understanding of your project. Remember to download the
application and budget workbook to your hard drive. This is so you can save your work. Be sure to submit it electronically
by the due date.
There appears to be sufficient funding available for renewal projects for FY2015. However, there does not appear to be
enough funds for both new projects and the renewal projects. Therefore, new project applications that score well, meet
community priorities, and meet the HUD priorities and project selection criteria could put existing renewal projects at
risk. Make sure you include any information in your renewal application that demonstrates why your project should not
be put at risk for either significant reduction in funding or elimination.
If you have any other questions or need further information, please contact:
Dale Zuchlewski, Executive Director 716-853-1101 ext. 405 Zuchlewski@wnyhomeless.org