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The Homeless Planning Council (HPC) Steering Committee was formed to begin the planning process. It has drafted HPC By-laws and defined the relationship of the Steering Committee to a broader membership and the activities and responsibilities of subcommittees delegated by the HPC. On June 30, the HPC voted to adopt a Vision Statement for CoCare Delaware. We chose a name and statement that exemplifies Delawareans’ caring and being willing to work together in opening doors to effect change and give a genuine reason for homeless persons to hope. A SuperNOFA Task Force of the HPC dealt with the specifics of the 1998 HUD SuperNOFA. A statewide gaps analysis survey was distributed throughout the state which allowed a larger number of homeless persons input into the Continuum. Cathy Traynor was hired as a Consultant to both the Council and Task Force and to write the SuperNOFA narrative. The Task Force has completed its work of applying for HUD funding to help support 11 projects: 5 new ones to fill current gaps and renewal for six existing programs to prevent additional gaps. Six of these projects provide Transitional Housing with support services, 4 provide Permanent Housing for Persons With Disabilities and 1 delivers freestanding Support Services. All five of the state’s geographic areas are encompassed: City of Wilmington, New Castle County, City of Dover, Kent and Sussex County. A statewide panel of Independent Evaluators rated the applications, using a common set of criteria, and projects then were ranked by score. Thanks goes out to out co-chairs, Planning Council, Task Force, Cathy Traynor, our evaluators and ALL who had a part in this year’s CoCare Delaware. A special thank you goes to Marcal Graham who did our statistics, minutes and was an all around help. Anyone wishing to participate or get involved should contact the current co-chairs of the HPC Steering Committee: Ken Smith at (302) 678-2286 or Julie Loescher at (302) 739-4263. CoCare Delaware Vision Statement CoCare Delaware is a shared, cooperative Continuum of Caring through which concerned Delawareans from all walks of life together strive to remedy homelessness throughout the First State. Homelessness...who cares? Many homeless men, women and children are deeply scarred by the pain of feeling that no one cares. Well, we care! Delawareans care! Our Vision is that every homeless person in Delaware will be treated with love, dignity, respect and support-and that, most important of all, they will have genuine reason to hope for the future. In spite of overwhelming obstacles, many homeless still dare to dream of decent, safe and sanitary housing. Our Vision is that such housing should not be a dream-it must become a reality! Doors now all too often closed can be opened through linkages and partnerships among nonprofit organizations, faith communities, educational institutions, volunteer groups, governments, civic organizations, labor and trade unions, foundations, private sector businesses, and the homeless themselves, all working together to form a true continuum of caring-CoCare Delaware. CoCare Delaware will ensure that every homeless individual in our state has access to a continuum of coordinated resources, including outreach and assessment, emergency and transitional housing, services to foster self-sufficiency, and ultimately, affordable, safe permanent housing. The use of existing and emerging communications technologies will help us coordinate efforts statewide to open doors to allow homeless people to become independent, contributing members of our community. Jacqueline McDonald works for the Department of Real Estate and Housing of the City of Wilmington and has been integrally involved in the development of the Homeless Planning Council and the CoCare Delaware Vision. |