TX-503 Austin/Travis County CoC New/Expansion/Transition Application FY24 CoC NOFO Competition

The Austin/Travis County Continuum of Care (CoC) is seeking applications for housing projects for inclusion in our Collaborative Application for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care program, also known as the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Each year the Austin/Travis County CoC competes with other CoC’s across the country to secure federal funds to help end homelessness through HUD’s CoC Program NOFO. HUD allows New Projects to be funded through reallocation and/or eligible bonus funding (e.g., DV Bonus, CoC Bonus). The total funds available for New Projects will be determined based upon amount of bonus funds made available by HUD, plus the amount of funding that is reallocated by the Austin/Travis County CoC Board (Leadership Council). All projects applying for funding during the FY24 Continuum of Care (CoC) NOFO Competition through the process of creating a New Project, an Expansion Project, or a Transition Project must complete this application. The Austin/Travis County CoC encourages applications for projects that have never previously received CoC funds as well as from applicants that are currently receiving or have in the past received CoC funds. It is recommended that applicants review the accompanying Scoring Guide as a reference of how answers will be reviewed and scored by the CoC NOFO Independent Review Team (IRT). As indicated by the FY24 Review, Scoring, and Ranking Policy, 100% of the scoring for New Projects will be based upon the applicant’s answers to the Local Competition Application and e-snaps New Project Application. New Projects will be scored based on alignment with local funding priorities, efforts to address racial disparities, utilization of best practices for the intervention type, and comparable cost per client by interventions of the type applied. Please note that this application is based on the best information that is currently available, and ECHO staff may need to revise requirements described herein and/or request additional information based on additional guidance received from HUD and/or policy decisions made by Leadership Council. ECHO staff will disseminate all information about this funding opportunity as it becomes available. To view the New Project Application Scoring Guide, as well as all required attachments for this application, please visit https://www.austinecho.org/leading-system-change/continuum-of-care/ and navigate to the 2024 CoC Competition, Local Competition Materials tab. For any questions about accessing this application or any application documents, please contact NOFO@austinecho.org.

Complete & submit the New Project application in e-snaps. Once the application is completed in e-snaps, applicants must save a copy of the e-snaps application and submit the copy of the HUD e-snaps application as an attachment in the FY24 NOFO Competition webpage. Attaching the e-snaps application in the FY24 NOFO Competition webpage will allow the IRT members to access the application materials and score applications electronically. Projects are expected to review all information entered in e-snaps before submitting and attaching the completed version in the FY24 NOFO Competition webpage. The version attached in the FY24 NOFO Competition webpage will be used to score project applications.

Please review the FY24 Austin/Travis County CoC Community Funding Priorities to ensure the proposed project meets the needs identified by our community. Applications for any New/Bonus funds for the FY 2024 Continuum of Care NOFO are encouraged to follow locally established funding priorities approved by the CoC Board, HRS Leadership Council in order to receive full points on this question.

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

Please provide a description of the proposed project. The description must be consistent with other parts of this application and the e-snaps application, and identify: • The target population including the total number of clients (single adults and/or families with children) to be served when the project is at full capacity • Number and type of units (e.g., tenant-based or project-based) if a PH component type • The specific services that will be provided and outreach methods to be used to serve the long-term homeless population • Projected outcomes • Coordination with partners • Project timeline – when units will be developed or leased-up (if a PH component type), or when services will become available (500-word limit).

Please describe how your organization uses data to determine performance, make decisions, and track spending. Describe how you will use data to implement a system of performance evaluation. (500-word limit)

73.9% of the population experiencing homelessness in Austin/Travis County identifies as non-white (Asian, Black, Native/Indigenous, Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, and/or two or more races). What percentage of the applicant organization’s staff identifies as non-white? What percentage of the applicant organization’s board of directors identifies as non-white? What percentage of the applicant organization’s leadership (senior managers, directors/administrators, VP’s, Executives/C-Suite) identify as non-white?

Black Americans are overrepresented in the total population experiencing homelessness in the United States relative to total population representation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and analysis of HMIS data, Black/African American residents account for 9 percent of Travis County’s total population, but 32 percent of the population experiencing homelessness in the same area. This is a dramatic overrepresentation and a key challenge facing our homelessness response system and the Austin/Travis County community generally. Describe how your agency demonstrates efforts to identify and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in service delivery. (500-word limit).

Individuals experiencing homelessness face significant barriers in accessing services and housing, including substance use, history of domestic violence, criminal records, chronic homelessness, mental illness and/or trauma, and records of evictions. What services, policies, partnerships, and practices does your agency either have in place or plan to adopt to address the barriers experienced by program participants in attaining rapid placement in permanent housing and maintaining permanent housing in Austin’s competitive market? (500-word limit).

Please describe how your project leverages (or is planning on leveraging) housing or healthcare resources which are not funded through the CoC or ESG programs (e.g., HOME-ARP, Housing Choice Vouchers, HOPWA). (500-word limit).

What services, policies, partnership, and practices do your agency have in place to ensure fidelity to harm reduction practices around drug usage to reduce stigma, promote safety, and increase education and understanding? (500-word limit).

According to a 2023 nationwide HRS survey conducted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), staffing challenges among HRS agencies remain acute, where 74% reported being understaffed, and 71% reported experiencing high staff turnover. Please describe your agency’s methods of measuring and collecting turnover rates as well as your practices and policies used to hire and retain a competitive workforce. (500-word limit).