About
The Division of Homeless Services is the Lead Agency for Howard County's Continuum of Care (CoC), the local planning body that coordinates Federal and State housing and support services funding for homeless families and individuals. The Division oversees the local Coordinated Entry System of Homeless Services, a network of community services and supports that coordinates efforts to end homelessness, and the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), which tracks and provides information on homelessness in Howard County. By providing guidance and support to the CoC Board and Partner Agencies, Homeless Services drives the work of Howard County's Plan to End Homelessness and The Path Home.
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced the release of the County’s The Path Toward Zero: Howard County’s Strategic Plan to End Homelessness 2025-2030. Developed in partnership between the County’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and Coalition to End Homelessness, this strategic plan outlines the major goals and interventions to achieve “functional zero” over the next five years, and to ensure a comprehensive system of homeless services to resolve homelessness in Howard County. Functional zero is achieved when the number of people experiencing homelessness is consistently below the community's capacity to house them so that homelessness becomes a rare, short-term crisis with rapid return to stable housing.
The Path Toward Zero 2025
Summer Housing Celebration - Opening Remarks
Programs and Resources
The Coalition to End Homelessness (the “Coalition”) serves as Howard County’s Continuum of Care and is a collaborative community-based planning and advocacy body that seeks to ensure the needs of persons who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness within the County are being met.
The Coordinated Entry System of Homeless Services is a network of community services and supports that coordinates efforts to end homelessness in Howard County.
Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) tracks and provides information on homelessness in Howard County.
The Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) was established on March 24, 1983, with the signing of the "Jobs Stimulus Bill," Public Law 98-8. That legislation created a National Board, chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that consisted of representatives of the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, The Jewish Federations of North America, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, The Salvation Army and United Way Worldwide.