Southeast Continuum of Care Conference: It takes an entire community to help the last, the lost, and the forgotten

Southeast Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett and Office of Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAPS) Director Norman Suchar address the 150+ attendees from all states in the Southeast, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who participated in the Regional Continuum of Care Conference held in Miami in November.

In the Southeast, 79 continuum of care (CoC) organizations fight every day to end homelessness. HUD Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett invited them all for a two-day conference in Miami to exchange experiences and learn directly from the Office of Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAPS) what is new and what to expect. More than 150 attendees representing CoCs from every state in the region, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands heard the call.

SNAPS Director Norman Suchar's expertise was in high demand as he answered non-stop questions, while Tamura Thomas and John Quade from Community Planning and Development managed to make enjoyable the subject of monitoring compliance. Joe Savage from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness presented the revised federal strategic plan, now called Home Together. Cleveland-Leggett highlighted the significant drops in veteran homelessness in the last year in areas like Kentucky, 24%; South Carolina, 13%; and Florida, 9.7%. The Regional Administrator also emphasized the courage they display in the face of adversity "I want to thank you for believing in a better day, for Dwelling in the Possibility, as Emily Dickinson would say, for embracing the power to dream and having the strength to make it possible for others," said Cleveland-Leggett.

From alliances created in challenging rural communities where resources are scant, to steps taken by larger cities to demonstrate to their local funding officials the sound savings of providing coordinated services to the most frail of the chronic homeless, participants shared best practices, remained engaged until the last minute and requested future sessions when Field Policy and Management Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Hunter and Regional Deputy Regional Administrator Christopher Taylor delivered closing remarks.

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