Understanding HUD Continuum of Care Programs
The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is the federal government's primary framework for addressing homelessness at the community level. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), CoC programs coordinate local efforts to provide housing and services to people experiencing homelessness. If you're seeking help or trying to understand how your community's homeless services system works, this guide explains the CoC structure, the types of programs it funds, and how to access services.
What Is a Continuum of Care?
A Continuum of Care is a regional or local planning body that coordinates housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. There are approximately 400 CoCs across the United States, covering every part of the country. Each CoC is responsible for coordinating the community's response to homelessness, conducting an annual count of homeless individuals (the Point-in-Time Count), developing a strategic plan to reduce and end homelessness, applying to HUD for funding on behalf of local service providers, and monitoring the performance of funded programs.
CoCs are collaborative bodies made up of nonprofit organizations, government agencies, service providers, housing developers, advocates, and people with lived experience of homelessness. The specific structure varies by community — some are managed by a lead nonprofit organization, others by a government agency, and some by a dedicated coalition.
Every geographic area in the United States falls within a CoC's boundaries. In large cities, a single CoC may cover just the city itself. In less populated areas, a CoC may cover an entire state or a large region encompassing multiple counties.
Types of Programs Funded by CoC
The CoC Program funds several distinct types of housing and services, each designed to serve different needs along the continuum from homelessness to permanent housing.
Emergency Shelter (ES)
Emergency shelters provide immediate, short-term housing for people who have no other safe place to stay. CoC-funded shelters typically offer beds, meals, showers, and basic services. The goal of emergency shelter is to provide safety and stability while connecting individuals to longer-term housing solutions.
While CoC funding supports some emergency shelters, many shelters are funded through other sources including the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program, state and local government funds, and private donations. Emergency shelter is often the first point of contact with the homeless services system.
Transitional Housing (TH)
Transitional housing provides temporary housing — typically for 6 to 24 months — combined with supportive services designed to help individuals and families prepare for and achieve permanent housing. Transitional housing programs often include case management and individualized service planning, employment assistance and job training, life skills development (budgeting, cooking, time management), substance abuse treatment, mental health services, and educational programs.
Transitional housing serves as a bridge between emergency shelter and permanent housing. It's particularly useful for individuals who need time and support to address barriers such as substance use, unemployment, or lack of independent living skills before they're ready for permanent housing.
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)
Permanent Supportive Housing combines affordable, long-term housing with ongoing supportive services for individuals with disabilities — including chronic physical health conditions, mental illness, substance use disorders, or developmental disabilities — who have experienced chronic homelessness.
PSH is based on the Housing First model, which prioritizes getting people into permanent housing as quickly as possible without preconditions such as sobriety or participation in treatment programs. Once housed, residents receive voluntary supportive services tailored to their needs.
Key features of PSH include permanent, lease-based housing (there is no time limit on how long someone can stay), rent set at an affordable level (typically 30% of income), voluntary supportive services including case management, mental health treatment, substance abuse services, and life skills support, and services provided on-site or through community partnerships.
Research consistently shows that PSH is highly effective at ending chronic homelessness, with housing retention rates typically exceeding 85%.
Rapid Rehousing (RRH)
Rapid Rehousing provides short-term to medium-term rental assistance and services to help people who are experiencing homelessness move into permanent housing as quickly as possible. Unlike PSH, which provides ongoing assistance indefinitely, RRH is time-limited — typically lasting 3 to 24 months depending on the individual's needs.
RRH programs typically provide help finding an apartment (housing search and landlord engagement), short-term rental assistance (paying a portion or all of the rent), move-in costs (security deposits, first and last month's rent, utility deposits), case management and housing stabilization services, and connections to community resources for ongoing support.
RRH is designed for individuals and families who can maintain housing independently once the initial barriers (lack of security deposit, rental history gaps, etc.) are overcome. It's become one of the primary interventions for families experiencing homelessness.
Supportive Services Only (SSO)
SSO programs provide services without directly providing housing. These programs might offer outreach to people living on the streets or in encampments, day center services (meals, showers, laundry, mail, phone access), employment and education programs, health and mental health services, and legal assistance.
SSO programs play a critical role in engaging people who are not yet ready for or connected to housing programs. Street outreach teams, for example, build relationships with individuals living outside and help connect them to shelter, housing, and services when they're ready.
Coordinated Entry
Coordinated Entry is a process that ensures all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access to the community's homeless services system. Rather than having individuals navigate multiple agencies and waitlists independently, Coordinated Entry provides a standardized access and assessment process.
Coordinated Entry typically works through designated access points where individuals can present for help (these may be shelters, day centers, hotlines, or other locations), a standardized assessment tool that evaluates each person's needs and vulnerabilities, a prioritization process that matches the most vulnerable individuals to the most intensive resources, and a referral process that connects individuals to appropriate housing programs.
Most communities use the Vulnerability Index - Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) or a similar standardized assessment. This ensures that limited resources are directed to those with the greatest needs, rather than on a first-come, first-served basis.
How to Access CoC Services
Step 1: Contact Coordinated Entry
The primary way to access CoC-funded services is through your community's Coordinated Entry system. You can reach Coordinated Entry by calling 211 and asking for homeless services or coordinated entry, visiting a designated access point in your community, contacting your local CoC directly, or presenting at an emergency shelter, which can connect you to the coordinated entry process.
Step 2: Complete an Assessment
Through Coordinated Entry, you'll complete a standardized assessment. This is a series of questions about your current situation, housing history, health, and other factors. The assessment helps determine what type of housing intervention is most appropriate for your needs.
Answer honestly — the assessment is designed to help connect you with the right resources, and there's no advantage to under-reporting or over-reporting your situation.
Step 3: Get Prioritized and Referred
Based on your assessment, you'll be placed on a prioritized list. Individuals with the highest vulnerability scores and longest histories of homelessness are typically prioritized for the most intensive interventions (like PSH). Those with fewer barriers may be referred to rapid rehousing or other less intensive programs.
Wait times for housing programs vary by community and by program type. Your local CoC or coordinated entry staff can give you a general idea of current wait times.
Step 4: Engage with Services
While waiting for a housing referral, take advantage of available services — case management, employment assistance, health care, substance abuse treatment, and other supports. Staying engaged with the system and maintaining contact with your case manager ensures you're reachable when a housing opportunity becomes available.
Understanding the HMIS
The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a database used by CoC-funded programs (and many other homeless service providers) to record and track information about the people they serve. When you access services through a CoC-funded program, your information will be entered into HMIS.
HMIS data is used to coordinate services across providers so you don't have to repeat your story at every agency, track outcomes and measure program effectiveness, report to HUD on how federal funds are being used, and conduct the annual Point-in-Time Count and other planning activities.
HMIS data is protected by privacy and security standards. Your information is shared only among providers who need it to coordinate your care, and you have the right to review your HMIS record and request corrections.
How CoC Programs Are Funded
CoC programs are funded through an annual competitive grant process. Each year, local CoCs submit a consolidated application to HUD requesting funding for individual projects within their community. HUD reviews and ranks these applications and awards funding based on community need, program performance, and strategic priorities.
This competitive structure means that the types and quantities of programs available vary by community. Some CoCs have robust networks of PSH, RRH, and transitional housing; others have more limited options. HUD has increasingly prioritized funding for permanent housing solutions (PSH and RRH) over transitional housing, reflecting research on what most effectively ends homelessness.
Local match requirements mean that communities must contribute some local funding to leverage federal CoC dollars, which is why local government support for homeless services significantly impacts what's available in each community.
AssistanceFinder.org is an independent informational resource and is not affiliated with HUD or any government agency. Services available vary by community. Contact your local CoC or call 211 to learn about resources in your area.