PURPOSE
The purpose of the Wake Continuum of Care (CoC) is to create a collaborative, inclusive, community-based process and approach to plan for and manage homeless assistance resources and programs effectively and efficiently to end homelessness.
MISSION
The Wake County CoC plans, develops, and implements comprehensive and coordinated strategies across funding sources and systems to address homelessness in Raleigh/Wake County.
VISION
The vision of the Wake County CoC is to ensure that homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time. We will achieve this vision through our shared values and actions.
Values
Housing First:
We recognize that housing is a human right and will not require pre-conditions for access to housing.
Trauma-Informed:
We use trauma-informed practices in how we work together and serve people experiencing homelessness.
Equity and Justice:
We work to eliminate discrimination so that race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation are not predictors of who becomes homeless or predictors of outcomes within the homeless system. We are committed to re-envisioning just systems to prevent and end homelessness.
Leadership by People with Lived Experience:
We are accountable to people experiencing homelessness and ensure there are meaningful and accessible ways to participate in shaping decisions.
Transparency:
We believe in being transparent with people experiencing homelessness and our community.
Efficiency:
We implement efficient systems that help people experiencing homelessness get housing as quickly as possible because every day a person spends unhoused is a day too many.
Collaboration:
We know working together is better than working alone.
Client-Driven:
We believe that people experiencing homelessness are experts in their own lives and that service providers’ role is to support strengths and overcome barriers.
What is a continuum of care?
Continuum of Care (CoC) is the collective networks, institutions, and organizations that provide housing and services to people who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness.
Federally mandated goals of the CoC include:
- Promote a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness;
- Provide funding for efforts to quickly re-house individuals and families who are homeless, which minimizes the trauma and dislocation caused by homelessness;
- Promote access to and effective use of mainstream programs;
- Optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
The technical name for our local Continuum of Care is:
Wake County Continuum of Care – NC 507
The CoC is governed by a board composed of community members invested in the issue of homelessness. The CoC Board is an independent entity, but is not incorporated, so must appoint local entities to conduct business on behalf of the Board and CoC at large.