Linda was facing homelessness and lived in her car with her small dog, Baby, for several years. That was until she made contact with CFTH, where she was assessed for her housing and service needs. With their help, Linda eventually moved into Permanent Supportive Housing at The Elwood. She continued to live there until 2022, when she received a hip replacement. Linda needed a more accessible apartment because of this, and The Meridan had a ground-floor unit available. Both apartment complexes were built by the Housing Initiative, LLC for people ending their homelessness through Permanent Supportive Housing. The Vancouver Housing Authority provides property management and service coordination. SeaMar/Community Services Northwest provides supportive services.
As Election Day, November 8th, 2022, fast approaches, it is important to know that both housed and unhoused Clark County residents can vote!
People can register to vote and vote in person now through Election Day – November 8th, 2022, at the Clark County Elections office located at 1408 Franklin Street, Vancouver. The office is open 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.
“People just need a landmark near where they stay”, according to Laura Ellsworth, Strategic Partnerships and Advocacy Manager of the Council for the Homeless. “An address of a shelter, a library they go to, or even an address that is an intersection near where someone spends a lot of time,” Ellsworth said.
Council for the Homeless is happy to announce the opening of The Meridian, a 46-unit permanent supportive housing project in Clark County, Washington. The Meridian was built by the Housing Initiative, LLC, a CFTH subsidiary, and began construction in early 2021. The first two permanent supportive housing projects of the Housing Initiative, LLC are The Pacific and The Elwood. The Meridian features onsite services from our partners at the Vancouver Housing Authority and SeaMar-Community Services Northwest, allowing tenants to access resources each day. Services relate to their physical, mental, and behavioral health needs, assistance with activities of daily living, accessing employment or hobbies, and healing from the trauma of homelessness.
Council for the Homeless has named Sesany Fennie-Jones as their new Executive Director. Fennie-Jones will begin her role in late-September after relocating from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she led an organization that provides emergency shelter and supportive housing to women and children. Fennie-Jones is a collaborative and passionate leader, who brings key stakeholders together to improve outcomes of historically marginalized populations.
We are entering a time of year when the temperatures dip and the suffering of those living outside increases. But the cold presents opportunities for warm compassion. America has many sides to her, yet one of the most beautiful is the acts of care between our neighbors and within our communities.
Council for the Homeless has been a catalyst for many projects throughout the years in partnership with community agencies and local groups. We are pleased to announce the 2021 Catalyst Grant funding opportunity is open to organizations in our community working to support our neighbors who are unhoused.
On behalf of the Continuum of Care Steering Committee, please see important information below regarding the FY2021 Continuum of Care (CoC) funding opportunity for new bonus funding, reallocated and renewal projects.
The FY2021 Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been released.
As a team, everyone at Council for the Homeless (CFTH) strives to make sure that all of our clients feel empowered and included, that they matter as individuals. All of this hard work is one in many ways, including data collection and analysis. We also solicit direct feedback from clients on the quality of our work.
It is our responsibility as service providers to understand and remedy racial disparities that occur when people access emergency shelter and housing assistance in our community,” shares CFTH Executive Director, Kate Budd. “We do this by breaking down program data by race and ethnicity and analyzing the outcomes of each program,” she says.
Siobhana McEwen brings a powerful background to her new role as Equity and Advocacy Director for Council for the Homeless.
She grew up in a small Midwestern town, but served aboard one of the oldest Navy aircraft carriers to sail the seas. She has a Master’s degree, but learned much of what drives her through oral histories of community elders, neighbors, and loved ones. She is biracial but is often seen as white. She has been a journalist, teacher, and direct service provider…
