Using the 2017 CoC Competition to Strengthen Connections to Housing for Survivors of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness among families with children. This blog post from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) describes how communities can use the 2017 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) competition to increase access to housing for domestic violence survivors. There are four key ways that CoC leaders, homelessness service and housing providers, and domestic violence providers can strengthen their collaboration and partnerships. They can make sure they include victim services advocates as voting members on the CoC board, provide cross-training on trauma-informed care and other topics relevant to domestic violence, analyze data on the prevalence of domestic violence among people experiencing homelessness, and integrate safety planning into assessment procedures.