Training and Technical Assistance

With a mission of ending homelessness and promoting affordable housing, COHHIO is involved in a range of housing assistance services in Ohio, including homeless prevention, emergency shelters, transitional housing and permanent affordable housing with linkages to supportive services. COHHIO assists hundreds of housing organizations and homeless service providers in Ohio through public policy advocacy, training and technical assistance, research and public education. COHHIO provides technical assistance to homeless service providers and affordable housing organizations throughout the state. In any given year, COHHIO provides ongoing support, information dissemination, technical assistance and referrals for approximately 200 community-based nonprofit organizations. These organizations in turn offer housing assistance and supportive services to homeless individuals and families in each of the state's 88 counties. COHHIO's technical assistance prepares communities with the tools and knowledge necessary to increase their capacity to address homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. Assistance includes repeated site-visits, speaking at workshops and/or conferences, sponsoring task forces, attending board and committee meetings, organizing trainings and seminars, meeting with state and local government officials, distributing printed materials and maintaining routine contact with providers via phone and/or e-mail. Beginning in 2007, COHHIO dedicated a staff person to specifically work with rural homeless and affordable housing providers to provide technical assistance, training and capacity building to specifically meet the needs in rural communities. COHHIOs trainings and technical assistance is available upon a request-response basis.

Services Provided: Accessing Mainstream Housing; Accessing Mainstream Services and Supports; Continuums of Care; Homelessness Prevention; Housing Operations; Housing Project Development; HUD Grant Administration; Organizational Capacity Building; Performance Measurement; Serving Chronically Homeless Persons

Although COHHIO's assistance relates to several topics, targeted assistance is available in the following areas:

Permanent Supportive Housing

Through funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) and the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH), COHHIO provides training and technical assistance targeted specifically at the development of permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities.

Continuum of Care

COHHIO has also concentrated on providing in-depth community-wide training and technical assistance regarding local Continuum of Care planning processes. Since 1997, COHHIO has provided technical assistance to local communities regarding the development and implementation of comprehensive local strategies to better meet the needs of homeless individuals and families.