The Plan
Montgomery County is committed to making the experience of homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring through a range of strategies. In November 2019, the Interagency Commission on Homelessness approved a revised Strategic Plan to End Homelessness after an extensive, community-wide planning process. The Plan's overarching goals are as follows:
- End homelessness among Veterans by 2015 -- Achieved!
- End homelessness among chronically homeless individuals by 2019 -- Achieved!
- End homelessness among families with children by the end of 2020
- End homelessness among youth (ages 16-24) by the end of 2021
- End homelessness among seniors by the end of 2022
- End homelessness among everyone in Montgomery County by the end of 2023
History of Montgomery County's efforts
In 2002, Montgomery County became one of the first localities nationally to develop a 10-year plan to end homelessness. The plan was developed as part of a community-wide planning process on three fronts:
- Closing the Front Door through efforts to prevent people from entering homelessness
- Opening the Back Door by rapidly moving people out of homelessness into permanent housing, and
- Building a Foundation to assure that people have access to employment, treatment and other supports that they need to be successful members of our community.
Housing First Model
Over the years, guided by the plan, the Montgomery County Continuum of Care has implemented a "Housing First" model that provides a range of housing services to persons experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, including:
- Outreach and engagement
- Emergency and transitional housing
- Safe havens
- Rapid-rehousing, and
- Permanent supportive housing
Removing Housing Barriers
Case management is provided at all levels of the continuum with an emphasis on removing housing barriers and connecting persons experiencing homelessness with housing, employment, disability entitlements and other behavioral health services. The continuum also utilizes a range of prevention strategies including emergency financial assistance, shallow rent subsidies, and energy assistance designed to prevent the loss of permanent housing.
