The Continuum of Care serves two main purposes:

•  It is a strategic plan to address the use of HUD resources and their interface with other funding sources, developed through a community-based process to address home1essness based on; the identified needs of homeless individuals and families; the availability and accessibility of existing housing and services; and the opportunities for linkages with non-homeless mainstream housing and services resources. Through the Continuum of Care planning process, a community can:

•  Identify the size and scope of the homeless population;

•  Inventory the resources available in the community to address the problems of homelessness, including both homeless resources and non-homeless targeted housing and service resources (referred to as "mainstream" resources)

•  Identify health, substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness and HIV / AIDS resources and support services

•  Rank the community needs in order of priority

•  Strategically plan the range of services and housing that should be implemented to address homelessness

•  Identify available leveraging resources that can be used to address homelessness

It is an application to HUD for Mc Kinney Homeless Assistance resources. These resources are invaluable in providing housing and supportive services for people who are homeless. These funds are made available through a national competition announced each year in HUD's Notice of Funding Availability (known as the HUD SuperNOFA).