Continuum of Care overview: local HUD funding, point-in-time trends and a push for better outreach data

The Ithaca City Coordinated Unhoused Services Planning Special Committee heard a detailed overview of the Continuum of Care’s work on June 1, 2026, including local homelessness counts, funding streams and data gaps that hinder outreach to people living outdoors.

Litty Barger, an invited Continuum of Care contributor, said the local COC brings in "about 1.6 million annually from HUD and that gets awarded locally," and described the COC’s mission to "prevent and end homelessness" through systemwide coordination. Barger said the county’s 2025 point-in-time count showed 155 people — down from 298 in 2023 — and that a recently submitted report shows the number is “almost the same” as 2025 at roughly 170 people.

Why it matters: the committee is advising city policy on unsheltered homelessness and will use COC data and recommendations to evaluate interventions. Barger emphasized the operational and information gaps that limit outreach and placement: "one of the things that we don't have is good data... we need to find a way to build the data about people who are living outdoors." She recommended improving data integration between street-outreach teams and the COC’s client management systems.

Barger described the coordinated entry system as a "no wrong door" approach with roughly two dozen trained access points and a vulnerability-based prioritization process for permanent supportive housing. She said approximately 234 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units exist in the community for people experiencing homelessness and named prominent local providers: Tompkins Community Action (Amichi House, Magnolia House, Chartwell House, Asteri Art House), The Learning Web (scattered-site PSH), Salvation Army and Catholic Charities.

Committee members pressed for detail on supportive services and client expectations. Barger said services are voluntary and case-management focused, not clinical: staff "check in with you regularly" and help with housing stability and goals, while tenants remain subject to lease-based compliance rules. On youth and age patterns, she cited point-in-time breakdowns and said the COC saw 38 youth (ages 18–25) in emergency shelter over 2025 and 12 youth in the point-in-time night count.

On outreach coordination, Barger credited recent improvements in cross-agency trust. She said the COC participates in "by-name" case conferencing that includes outreach workers, DSS and frontline providers — a practice that reduces duplication and helps resolve eligibility misunderstandings (for example, whether someone is actually sanctioned at DSS).

What’s next: Barger said federal funding priorities are shifting and that a HUD NOFO for support-services-only projects or encampment infrastructure could be released soon; she expected more clarity by the committee’s July meeting and said she would share the presentation and data packet with members.