Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH)/Continuum of Care (COC)
For the last two years, leaders in the business community and our non-profit partners worked collaboratively to develop strategies to meet the needs of citizens experiencing homelessness effectively, equitably, and efficiently. The Chatham-Savannah Continuum of Care (CoC) now reconstituted as the Chatham-Savannah Interagency Council on Homelessness is the county-wide initiative addressing homelessness. This critical partnership represents key stakeholder organizations and individuals’ collaborative work to create and implement an effective and sustainable system responding to the challenges and complexities around the experience of homelessness in our community.
The ICH/CoC serves as the umbrella organization required by HUD to work with applicants and service providers through the Housing and Urban Development Notice of Funding Opportunity annually to ensure funds are granted and distributed to qualifying organizations supporting our homeless community members. The HUD and ICH/CoC are tasked with selecting the local agency responsible for coordinating all service providers’ applications for federal, state, and local funds. The collaborative applicant or Lead Agency for our local ICH/CoC is the Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless (CSAH).
On Thursday, May 5, 2022 the CoC unanimously voted to expand the CoC, add government partners and other strategic stakeholders, and change its name to the Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Jennifer (Darsey) DuLong, the Executive Director of the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless on the ICH Expansion to CoC
Announcements
Strategic Plan RFP
The Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) of Savannah and Chatham County is seeking proposals for professional consulting services to assist the ICH in developing a five-year strategic plan to make homelessness in the City of Savannah (City) and Chatham County (County) rare, brief, and non-reoccurring. The plan must work towards Functional Zero homelessness and address the unique challenges of a City and County that have a diverse economy, accelerated job growth, and increasing housing demands. In light of the recent COVID-19 global pandemic, the plan should also address how unexpected challenges can rapidly change the needs of the homeless community and the need for workforce housing as well as the financial and economic impacts of these challenges.
The Strategic Plan document will serve as a vital tool and roadmap for Savannah and Chatham County to utilize in setting direction; forging partnerships; and allocating resources for the next five years. Building consensus and buy-in among the community, homeless service providers, various government departments, and other key stakeholders will be critical to the success of this plan.
Please note, respondents will be responsible to absorb all costs incurred in the preparation and presentation of their proposal.
PIT Count 2023
Recently, the 2023 Point-in-Time Count results were distributed to local community partners and media outlets and we are excited to say that improvements in methodology revealed a clearer picture of homelessness in Chatham County.
Here is a quick snapshot of the results:
“Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless recently released their 2023 Point-In-Time Count. The data showed there were 712 persons experiencing homelessness in Chatham County and Savannah during the annual Point in Time (PIT) Count held on January 26, 2023. The PIT count includes both persons residing in local shelters (441) as well as persons residing in places not meant for human habitation (271). PIT counts are conducted across the nation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD) during the last 10 days in January. By comparison, the local PIT count in 2022 was 523 persons experiencing homelessness, and in 2021, the PIT count was 323 persons.”
HUD Awards
ICH BOARD MEMBERS
Anthony 'Wayne' Noha
Jennifer Dulong
Karen Guinn
Katrina Bostick
Linda James
Michael Traynor
Peter W. Roberts
Reginald Lee
Shaina Copeland
Terry Tolbert
Jennifer Davenport
Michael Kaigler
Tim Salley
Robert 'Mario' Simmons
Jospeh 'Jay' Melder
Earline Davis
Kerri Reid
Janice Sheffield
Taffanye Young
Stephanie Kaple
Mark Johnson
ICH GENERAL MEMBERS
| Anthony “Wayne” Noha | Chatham Emergency Services |
| Ariana Berksteiner | Emmaus House Soup Kitchen |
| Earline Davis | Housing Authority of Savannah |
| Carlos Baker | Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless |
| Cheri Dean | United Way of the Coastal Empire |
| Jennifer Darsey | Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless |
| Coco Papy | Deep Center |
| Eula Parker | South State Bank |
| Gena Taylor | Greenbriar Children’s Center |
| Holden Hayes | South State Bank |
| Hunter Hall | Community Member |
| Jackie Jackson | Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission |
| Janice E. Sheffield | Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless |
| Jeannie Alday | Community Member |
| Ariane Wallace | United Way of the Coastal Empire |
| John Griffin Miller | Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless |
| Julie Wade | Park Place Outreach |
| Karen Guinn | Community Member (Collective Marketing) |
| Karen Jones | Savannah Technical College |
| Katrina Bostick | Family Promise of the Coastal Empire |
| Laurie Silvers Ross | Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless |
| Anthony “Wayne” Noha | Chatham Emergency Services |
| Ariana Berksteiner | Emmaus House Soup Kitchen |
| Lee Robbins | The Mediation Center of the Coastal Empire |
| Linda James | The Salvation Army |
| Lizann Roberts | Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition |
| Lydia McCrary | Chatham Emergency Services |
| Mary Jane Crouch | America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia |
| Melanie Wilson | Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission |
| Michael Traynor | Union Mission |
| Peter W. Roberts | Savannah Volunteer Dental Clinic |
| Reginald Lee | Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council |
| Rosalyn Green | Family Promise of the Coastal Empire |
| Shaina Thompson | Georgia Legal Services Program |
| Stacey Murray | Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless |
| S. Lynn Coleman | Housing Authority of Savannah |
| Tara G. Jennings | Chatham County |
| Terry Enoch | Board of Education Police Department |
| Terry Tolbert | Economic Opportunity for Savannah-Chatham County Area, Inc. |
| Timothy Salley | Community Member |
| Tommie Jones | Union Mission |
| Valeria H. Flowers | Wesley Community Centers of Savannah |
| Vicki Center | Community Member |
| William Hubbard | Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce |
| Yvonne Pryor | Inner City Night Shelter |