Manchester CoC

Coordinated Entry

Information for Manchester providers

Coordinated Entry Overview

The Coordinated Entry System (CES) provides a single point of entry for people experiencing homelessness to access vital community resources. The CES is an important piece of a community’s housing crisis response system as it ensures that people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness can readily access and navigate housing assistance– no matter where in the community they first seek help. It is designed so that households are prioritized for and matched with the appropriate intervention as quickly as possible based on their vulnerability and severity of needs. Overall, the CES aims to standardize the access, assessment, prioritization and referral process across all agency providers in a community in order to quickly and successfully provide help.

In the Manchester Continuum of Care (MCoC), the Coordinated CES is managed by a team of representatives from MCoC partner agencies participating on the MCoC Coordinated Entry Subcommittee. The Coordinated Entry Subcommittee develops, implements, and oversees a system that ensures community providers collaboratively and efficiently connect households to the services and support programs to help end their homelessness. The Manchester CES is part of the New Hampshire Coordinated Entry Partnership and works closely with the Greater Nashua CoC (GNCoC) and the Balance of State CoC (BOSCoC) Coordinated Entry Systems. Coordinated Entry is organized at the regional level, but great care is taken to align our processes across New Hampshire continuums of care, while addressing regional differences as needed.

Manchester-Based Coordinated Entry Partners

The following Manchester partner agencies have staff who are trained to complete Coordinated Entry Assessments with clients:

- Regional Access Point for Adults and Families: Families in Transition

- Regional Access Point for Youth: Waypoint

- Regional Access Point for Domestic Violence: YWCA New Hampshire

- Regional Access Point for Veterans: Easterseals NH and Manchester Veterans Affairs (VA)

- Helping Hands

- The Home for Little Wanderers

- Harbor Care

- Southern NH Services

- The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester

- 1269 Café

 What is Coordinated Entry?

The Anyone who meets the HUD Category 1: “Literally Homeless” or Category 4: “Fleeing/Attempting to Flee Domestic Violence” definitions of Homelessness AND located in Manchester, NH may complete a Coordinated Assessment and be placed on the Manchester Coordinated Entry Prioritization List for available housing and service resources. Please see below examples of those who are eligible for Coordinated Entry based on the HUD criteria.

Eligible (not limited to these examples)

Individuals or families who are currently living:

· Out of a vehicle (does not include RVs that are habitable with access to utilities)

· On the streets

· In a park

· Outside in a tent

· In an emergency shelter or safe haven

· In a place not meant for human habitation

· Immediately exiting an institution (e.g., hospitals, jail, prison, treatment center) that you stayed for less than 90 days AND was literally homeless prior to being institutionalized

NOT Eligible (not limited to these examples):

Individuals or families who are currently living:

· Couch surfing/doubled-up or living in a hotel (not paid for by charitable organizations) for longer than 7 days with friends/family

· Living in a boarding home/shared-housing/halfway house/sober living/nursing home

· Institutionalized for longer than 90 days

NOTE: You may still be eligible for coordinated entry even if you are currently in one of these living situations if you are fleeing/attempting to flee DV. Eligibility will be ultimately determined by staff trained to do coordinated entry assessments when they meet with you.