Mission Statement:
Collin County Homeless Coalition is a collaborative effort of individuals and agencies who address the challenges of homelessness in our community. Through Education, advocacy, mutual support and the sharing of resources, we strive to prevent and respond to homelessness as well as increase the ability of the community to respond to individual needs.
Efforts to End Homelessness
In 2001, President Bush reactivated the
Interagency Council on Homelessness, originally established in 1987, to better coordinate the efforts of 18 federal agencies in addressing the needs of homeless persons. The Interagency Council issued a call for cities and counties throughout the U.S. to develop 10-year plans to end homelessness. Responding to that call, in 2004, the City of Plano sought to coordinate the construction of a plan to end chronic homelessness in Collin County. “
Homeward Bound, a County-Wide Plan to End Chronic Homelessness" is the plan for Collin County. The plan was approved by the City of Plano City Council in December 2004, and distributed to other non-profit and governmental entities throughout Collin County. The Collin County Homeless Coalition was formed after establishing the County-wide plan. The City of Plano is an active participant in the Collin County Homeless Coalition and the
Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) in order to ensure that the needs of homeless individuals in the City of Plano and Collin County are met.
The Collin County Homeless Coalition
The Collin County Homeless Coalition was organized to continuing the efforts began with the County-Wide Plan and end homelessness in Collin County. The Coalition is comprised of representatives from non-profit agencies, Collin County cities, and school districts. The Coalition recognizes that the federal government’s definition of Chronic Homelessness does not always address the issues of homelessness as seen in Collin County. Consequently, the Collin County Homeless Coalition’s definition of homelessness includes, individuals and/or families living in shelters, cars, moving from house to house sleeping on someone’s couch (AKA “Couch Surfing”), and those that for one reason or another do not have a permanent place of residents that they call home.
The City of Plano continues to be an active participant of the Collin County Homeless Coalition. Each year since 2005, the Coalition has performed a “Point in Time” Homeless Count. Links to:
2007 Count, 2008 Count, 2009 Count.