Join the Continuum of Care!

The CoC invites partners with lived experience, community advocates, nonprofit service providers, government entities, businesses, healthcare and behavioral health entities, schools and educational organizations, child welfare agencies, workforce development organizations, social services, culturally specific organizations, justice systems, faith-based communities, public housing authorities, developers, landlords, and housing and shelter providers to join us in our efforts to end homelessness and to create a county where everyone has equitable access to safe, affordable, dignified housing by becoming a member of the CoC.

Completing the application below is the first step to becoming a member of the CoC. Please allow 7-10 business days for application processing.

Member Criteria

To become a voting member of the Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care, a person must be a member of the Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care in good standing and complete a Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care Voting Member Application Form. Each application will be reviewed and approved by the Continuum of Care following CoC-approved application standards. Once the application form has been approved, the CoC will notify the person/agency of their voting status. There is no minimum or maximum number of voting members on the Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care.

An individual who does not represent an agency/organization may apply to be a voting member of the Continuum of Care to represent themselves.  An agency/organization may apply to receive voting status.

An agency/organization may identify one (1) person who may vote on behalf of the agency/organization. Only one (1) representative of an agency/organization may cast a vote on each action.

Member Responsibilities

  • Regularly attend and identify additional agency representation of various organizational levels to participate in the Systems of Care monthly membership meetings on the third Tuesday of every other month, at 3:00 pm via zoom unless otherwise indicated.
  • Actively participate in any relevant sub-committee or ad-hoc committee meetings and/or provide organizational updates.
  • Communicate back to their own organization, as appropriate, information shared at the membership meetings, events, and/or through e-mail communications.
  • Regularly participate in CoC-sponsored events including but not limited to the Point-in-Time Count
  • Annually update organization programmatic offerings with Gryphon Place @ abergeon@gryphon.org from the date of MOU execution.
  • If representation in organization/membership affiliation changes, provide written notification, when possible, to coc@uwscmi.org
  • Uphold the values of the CoC as an antiracist and equitable coalition.
  • Share organizational resources with other CoC members to help address housing and service needs of the county.

As a member of the CoC, you or your organization is eligible to:

  • Apply for new and/or renewal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)*.
  • Apply for new and/or renewal funding from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA)*.
  • Apply for funding from local grant opportunities including the CoC Mini-Grants and CoC Community Grant.
  • Partner with other members to make improvements in the housing response system.
  • Have their organization and programmatic offerings featured on the Gryphon Place community resource database.
  • Receive updates and communications including training opportunities
  • Become an HMIS user.

Our organization’s membership also supports: 

  • The implementation of the Plan to End Homelessness and the fulfillment of its goals and objectives
  • Strategic and communitywide planning to address/respond to homelessness
  • Events that raise awareness about the needs of the homeless in our community
  • The infrastructure of the Continuum of Care
  • Networking and Collaborative partnerships to create initiatives to support housing stabilization in Kalamazoo County