The continuum of care (COC) program is designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, states, and local…

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development awarded $2,075,090 to Barren River Area Safe Space, Inc. on January 1, 2026, under the Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267).

Barren River Area Safe Space, Inc. (BRASS), a nonprofit domestic violence shelter organization based in Bowling Green, Kentucky, uses the funding to operate emergency shelter, transitional housing with six units, and comprehensive supportive services for domestic violence victims and their dependents across the 10-county Barren River Area Development District in south-central Kentucky, serving Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson, and Warren Counties. The organization delivers an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 services annually, including bilingual advocacy, case management, counseling, legal aid, safety planning, and court advocacy for protective orders, with particular attention to underserved populations including rural residents, limited English proficient individuals, immigrants, and undocumented victims.

The award covers the period January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026, with place of performance in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Continuum of Care Program funds eligible costs to establish and operate housing and supportive services projects, including permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services only, and homeless management information systems, with the goal of ending homelessness while promoting self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing housing instability.

Activities

Continuum of care program funds may be used to pay for the eligible costs used to establish and operate projects under five program components: (1) permanent housing, which includes permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities, and rapid rehousing; (2) transitional housing; (3) supportive services only; (4) homeless management information systems (hmis), and (5) in some cases, homelessness prevention. Thirteen types of assistance may be provided through the continuum of care (COC) program: (1) COC planning activities/costs for designing and carrying out a collaborative process for the development of an application to HUD; (2) united funding agency (UFA) costs for fiscal control and accounting necessary to assure the proper disbursal of, and accounting for, federal funds awarded to subrecipients under the continuum of care program, (3) acquisition of real property (including structures) for use in the provision of housing or supportive services; (4) rehabilitation of structures to provide housing or supportive services; (5) new construction, including the building of a new structure or building an addition to an existing structure for use as supportive housing; (6) leasing of a structure or structures, or portions thereof, to provide housing or supportive services; (7) rental assistance, which may be short-term, medium-term, or long-term, as well as tenant-based, project-based, or sponsor-based, for transitional or permanent housing; (8) supportive services to assist program participants obtain and maintain housing; (9) operating costs of supportive housing; (10) costs of implementing and operating hmis; (11) project administrative costs; (12) relocation costs; and (13) indirect costs in accordance with 2 CFR parts 200, as applicable. In addition to using grant funds for the eligible costs described above, recipients and subrecipients in continuums of care designated as high performing communities may also use grant funds to provide housing relocation and stabilization services and short- and/or medium-term rental assistance to individuals and families at risk of homelessness as set forth in 24 CFR 576.103 and 24 CFR 576.104, if necessary to prevent the individual or family from becoming homeless. Limitation on use of funds: no assistance provided under program (or any state or local government funds used to supplement this assistance) may be used to replace state or local funds previously used, or designated for use, to assist homeless persons or persons at-risk of homelessness.

Expected outcomes

Decrease in the number individuals and families experiencing homelessness, more specifically using performance indicators such as the length of time homeless, returns to homelessness over time, and exits to permanent housing. COC performance profile reports can be found at https://WWW.hudexchange.info/programs/COC/COC-performance-profile-reports/.

Intended beneficiaries

Individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award.