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 awarded Bestself Behavioral Health, Inc. $316,903 on October 1, 2025, under the Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267) to support youth homelessness prevention and intervention in Buffalo, New York.

Under the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program component of the CoC, Bestself will establish and operate projects serving households where no person is over age 24. Eligible activities include permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing for youth with disabilities, transitional housing, supportive services only, homeless management information systems (HMIS), and homelessness prevention. Project costs cover structure leasing and related eligible expenses for these five program components.

Bestself Behavioral Health, a nonprofit community-based behavioral health organization based in Buffalo, specializes in comprehensive services addressing mental health, substance abuse treatment, trauma support, and housing for children, youth, adults, and families across Western New York. The organization has received multiple prior grants from HUD, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and other federal agencies.

Performance occurs in Buffalo, New York 14203. The period of performance runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026.

Activities

These grants 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. Homelessness prevention (in some cases). Eligible costs within these projects include: 1. Leasing of a structure or structures, or portions thereof, to provide housing or supportive services; 2. 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; 3. Supportive services to assist program participants obtain and maintain housing; 4. Operating costs of supportive housing; 5. Costs of implementing and operating hmis; 6. Project administrative costs; 7. Relocation costs; and 8. 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 youth at risk of homelessness as set forth in 24 CFR 576.103 and 24 CFR 576.104, if necessary to prevent youth from becoming homeless. 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 of youth 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

Youth defined as households where no person is over the age of 24

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award