Planning and Development

Planning and Development works to expand and improve services for homeless and low income families and individuals in Cambridge. Our work involves:

  • Acting as the lead agency for the Cambridge Continuum of Care, a network of homeless service providers and other stakeholders that collaborate to meet the diverse needs of the City’s homeless population.
  • Engages local stakeholders and coordinates planning related to our community’s response to homelessness. Finding Solutions to Homelessness in Cambridge was developed in 2016 following an extensive community planning process.
  • Grants management, including monitoring service providers to ensure the highest level of service.
  • Overseeing proposals and reporting for entitlement and competitive local, state and federal grants including the Community Development Block Grant, the Emergency Solutions Grant, and the Continuum of Care Grants.
  • Serving as the lead agency for the Cambridge Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a HUD required database used to collect, track and report information on homeless client needs and services.
  • Maintaining and updating the Directory of Resources for People who are Homeless in Cambridge.
  • Conducting the annual Point-in-Time count of persons experiencing homelessness.