About This Site

The Maine Homeless Planning website is the official website of record for the Maine Continuum of Care and the Maine Statewide Homeless Council. The site is also used by MaineHousing and a number of committees, groups, and other organizations to publicly share information related to their efforts to end and prevent homelessness in our State.

Public postings on www.MaineHomelessPlanning.org are available to anyone who visits the site. You do not need to subscribe to view this information. If you would like to receive notifications when new posts are added, please subscribe by entering your email address in the subscription form in the footer of the website, indicating your areas of interest, and clicking the “Subscribe” button.

Maine Continuum of Care

The Maine Continuum of Care (MCOC) is a group of service providers who work together to plan and coordinate an inclusive system to help Maine people avoid or exit quickly from homelessness, and to address the underlying causes of homelessness. Applying to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for McKinney-Vento funding for HUD CoC funding is one way to work toward that goal. Local agencies wishing to access these funds must do so through their Continuum’s annual CoC NOFO application process.

The Maine Continuum of Care covers the entire State of Maine and supports projects throughout the region. MCoC is open to all individuals and organizations within the State of Maine that have an interest in, and subscribe to, the mission and policies of the MCOC and who, through their participation, will contribute to MCOC’s ability to carry out its mission. Membership is free and is open to the public. Organizations that receive COC or ESG (Emergency Solutions Grant) funding are required to be members in good standing of the Continuum of Care in order to continue to be eligible for funding.

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Maine Statewide Homeless Council

The Maine Statewide Homeless Council (SHC) serves as an advisory committee on homeless matters to the Governor, the Legislature, and various state agencies. The SHC is charged with providing leadership to end homelessness and supporting the three Regional Homeless Councils; educating people on homeless issues; serving as a coordinator of information; assessing statewide needs; identifying potential resources and improving access to them; and reviewing, monitoring and implementing plans to end homelessness in Maine.

The SHC consists of 14 members. The chair of the SHC is appointed by the Governor’s Office. The Governor also appoints six members, two from each Region, and three members are appointed jointly by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. All appointments are based on nominations from the three Regional Homeless Councils. The Director of the Maine State Housing Authority, the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, and the Director of the Bureau of Maine Veterans’ Services, or their designees, are also members.

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Regional Homeless Councils

There are three Regional Homeless Councils in Maine. Region 1 covers York and Cumberland Counties. Region 2 includes Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Franklin, Oxford, and Somerset Counties. Region 3 consists of Piscataquis, Penobscot, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook Counties.

Each Regional Council is made up of local service providers, advocates, and people with lived experience of homelessness, working together to address issues related to housing and homelessness in the communities they serve.