CCHP Explained: Supplementary Programs

On July 1, 2020, the City of Houston, Harris County, and the Coalition for the Homeless announced a joint $65-million plan called the Community COVID Housing Program (CCHP), which will serve 5,000 people experiencing homelessness over the course of two years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This four-part series, CCHP Explained, will dive into how we are serving those individuals and families through our COVID response: two permanent housing programs (Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-housing), one new pilot intervention (Diversion), and four additional programs (Auxiliary/Social Distancing Emergency Shelters, Mental Health Case Management, Enhanced Street Outreach, and Permanent Supportive Housing Preservation).

Over the past four weeks, we’ve been thrilled to share with you this innovative program. This work could not be done without the dedicated collaboration between our many private and public partners. Our region is proud to be leading the way in innovation for ending homelessness and responding to the pandemic. Today, join us for the last entry in our series as we dive into the four additional programs that round out the CCHP by accelerating access to permanent housing.

Auxiliary/Social Distancing Emergency Shelters

The shelters in The Way Home Continuum of Care work hard to offer safe accommodations to as many people experiencing homelessness as possible. At the onset of COVID, social distancing guidelines added an extra challenge in keeping individuals safe. In the interest of the health and safety of clients and staff, shelters had to decrease capacity.

Emergency shelters helped curb the spread of COVID amongst people living in these congregate settings. Two auxiliary/social distancing emergency shelters—one men’s shelter operated by The Salvation Army of Greater Houston and a women’s shelter operated by Catholic Charities—were established following CDC guidelines. These shelters replaced some of the beds lost in other shelters due to decreased capacity and gave our existing shelters more space to allow for proper social distancing.

Housing assessments are also done for those staying in the emergency shelters, getting them on the waitlist for the right permanent housing program for them. Thanks to increased resources provided by the CCHP, including our Bridge Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-housing programs, many people from these social distancing emergency shelters are being permanently housed.

Mental Health Case Management

Case managers work with clients who have been permanently housed to help them acclimate to their new life, including connecting them to resources like income or food. Thanks to the CCHP, it also means connections to mental health supports.

Some clients have acute mental health crises or pre-existing disabilities that can make it challenging to maintain housing. The CCHP has provided resources for a new team administered through our local mental health authority, The Harris Center. These teams provide intensive, hands-on behavioral and mental health supports to the clients we serve who may be experiencing a mental health crisis.

If the client is willing to participate, a case manager can submit a referral to The Harris Center. The Harris Center can then conduct a consultation and determine what mental health social services, if any, are most appropriate for the client.

These services are designed to increase residential stability, help people remain off the streets, and help them maintain their connections to care. They are open to all housing programs and are only contingent on whether the client wants to participate.

Enhanced Street Outreach

Enhanced Street Outreach are additional outreach teams we added to make sure we have full coverage throughout our Continuum of Care. Thanks to the CCHP, we have been able to expand homeless outreach to those living unsheltered outside of the inner-city core and into unincorporated Harris County. This team, employed by the Coalition, moves outside the walls of the agency to engage with people experiencing homelessness who may be disconnected from mainstream services and supports. Outreach teams provide on-the-spot assistance, assessments, and referral to housing.

The Coalition’s outreach team has also been able to tackle encampments thanks to additional CCHP resources. The Coalition for the Homeless, City of Houston, Harris County, and other partners have worked together to decommission five encampments so far in 2021. All individuals residing at these encampments have been offered a housing option, and the most of them have now been housed in one of our permanent housing programs.

Thanks to the success we have seen in these five decommissions, the Coalition is developing Encampment Response Practice Standards. This project will document effective encampment decommissioning results as a national best practice and define strategy for ongoing encampment work.

Permanent Supportive Housing Preservation

Permanent Supportive Housing Preservation was put in place to ensure that individuals housed prior to COVID did not see any of their housing or services disrupted at such a precarious time. CCHP resources were able to preserve these PSH units. Permanent Supportive Housing preservation was offered to all existing PSH providers.

Missed part one? CCHP Explained: Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing

Missed part two? CCHP Explained: Rapid Re-housing
Missed part three? CCHP Explained: Diversion

Questions about the CCHP? Contact CCHP@homelesshouston.org.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

CFTH Leads 2026 PIT Count of People Experiencing Homelessness

By Catherine Villarreal • February 24, 2026

Houston, Texas (February 24, 2026) – This week, the nonprofit Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (CFTH) is leading the annual Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey (“PIT Count”) to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness across Houston and throughout Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties. “We may see a slight uptick in the number this year, but we have a plan,” said Kelly Young, President & CEO of CFTH. “With the support of the City of Houston, Harris County, and private funders, we have been piloting new interventions to shorten the length of time people in our region experience homelessness. With adequate funding, we look forward to expanding those interventions to help people regain lives of self-determination.” CFTH coordinates the Houston region’s public-private homeless response system, The Way Home . Through this collaboration, The Way Home partners have successfully housed over 36,000 people since 2012. CFTH will release the results of Houston’s 2026 PIT Count in the summer, following independent verification by an epidemiologist. These findings will provide insight into how factors such as increases in the cost of living and the end of federal pandemic relief funding have impacted homelessness in our region. More information about the 2026 Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey The PIT Count offers a snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness in our region on a single night. This year, the “night of record” is Monday, Feb. 23. CFTH determines the number of people staying in shelters on that night by pulling records electronically from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) . The unsheltered count will be conducted on the following days, from Tuesday, Feb. 24 to Thursday, Feb. 26. More than 400 volunteers and staff of local nonprofit service provider partners will canvass the three-county region to survey people living unsheltered, using an app on their mobile devices. Results from the 2026 PIT Count will help gauge the progress of The Way Home’s ongoing collaborative efforts. It will also help CFTH and partner homeless outreach teams understand geographic shifts and target their outreach throughout the year. The PIT Count illuminates specific programmatic gaps and provides additional information needed to allocate resources most efficiently. The PIT Count is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for the annual Continuum of Care (CoC) funding process. HUD furnishes the majority of funding for programs that provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness in the region. In 2024, HUD granted more than $71 million to the Houston area.

Preparing for a Winter Storm

By Catherine Villarreal • January 21, 2026

As lead agency to The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), CFTH is working with local governmental entities to advocate on behalf of people experiencing homelessness to ensure their needs are being considered as winter weather affects our region. We will make frequent updates as we receive information. Please check back often for the latest information. Last updated 02/01/2026 at 12:00 p.m.

Press Release: CFTH’S 2025 Point-in-Time Count Results Highlight Shifts in Homelessness Across Houston

By Fryda Ochoa • September 9, 2025

While our system has helped thousands of people move from homelessness to housing, this year’s results highlight the need to broaden our approach.