KANKAKEE CITY — City staff presented an updated Continuum of Care (CoC) system map on Nov. 3, outlining how people who are homeless or at risk flow through local intake, crisis housing, prevention and longer-term programs.

Marlena Calvin, ECDA staff, told the Community Development Committee the map is a working document that will change as agencies join the process and as funding and program availability shift. "This is gonna be one of those things that kind of keeps evolving as we make corrections, identify gaps, and fix them," she said.

The map centers on a coordinated entry point operated locally as a homeless helpline run by Fortitude Community Outreach. Calvin said callers are screened for immediate needs and routed — including direct referral paths for veterans to veteran-specific services — and that people who are currently homeless are added to a weekly "by-name" list used by agencies to prioritize and match openings.

Calvin said the assessment of current services shows several persistent gaps: no emergency shelter that participates in the CoC, no local medical respite program participating in the CoC, limited reentry programming within the CoC and an insufficient supply of housing affordable to large families. "We don't currently have an emergency shelter that participates in the CoC," she said. "We don't have a medical respite program locally, and we do not have a reentry program that participates in the CoC."

Staff stressed the practical consequences of nonparticipation. Barbie Brewer Watson, ECDA staff, explained that agencies that do not attend CoC meetings do not appear in the data ECDA must report to HUD, which limits the city's ability to direct callers to those programs and reduces the agencies' visibility for HUD-related funding opportunities. "If our CoC can't verify that that person has attended meetings, that they're on the minutes, then we wouldn't be able to certify as a CoC that they are a participating entity," she said.

The presentation flagged a pilot program called Homeward Bound, in which the police department is participating on the planning team to identify needs for people who spend time downtown but are not necessarily homeless. Calvin also said CoC partners are developing a countywide shelter strategy and a pilot to better link outreach and service providers.

Committee members asked whether nonparticipating shelters could be brought into the CoC to increase volunteer support and access to funding. Calvin said participation may help over time through networking and sharing practices but is unlikely to solve immediate volunteer shortages.

Calvin urged persistence from people seeking help: she said callers should use the helpline regularly because program openings and funding can change quickly. "If they said they've already called, then tell them to call again because programs change and money becomes available," she said.

No formal actions or votes on CoC policy were taken at the meeting. Staff said they would continue outreach to local providers and planned to return with more detail on the countywide shelter strategy and any pilot outcomes.