The Homeless Task Force (HTF) for the Topeka/Shawnee County area is made up of local government entities, social service agencies, medical and mental health providers. This organization is an advocacy, information sharing, coordination, and program development organization devoted to preventing and solving homelessness in Shawnee County, Kansas.
If you would like to attend the HTF monthly meetings, please see the scheduled meeting day below:
- 2nd Wednesday of each month
- 1:00 pm
- Normally meets at Avondale East NET Center
455 SE Golf Park Blvd.
Topeka, KS 66605 - Due to COVID-19 concerns, meetings are currently being held via video conference. For information on how to view the meeting(s), please contact Carrie Higgins chiggins@topeka.org.
Review the HTF Operational Policies / By-Laws
Continuum of Care
- 2023 Approved Consolidated Application
- 2023 Approved CoC Priority Listing
- 2022 Continuum of Care Application
- 2022 Special Continuum of Care Application
- Continuum of Care Review and Ranking Process
- 2022 COC Project Applications & Scores
- 2022 COC Final Points on Applications
- CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity
The Topeka/Shawnee County Continuum of Care (CoC) is a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness. One of the most important activities entrusted to all CoC’s is the annual count of the homeless population and an annual enumeration of emergency systems, supportive services, transitional housing units, and beds that make up the homeless assistance systems. These counts provide an overview of state of homelessness in a CoC, and offer the information necessary to redirect services, funding, and resources as necessary.
The CoC also manages some of these services, offering both prevention strategies and homeless assistance programs to assist those at-risk of, or experiencing homelessness. To assist with the outreach, prevention, diversion, and triage process of prioritizing housing placements, a coordinated entry system was established.
The Homeless Task Force (HTF) is the governing body of the CoC for the Topeka/Shawnee County. Annually, a Notice of Funding Availability will be released from the HTF Continuum for the purpose of confirming or denying continuing projects for renewal, and to accept and rank new applications for funding in anticipation of, or following the Housing and Urban Development CoC Competition NOFA release.
Coordinated Entry System
The Coordinated Entry System (CES) is for single adults, youth, and families to coordinate supportive services and housing resources across the Topeka/Shawnee County area, to form a collaborative, no-wrong door network that connects homeless individuals and households to services and housing.