History

HUD developed the concept of the CoC in 1995 through its annual competition for homelessness assistance grants. The CoC was envisioned as a local network that plans and coordinates funding for services and housing to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

CoC’s are designed to:

Promote a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness
Provide funding for efforts for re-housing individuals and families experiencing homelessness, or at-risk of homelessness
Promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by individuals and families experiencing homelessness, or at-risk of homelessness
Optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness, or at-risk of homelessness

Collaborative Applicant / Lead Agency

The Office on Homelessness recognizes and designates local entities to serve as lead agencies for local planning efforts to coordinate homeless assistance continuum of care systems. The purpose of the local continuum of care is to help communities envision, plan and implement coordinated, long-term solutions to address homelessness.

UF Health St. Johns, formerly known as Flagler Hospital, became the Collaborative Applicant / Lead Agency for the St. Johns County Continuum of Care in December of 2017.

Our Collaborative Applicant / Lead Agency Team:

Victoria Hapner
Community Engagement Supervisor
victoria.hapner@ufhealth.org

Ronald White
Community Health Associate / Peer Support Specialist
ronald.white@ufhealth.org
(904) 522-2723

Casey Bridges
Continuum of Care Coordinator
casey.bridges@ufhealth.org
(904) 819-4080

Anita Daniel
Grant Management & CoC Lead
anita.daniel@ufhealth.org
(904) 819-4329

Hannah Evans
HMIS Coordinator
hannah.evans@ufhealth.org
(904) 819-8209

HMIS - WellSky Community Services

A Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a local information technology system used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness and persons at risk of homelessness. Each Continuum of Care is responsible for selecting an HMIS software solution that complies with HUD's data collection, management, and reporting standards.

WellSky Community Services is a tool that can assist agencies in focusing services and locating alternative resources to help persons experiencing homelessness and persons in need. WellSky Community Services is an entirely web-based system - hosted on a centralized server - coordinated by UF Health St. Johns. UF Health St. Johns is the HMIS Lead for St. Johns County, FL.

The St. Johns County Continuum of Care’s HMIS Point of Contact:

Hannah Evans
hannah.evans@ufhealth.org
(904) 819-8209

Do you have questions regarding HMIS and WellSky Community Services? Please complete the following Q&A form -

Submit Question(s)

Grants

The objective of the CoC is to improve the overall quality of life for individuals and/or families experiencing homelessness, or at risk of homelessness, through coordination with community agencies to provide quality services and programs including: facilities (i.e. shelters, transitional housing, etc.), prevention and re-housing initiatives (i.e. rental and financial assistance programs) and outreach and case management activities. Programs and services are funded by the competitively awarded: Challenge Grant(s), Emergency Solutions Grant(s), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Grants. These services will provide the populations affected by homelessness the assistance needed to gain self-sufficiency and make suitable living conditions available and sustainable.

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) administers homelessness funding in Florida. These funds are coordinated through local Continuums of Care (CoCs), as mandated by Florida Statute. The State Office on Homelessness establishes multi-year, unified contracts with each CoC, combining various eligible grants into a single contract.

On a broader scale, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awards significant funding through the CoC program. These funds are available to CoCs through a competitive process and support CoC positions as well as new programming to address priority areas such as: Youth and Domestic Violence (DV) Bonus projects.

No minimum income requirements are enforced to enter any of the below CoC-funded programs.

Program recipients must meet HUD definition(s) of homelessness (§ 578.3)

Official grant terms are contracted by fiscal year. The below information is accurate as of this current fiscal year – July 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2026.

CHALLENGE GRANt

The Challenge Grant program is authorized by Florida Statutes (section 420.622(4)). It provides annual grant funding to CoC lead agencies responsible for homeless assistance and enhances local efforts to address homelessness and improve outcomes for individuals experiencing housing instability. The objective of the Challenge Grant is to provide the housing, program and service needs included in the local homelessness assistance continuum of care plan. SJC CoC receives housing and program funds.

Challenge Housing Activities Include:

Prevention Rental/Mortgage Assistance, Prevention Utility Arrears Assistance, Rapid Re-Housing Rental Assistance (deposit and subsequent months’ rental assistance), Rapid Re-Housing Utility Assistance [FY2024 income must be below 200% Federal Poverty Level]

Challenge Program Activities includes costs related to maintaining program facilities and operations.

Challenge grant funds awarded: $773,436.39

Providers: St. Johns County Health and Human Services, St. Augustine Society/St. Francis House, Catholic Charities Bureau St. Augustine Regional Office, Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County, Safety Shelter of St Johns County/Betty Griffin Center

EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT (ESG)

ESG program funds provide emergency shelter to persons experiencing homelessness; engage persons living on the street through street outreach activities; provide homeless prevention to enable those in danger of losing their housing to remain stably housed; and to provide re-housing services to help those who are experiencing homelessness to become stably housed.

ESG grant funds awarded:

Street Outreach $ 35.574.89

Emergency Shelter $ 50,000.00

Prevention $ 103,342.26

Rapid Rehousing $ 33,476.02

ESG Street Outreach Provider: St. Augustine Society/St. Francis House

ESG Emergency Shelter Providers: St. Augustine Society/St. Francis House, Safety Shelter of St Johns County/Betty Griffin Center

ESG Prevention Providers: Catholic Charities Bureau St. Augustine Regional Office, St. Johns County Health and Human Services

[ESG Income Limit is 30% Average Monthly Income (AMI)]

ESG Re-Housing Providers: Catholic Charities Bureau St. Augustine Regional Office, St. Johns County Health and Human Services

[No Income requirements/restrictions to enter the program]

[Must meet HUD definition of homelessness – there are four categories of the homeless definition (§ 578.3)

Literally Homeless
Imminent Risk of Homelessness
Homeless Under Other Federal Statues
Fleeing/Attempting to Flee Domestic Violence

Temporary ASsistance for Needy Families (TANF)

TANF Program funds provide emergency financial assistance to families experiencing a financial, or other crisis, through the payment of past due rent, mortgage or electric, gas and water utility bills to enable them to remain stably housed and for the provision of case management services.

TANF grant funds awarded: $30,627.10

Providers: St. Johns County Health and Human Services, Catholic Charities Bureau St. Augustine Regional Office

Board of Directors

Caroline Volk
Outreach Nurse, Wildflower Health Care

Monica Ortiz-Sanchez
St. Johns County Community Liaison, Home Again St. Johns

Victoria Pepper
Civic Action Group Liaison, CARE

Pastor William Wold
First United Methodist Church, St. Augustine FL

Michael Clark
Corrections Division Sergeant, St. Johns County Sheriff's Office

Cammie Marti, PhD, MPH, RN
St. Johns County Community Liaison

Jessica Coats, MS
SMA Healthcare, Marketing Coordinator

Valerie Duquette, Chair
Director, Flagler Hospital CAIR Center

Erick Saks, Vice Chair
President/Founder and Veteran Liaison, Operation Lifeline Inc.

Pam Birtolo, Treasurer
Flagler Open Arms Recovery Services / Discover & Recover, Executive Director

Tamara Boettger, Secretary
ASSIST/Homeless Liaison, St. Johns County Schools

Anthony Cuthbert
Assistant Chief of Police, St. Augustine Police Dept.

Tatum Wang
St. Johns County Community Advocate, Tate Tutoring CEO

Deanna Jones
Department of Children and Families Adult Protective Services, Senior Human Services Program Specialist

Cold Night Shelters

Grace United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church operate cold night shelters at their discretion. Please monitor our facebook page or call the hotline 904-819-4344 for information regarding Cold Night Shelters.