Chautauqua County Homeless Coalition officials think they’ve found a way to bring additional efforts to the county’s attempts to lessen the number of homeless.

The coalition is poised to ask Chautauqua Opportunities board members to approve an application to join the Balance of State Continuum of Care, a federally funded program offered through the state Office of Temporary Disability Assistance that would open Chautauqua County up to funding for an array of programs. Currently, the Balance of State Continuum of Care program has nine counties as members – Cattaraugus, Clinton, Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Otsego, Putnam, Schoharie and Sullivan – eligible for grants that coordinate housing and supportive services to help people exit homelessness.

In 2024, the program resulted in a $112,492 grant to Cattaraugus Community Action for a Domestic Violence Rapid Rehousing Program, $61,703 to CCA for an Empowering the Homeless Toward Permanent Housing Solutions program, $174,376 to Housing Options Made Easy Inc. for Permanent Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness, $45,600 to Housing Options Made Easy Inc. for Cattaraugus County Permanent Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness 2024 Expansion. Similar assistance in Chautauqua County could help decrease the amount of money taxpayers are spending on safety net programs – which county officials said recently is more than $2.5 million over budget this year.

There’s just one catch. The county may be too late.

Federal budget cuts could affect the Continuum of Care program. The Trump Administration proposes consolidating and capping programs, including the Continuum of Care program into the Emergency Solutions Grant program while capping assistance for “able-bodied adults” at two years. Whether or not the consolidation makes it into the final federal budget is still up in the air, but if changes to the program don’t happen this year the Continuum of Care program is likely to remain on the chopping block.

One thing is certain. Additional resources are needed to help decrease the number of homeless in Chautauqua County. Joining the state Continuum of Care program could bring some of those resources – if the resources exist at all.