ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today joined the County’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Director Kelly Cimino to announce the release of the County’s draft “The Path Toward Zero: 2025 – 2030 Plan to End Homelessness.” This draft plan outlines all the major goals and interventions DHCD seeks to accomplish over the next five years to achieve “functional zero” and ensure a comprehensive system of homeless services. Photos from the event can be found on the County’s Flickr webpage.
Today, we are not just responding to homelessness, we are reimagining what is possible. With this plan, we are building upon our progress already made and further laying the foundation for transformative, long-term solutions that ensure everyone in Howard County has a place to call home. I want to thank Kelly and her staff for their vision, persistence, and humanity, and for always rising to the challenge and centering people in every decision. Also, thank you to our committed partners – Grassroots Crisis Intervention, Bridges to Housing Stability, the Community Action Council of Howard County, the Howard County Housing Commission, and so many others, who walk with us in this work every day. Finally, thank you to all members of our Coalition to End Homelessness and the Continuum of Care Board, whose expertise and deep relationships in our community have helped us ensure that we can effectively and compassionately deliver essential services and housing.
The plan looks to achieve functional zero in Hoard County. Functional zero is achieved when the number of people experiencing homelessness is below the system’s capacity to house them. That is, the system has the adequate capacity to respond to and resolve homelessness whenever it occurs, throughout the year.
Currently, a household going through the County’s Coordinated Entry System of Homeless Services (CES) is immediately prioritized for services; however, they often experience a wait due to lack of openings in programs as a result of insufficient nonprofit provider capacity or insufficient resources, such as bed spaces and permanent supportive housing. By achieving and maintaining functional zero, households facing housing instability will experience fewer waitlists, faster transitioning to housing, and robust wraparound supports.
Today’s celebration was a chance to thank the case managers, street outreach workers, pupil personnel workers, and partner agencies that provide hope and compassion to individuals and families facing housing instability and homelessness. We appreciate their valuable service to our community.
A copy of the draft plan can be found on DHCD’s “Homeless Services” website. From this same site, residents and community members can submit comments and feedback to DCHD by emailing CoC@howardcountymd.gov by no later than 4:00 p.m., Thursday, July 31st. Please keep in mind that submitted written comments are considered public information and, as such, are subject to the Maryland Public Information Act.
Since Fiscal Year 2013, the County has helped more than 2,500 people enter our homeless system and exit to a permanent housing destination. In the last year alone, approximately 900 individuals were served by DHCD’s CES, receiving housing assistance, case management, and critical support across the entire continuum. To date, these participants have either achieved permanent housing, moved to temporary or institutional settings, or are still on their housing journey.
Ball’s administration has further advanced the County’s investment in assisting vulnerable families with the launch of County’s Housing Opportunities are Meant for Everyone, or HOME, initiative in October 2023. Comprised of a suite of policy and programmatic initiatives, HOME is aimed at tackling housing affordability in Howard County. Through the Family Home Start program, an innovative new partnership with Bridges to Housing Stability, that provides direct housing assistance and case management to families in the Howard Couty Public School System (HCPSS) who are experiencing homelessness. Since its launch in February 2024, the Family Home Start program has helped rehouse 55 families, including 200 individuals and 98 HCPSS students, with many more are receiving ongoing support with housing searches and case management.
Additionally, Ball submitted legislation to reorganize the County’s Homeless Services Division under DHCD in Fiscal Year 2025, to streamline operations and fully embrace a ‘Housing First’ approach to serving residents.
During today’s event, Ball also announced that this fiscal year, the County will break ground on Howard County’ first non-congregate shelter, located along the U.S. 1 Corridor in Laurel. Once completed, this 20-room facility will provide short-term private shelter, comprehensive assessments, and immediate referrals to housing and critical services. The facility will also serve as overflow capacity, a Code Blue warming center, and a backup for the County’s 23-hour crisis beds and commercial kitchen operations. The County has invested $10.6 million through local funds and American Rescue Plan funds to turn this shelter into a reality.
Additionally, other interventions implemented by Ball’s administration that continue to show results are:
- The Enhanced Street Outreach program. Initially launched in partnership with the Howard County Health Department, this program allows the County to reach more unsheltered and chronically homeless individuals with harm reduction support and peer recovery specialists.
- The expansion of Grassroots Crisis Intervention’s emergency shelter. In December 2024, Ball helped cut the ribbon on the shelter’s first major expansion since 2008, adding an additional 20 new beds to the shelter. Part of a two-phase project, construction on the second phase to add space for 17 more beds to the shelter is currently underway. Once complete, this project in total will increase the emergency shelter’s capacity to 88.
- Through Bridge’s Rapid Rehousing program, 82 percent of adult households and 100 percent of families with children served by the program have moved into permanent housing. Of those, 94 percent have remained stably housed for two or more years.
- The County’s Permanent Supportive Housing program provides long-term housing and support services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, particularly those with disabilities. To date, the program has helped 92 percent of households maintain stable housing and enabled 78 percent transition into independent, permanent housing.
To learn more about the County’s homeless services, visit www.howardcountymd.gov/housing-community-development/homeless-services.