Federal Homelessness Resource Guide

Information by State  Print version

Corporation For National And Community Service (CNCS)

Here's What We Provide

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a family of volunteerism and anti-poverty programs. Learn more about the programs. The most accessible of these programs pertinent to ending homelessness is AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America). It is a resource that might serve to leverage local access to grants available through other federal agencies.

For 40 years, AmeriCorps*VISTA has been helping bring communities and individuals out of poverty. Today, nearly 6,000 AmeriCorps*VISTA members serve in hundreds of nonprofit organizations and public agencies throughout the country. Members commit for a year as full time volunteers, receive a living allowance of approximately $10,000, and benefits such as health insurance and an education award of $4725. Members do not provide direct service so much as work as catalysts, encouraging community participation, piloting innovative programs, or increasing the capacity of local agencies and non-profits to eliminate homelessness through local initiatives that help individuals become self-sustaining.

For example, A team of three AmeriCorps*VISTA members may work with a municipality or a local non-profit in a host community with a focus on public awareness, coalition-building, or other capacity-related activity to serve families displaced by Katrina/Rita. VISTA members may assist in establishing a hub to connect resources and to recruit and place community volunteers with local initiatives. VISTA members may work with government agencies, non-profits, and faith-based or grassroots community groups to leverage resources available in large federal grants to help, as an example, ex-offenders overcome challenges in obtaining housing and employment.

Application for this resource begins with submission of a focused Concept Paper. These are accepted for review and approval throughout the year. Projects are approved normally for a three-year cycle. Recruits are identified locally or from a pool of national service applicants on the web. The average project might place as few as three or as many as ten AmeriCorps*VISTA members. Orientation and placement windows are scheduled in each quarter. Except where a cost-share agreement is advantageous, member costs are subsidized by The Corporation. Learn more about AmeriCorps*VISTA and find the Concept Paper format.

Arkansas
Opal Sims
State Program Director
(501) 324-5235

Louisiana
Director
(225) 389-0473

New Mexico
Ernesto Ramos
State Program Director
(505) 988-6577

Oklahoma
Theresa Long
State Program Director
(405) 231-5201

Texas
Jerry Thompson
State Program Director
(512) 916-5671 x22