Come to a meeting
The Cambridge CoC oversees the planning process for existing homeless assistance programs in the City of Cambridge. Membership of the Cambridge CoC is open to any organization or individual interested in working to prevent and end homelessness in Cambridge. There are no membership dues and new members are welcome to join at any time. The CoC full membership will meet semi-annually. The CoC Board will announce the date, time, and location of these meetings through the CoC’s website ad through messages distributed by email and social media.
The CoC Board represents the relevant organizations and projects serving homeless subpopulation and include at least one homeless or formerly homeless individual. Permanent seats (ex-officio and non-voting) include the Collaborative Applicant (DHSP); consolidated Planning Entity (Cambridge CDD); Cambridge Housing Authority; one representative appointed from each organization receiving CoC funds, and the HMIS Lead (DHSP). At-Large members (voting) include at lease one homeless or formerly homeless individual, members from the public and private sectors, and a member from at lease one ESG recipient or subrecipient organization in the CoC. Meetings are open to the public, and we welcome participation. Please see our calendar of events for specific dates and location information.
Volunteer for our Point-in-Time Count
Communities are required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct an unsheltered count of people sleeping outdoors – in parks, on the street, or other locations not meant for human habitation. Our CoC coordinates this annual event, including the volunteer teams who go out in the middle of the night – usually in late January.
Volunteers are a critical part of the unsheltered count process. If you are interested in volunteering, please check our website in mid-December for more information on how to sign up.
Donations
We often get calls from persons or businesses who have items or resources they’d like to contribute specifically for persons experiencing homelessness. While we – the lead agency for the Cambridge CoC — do not accept donations, most of our partner agencies provide specific information about how to make donations to them directly, often with specific wish list items posted on their websites. Please visit their sites to learn more.
If you have material items that you are looking to donate, the following are a few options:
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless’ Furniture Bank (furniture and home goods)
Household Goods (furniture and home goods)
Furnishing Hope (furniture and home goods)
AIDS Action Committee’s Boomerangs (clothing, furniture, electronics)
Contact Us
City of Cambridge, Dept. of Human Service Programs
Office of Planning and Development
51 Inman Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
CambridgeCoC@cambridgema.gov
617-349-6966
Monday: 8:30am – 8pm
Tuesday – Thursday: 8:30am – 5pm
Friday: 8:30am – 12 noon