Continuum of care unveils 5-year strategic plan

Last edited 1:37 p.m., Feb. 27, 2026 [Editor's note: The name of United Way Ozarks Region has been corrected.]

The Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness unveiled the strategic plan that will guide its efforts through 2030 at an event this morning at Guaranty Bank in Farmers Park to an audience of more than 50 stakeholders.

The OAEH is the continuum of care organization centered on homelessness in Springfield and Greene, Christian and Webster counties.

Keynote speaker Brandi VanAntwerp, president and CEO of United Way Ozarks Region, opened by saying that housing is not the reward for stability; rather, it is the foundation that makes stability possibility.

“Today isn’t just the release of a document; it’s a commitment,” she said.

The 2026-30 strategic plan was built on annual homelessness data, including figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and input from service providers, community members and people who live with homelessness, according to a fact sheet provided by Community Partnership of the Ozarks.

The data shows that on any given night, more than 500 people in the three-county region experience homelessness, according to CPO, which pins the situation on a shortage of safe, decent and affordable housing.

The problem, CPO says, is compounded by rising rents, workforce shortages in social services and uncertainty in state and federal funding.

The report presented during the launch event maintained that more people in housing programs are increasing their income, and unsheltered homelessness has declined. However, people are staying homeless longer, fewer are exiting to permanent housing and many households return to homelessness after being housed.

The strategic plan emphasized four priorities: more affordable housing, stronger supportive services, better access to health care and transportation and greater public understanding and empathy around the issue of homelessness, according to its summary.

Strategic priorities are as follows:

1. Community support: a focus on person-centered, low-barrier and trauma-informed services, with stronger coordination across sectors to reduce both gaps and duplications

2. Community resilience: a focus on long-term system stability by diversifying funding, strengthening workforce recruitment and retention, and expanding prevention and diversion efforts to stop homelessness before it begins

3. Education and community engagement: a focus on expanding education and outreach that centers lived experiences, counters misinformation, elevates evidence-based solutions and encourages volunteerism, advocacy and civic leadership

Progress will be tracked using HUD system performance measures, including length of time people experience homelessness, returns to homelessness after housing, total number of people experiencing homelessness, employment and income growth and, exits to and retention of permanent housing.

“These measures ensure transparency, accountability and continuous improvement throughout the life of the plan,” the CPO preview document states.

VanAntwerp said the problem is a difficult one.

“Homelessness is complex, and the answer has to be collective,” she said.

VanAntwerp encouraged the people in the room to volunteer to help the unsheltered population.

“When we see them as humans and neighbors, we remember our purpose: to love others, and to treat them as we would want to be treated,” she said.

VanAntwerp emphasized the importance of putting housing first.

“A door and a key are the beginning – not the end – of care,” she said.

Therefore, entry questions into homelessness services should not focus on a person’s worthiness – such as substance disorder status – but on need.

She encouraged businesses to consider job pathways for people with housing barriers, like a focus on second-chance employment or availability of transportation passes.

More information on the strategic plan will be included in the March 9 print edition of SBJ.