ARCH Membership

Who should be a member?

ARCH is a continuum of care, designed to promote community-wide planning and strategic use of resources to address homelessness and housing instability through a community-based process of identifying needs and building a system of housing and services that address those needs. 

ARCH seeks to include diverse sectors of the community to ensure that the work of the continuum is comprehensive in identifying and addressing the needs of those experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Therefore, ARCH seeks membership from a broad spectrum of potential stakeholders across Acadiana, including homeless service providers, housing service providers, housing developers, landlords, public housing authorities, school administrators and homeless education liaisons, local government agencies, youth advocates or service providers, law enforcement or corrections agencies, veterans advocacy or service providers, health care organizations or providers, behavioral health organizations or providers, faith based organizations, non-profit organizations, etc. In short, YOU should be a member!

What does membership entail? And how do I become a member?

Members agree to:

• Align with the mission of the CoC and the belief in housing as a human right.

• Advance the system goals, priorities, and activities set forth by the CoC.

• Actively participate in CoC planning and activities to support collaboration, coordination, policies, and practices that result in more effective, equitable, and efficient housing and services. In order to remaining in good standing, members must attend 75% of monthly meetings.

• Participate in CoC conversations and exchanges of ideas, information, and perspectives in order to support open and transparent communication around progress, challenges, and performance, and to foster trusting and mutually reinforcing relationships.

• Commit to continued learning, improvement, and growth through participation in trainings, webinars, and technical assistance opportunities to advance best practices toward achieving CoC goals.

• Understand and keep confidential any sensitive information discussed in committee meetings held in closed session.

• When applicable, participate in utilizing the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and adhering to data quality standards, or comparable systems with data sharing agreements.

Members will receive the following benefits:

• NPOs in good standing for at least 12 months will qualify to apply for HUD ESG and/or CoC funding.

• Monthly meetings with networking & educational content, and opportunities to participate in topical committees.

• Quarterly, in-person, facilitated town halls for members only, focusing on strategy and utilizing the Collaborative Impact Model.

• Trainings for staff, community group members, and individuals focused on areas such as

  • Trauma Informed Care

  • DEI in the Social Service Space

  • Fair Housing

  • Mainstream Benefits

  • Housing First Model

• Monthly online digest of resources and advocacy opportunities in inbox.

• Yearly, in-person social gathering.

• Discounted rate for ARCH ticketed events.

In order to remain transparent and provide equitable access to CoC information and updates, ARCH General Meetings will remain free, hybrid, and open to the public and include guest speakers, advocacy opportunities, and agency updates.