2025: Our Year in Review
This year brought many changes to our CoC, from new opportunities to new challenges. While the work continues, we want to share our milestones and highlight the impact the local Continuum of Care has made in our community.
Across Douglas, Sarpy, and Pottawattamie counties, we:
Supported the emergency transition of folks from deprecating housing into safer facilities.
Successfully advocated for more humane response tactics instead of criminalizing our unhoused neighbors.
Continued to adapt and expand Project Connect, our one-stop event for people facing homelessness or housing insecurity.
Launched a pilot program in partnership with the Mayor’s Office aimed at connecting folks living unsheltered with safe housing resources.
Supporting Residents Through Transition at City View
A major part of our work this year included emergency relocation efforts at City View Apartments. While the closure added pressure to the region’s already limited affordable housing supply, it ultimately allowed vulnerable residents to move into safer, more stable environments. Our coordinated approach helped achieve the best possible outcomes in a difficult situation.
Our collective efforts supported:
134 total unique households, including 126 leased tenants
97 households assisted into their own units
4 who moved in with family or friends
11 who moved independently without direct contact
2 placed in assisted living
3 entered shelter
Project Connect
Project Connect is our free, one-day annual event that brings together dozens of service providers to deliver a broad range of critical supports to individuals and families facing homelessness or housing instability.
On October 21st, more than 400 people accessed the following services:
Housing and shelter referrals
Health screenings and immunizations
Legal aid
Mental and behavioral health support
Benefit assistance
Food resources
Hygiene supplies
Employment support
Transportation assistance
And more!
This attendance numbers increased nearly 60 percent over our 2024 event. The goal of this event is to offer a coordinated, stigma-free opportunity for people to “check off” multiple needs in a single visit and our community took notice:
Focusing on Proven, Humane Solutions Over Punishment
Through our new six-month encampment pilot program with the City of Omaha Mayor’s Office, we are building on what works: compassionate, coordinated, data-driven approaches that help people move from crisis to stability. Our Street Outreach team and local partners are actively connecting folks to community resources that provide a direct pathway to housing. Our CoC has many wonderful groups providing necessary and potentially lifesaving services, and what our system are doing is working. Due to changes at the federal level, our collective work requires additional investment.
Even with early success from the pilot program and strong outcomes across outreach, prevention, shelter partnerships, and rehousing, our system is stretched thin. With local housing occupancy between 95–98%, demand is outpacing availability of affordable units and services. To sustain these results, we need deeper funding that will help grow affordable housing, strengthen prevention efforts, expand supportive housing, and ensure outreach teams have the bandwidth to connect people to the right resources. Homelessness is not a crime; it’s a solvable challenge when we choose compassion, coordination, and commitment.
With your support, we hope to tackle bigger challenges in 2026 from expanding our partnership with the City of Omaha and making Project Connect even more accessible and impactful. Stay connected with us through the new year, as we share more information about our work.