MISSION & HISTORY

We are a group of private and public organizations and community members.

***We work together*** to prevent and end homelessness and to address the conditions that cause homelessness in the Mohawk Valley, NY region.

Our Mission

The Mission of the MV Housing and Homeless Coalition is to prevent and end homelessness in the Mohawk Valley. Our work includes sustaining an inclusive, community wide, system-level planning, program development and program integration process that targets public and private, local, state, and federal resources to the areas of greatest need.

Our Commitment

We prioritize and are committed to developing and sustaining programs that have a research base that indicates that they will reduce unnecessary and expensive emergency medical, behavioral health treatment, hospital, and criminal justice system costs.

Our Vision

Our vision is that all residents of Oneida, Herkimer, and Madison counties have a safe, decent, affordable home that supports their physical and behavioral health, their social wellbeing, and their economic independence.

Our CoC Chair, Allison Jackson

Allison Jackson is an accomplished nonprofit executive with more than two decades of experience in human services, program development, and organizational leadership. She currently serves as Chief Program Officer at Integrated Community Alternatives Network (ICAN), where she oversees a diverse portfolio of programs addressing care management, housing, family support, violence prevention, supervised visitation, and community-based services. In this role, Allison provides leadership to a team of more than 120 staff and ensures compliance with a wide range of state, federal, and county regulations, while advancing ICAN’s mission through innovation, quality assurance, and strategic growth.

Jackson’s leadership extends beyond program operations—she is currently the Chair of the Mohawk Valley Housing and Homeless Coalition’s NY-518 Continuum of Care Board, where she helps shape regional strategies to address homelessness and housing insecurity.

Contact: ajackson@ican.family

Our Past Chair & Founder, Steve Darman

Steve Darman, was the Mohawk Valley Housing and Homeless Coalition's Chair for twenty five years, and has recently retired. This HUD-sanctioned Homeless Coalition – which HUD calls a “Continuum of Care”- is one of the strongest in NY State and has succeeded in attracting over $40 million in federal and state funding for a wide variety of emergency, transitional, and permanent supportive housing programs serving several thousand homeless and formerly persons and families in Oneida, Madison, and Herkimer Counties, NY.