{"id":6921,"date":"2020-05-21T13:40:13","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T13:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.homelessvoice.org\/?p=6921"},"modified":"2020-06-22T17:37:55","modified_gmt":"2020-06-22T17:37:55","slug":"data-driven-hope-for-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.homelessvoice.org\/?p=6921","title":{"rendered":"Data-Driven Hope for Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advocates for the homeless see the centralized databases and standardized assessments of the coordinated entry approach as superior to the scattershot approaches of the past.<\/span><\/h2>\n
By Sam Mire<\/h6>\n

A random meal, a care package of toiletries, an occasional instance of a homeless person receiving permanent housing \u2014 these are individual approaches that don\u2019t lend themselves to learning much about the rate of homelessness across the state and the nation. Without quantifying this data, and consistent monitoring of homeless populations, advocates say progress is virtually impossible to gauge, let alone achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

A new data-driven approach to securing housing for the homeless would represent a break from these fragmented approaches, and one now has the backing of the federal government and many of these local advocates for the homeless.<\/span><\/p>\n

Named \u201ccoordinated entry\u201d, the new tactic is now mandated by The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a condition of receiving funding for Continuum of Care (CoC) programs and Emergency Solutions Grants from the federal government. The primary requirement: for municipalities to set up a coordinated assessment system intended to keep track of local homeless populations and assess individuals for their vulnerability.<\/span><\/p>\n

This tactic started in June 2010, when a new agenda for fighting homelessness from the federal level down was published by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. <\/span>The report<\/span><\/a>, titled<\/span> Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness<\/span><\/i>, had an agenda aspect requiring \u201cnew and innovative types of system coordination\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifics for the requirements of coordinated entry have evolved since that report was published though.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The pecking order of the chronically homeless is determined <\/span>according to tri-morbidity<\/span><\/a>, meaning by who is more likely to suffer from physical health conditions, mental health conditions, as well as substance abuse problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In 2017, HUD described how regional and local governments would need to comply with federal CoC guidelines to receive certain forms of funding. These mandates were entered into the <\/span>record of federal regulatory guidelines<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The specific guidelines detailing coordinated entry state they must, \u201cestablish and operate either a centralized or coordinated assessment system that provides an initial, comprehensive assessment of the needs of individuals and families for housing and services,\u201d and it must define \u201chow its system will address the needs of individuals and families who are fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The assessment by which members of the homeless community are measured also takes into account their vulnerability of being chronically homeless and, ultimately, dying on the street, regardless of the circumstances that caused them to become homeless.<\/span><\/p>\n

Questions asked of the homeless may vary between institutions who are directly implementing coordinated entry in their community. HUD provides a sample checklist for how a coordinated entry questionnaire might look, <\/span>which can be found here<\/span><\/a>. The questionnaire concentrates on their housing history and details mainly along with possible disabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Director of Community Development Marcy Esbjerg in Pasco County \u2014 which has implemented this tactic \u2014 explained that the entry questionnaire system helps determine who the chronic homeless in a community are. The pecking order of the chronically homeless is determined <\/span>according to tri-morbidity<\/span><\/a>, meaning by who is more likely to suffer from physical health conditions, mental health conditions, as well as substance abuse problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>The Code of Federal Regulations<\/span><\/a>, to be considered chronically homeless they must be a homeless individual with a disability who:<\/span><\/p>\n