Our Homeless Response System at Work

At the last Continuum of Care General Assembly meeting, Lester Collins, our CoC Performance Analyst walked us through the newest MDHA Homeless Response System Community Dashboard. The Dashboard provides a snapshot of the core system metrics that inform us on achievements in moving individuals to permanent housing. In the next few days, we will be publishing the latest iteration of the Dashboard, which will include a brief executive review of what the data tells us, methods for systemic improvement, and other impacts to the system of care.  

As part of his presentation, Lester also shared the latest Housing Priority List (HPL) Tracker (pictured below). The HPL has been operational since early 2016. It represents the demand side of the housing equation. It is managed by the Documentation and Prioritization Status (DOPS) Coordinator, who ensures that the persons on it have not only been assessed and prioritized for service, but also have all necessary documents, so they may be housed without delay. Housing providers are expected to house those with a lower P number (indicating greater need and vulnerability) first.  

 

 

Cindy J. Crain, MDHA President and CEO, emphasized that what the HPL now tells us, with more than 750 individuals on it ready to be housed now, is that our Homeless Response System is working, and that what we really need is more housing. This is important information for local governments, who now have the hard data they need to act to create more housing.

We will be sharing a refresher/update of the workings of our Homeless Response System on this blog, Ending Homelessness, in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!