Homeless Management Information System

Human Services > Initiatives > Housing & Homelessness > Homeless Management Information System

What is HMIS?

The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a required activity of the Continuum of Care (CoC) grant program. HMIS is an information management system used to collect data on the provision of housing and services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. The information that is collected by the HMIS helps to provide an accurate count of the homeless population and track the patterns of services used, as well as the locations of populations and services. This data is used to evaluate the effectiveness of services and to analyze where funding would be most appropriate. This data is also used in HUD’s annual reporting to Congress. Barnstable County serves as the Lead Entity for the administration of the Cape and Islands CoC HMIS.

For more information, contact Charise Madison, HMIS Program Manager at Barnstable County Department of Human Services at 508-375-6625 or charise.madison@capecod.gov.

SPOTLIGHT: Analysis of Veteran Homeless Data Indicates Rate and Characteristics of Veterans Accessing Homeless Services in the Cape and Islands Region

The MA-503 CoC recently conducted an analysis of regional veteran homeless data collected during the 2023 Federal Fiscal Year (10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023), using the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the Coordinated Entry System (CES), and the 2023 Point in Time (PIT) Count as sources of information. There were 92 adult veteran heads of household and two veteran spouses included in the analysis, producing 127 separate project enrollments and 50 project exits. Some of the more notable observations about the veteran data from the analysis include:

the “greying” of the population of veterans accessing homeless services: 75% of veterans were aged 55 or older, 44% were aged 65 or older, and 9% were aged 75 or older
the prevalence of mental health and substance use issues: 48% of veterans reported suffering with mental health problems, while 27% reported substance use disorder
the rate of unsheltered homelessness: 13% of project enrollments were in Street Outreach, which by definition provides services to unsheltered homeless persons
the high rate of residence in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH): 32% of all project enrollments were in PSH, the optimal homeless service goal
the high rate of positive outcomes: 66% of veterans who completed HMIS projects exited to positive living situations.

To read the full analysis, click here.

HMIS TECH TIP: Deleting a Project Entry

If you find yourself in a situation where you entered a client into a project by mistake, or you entered a client into the same project twice, do not fret! There is an easy way to undo the error.

This is the view when you are on the SUMMARY tab. In order to delete the project entry, you must switch to the ENTRY/EXIT tab.