Houston tackles homelessness with data-driven 'Housing First' strategy

Editor's note:This article isthe fourth in a series of reportsexploring the factors behind Houston's successful homeless response system and the challenges the city faces.

In Houston, funding for services for the homeless is limited. The agency responsible for coordinating homeless services in the regionThe Way Homemust carefully choose which organizations to fund and for what purposes.

According to Marc Eichenbaum, special assistant to the Houston mayor for homeless affairs, the system received more than $60 million in federal, state, and county funding last year to address homelessness in the region. The city does not allocate general funds, using only federal grants. Overall, spending on homelessness in the Houston area is almost lower than in "any other major city in the United States."

"With such limited public resources, we will invest funds where data shows the highest return," Eichenbaum said. He is a member of the steering committee that sets the goals and strategies for the continuum and works with the city and county to decide how to use and leverage various funding sources.

"Agencies often come to us with great ideas," Eichenbaum said, "but ultimately our response is: 'Show us the data.' We will let data guide us in deciding what to invest in and support."

This data-driven approach helped the city implement theHousing First strategyand since 2011,the region's homeless population has decreased by 63%.。

Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said all homeless systems receiving federal funds must continuously enter client-level data into a centralized management system for analysis and performance reporting.

Oliva mentioned in an email thatWashington, D.C.、Portland, Oregon, and Multnomah CountyandKing County, Washingtonare communities that also use homeless data similarly to Houston.

However, Alisa Hartwell, data and research analyst at New York University's Housing Solutions Lab, said that cities integrating data as Houston does, "allowing policymakers to see families interacting with multiple systems," is "very rare."

Oliva noted that highly data-driven systems have a "rich" understanding of who experiences homelessness and what resources are available.

"Data makes the system more efficient," Oliva said. "It identifies program outcomes—whether positive or negative—and helps communities discover gaps in services and resources that might not be easily visible."

How data is collected

Whenever someone interacts with Houston's homeless system—receiving homeless-specific medical care, entering a local soup kitchen, seeking shelter, or engaging with outreach coordinators—service providers enter data into theirHomeless Management Information System. "They are basically clocked in," Eichenbaum said. All agencies can view a large amount of system-level data through a single dashboard.

Eichenbaum said that typically each year,more than 21,000 peopleinteract with Houston's homeless system. Many of them are not homeless but use the system and engage with different partners to meet basic needs. The Coalition for the Homeless, which manages the continuum, screens the data to identify those truly experiencing homelessness.

Houston officials also collect data during the annual point-in-time count, when jurisdictions nationwide take to the streets on one night in January to count the homeless. Houston received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct a three-day count to cover everyone, including areas like The Woodlands and the Bayou region.

Counters ask those counted a series of survey questions, providing additional data, including length of homelessness, veteran status, whether they have substance abuse issues, or whether they have experienced domestic violence.

Oliva said communities tracking such information need to complete data entry and assessments consistently and with high quality to ensure they obtain the needed information. The relationship between the continuum operating the Homeless Management Information System and city staff varies by community. Therefore, while these data systems are not uncommon, data sharing and analysis "often depends on the level of collaboration and coordination between the two departments."

Acting on data

Eichenbaum said data allows the continuum and local government leaders to examine trends and determine whether the broader Housing First strategy is working, such as checking whether there is a correlation between the number of people placed in housing and the overall reduction in the region's homeless population.

Real-time data also enables city officials to identify where homeless individuals are concentrated or moving and what their greatest needs are. This information helps decide where to deploy funds and resources to provide services or launch new programs.

Data helps leaders make difficult decisions about programs that are popular and well-utilized but not producing results. When evaluating providers, continuum leaders always ask the same questions: Does the program house more people? Does it reduce homelessness? Can it be scaled up? If not, funding will be stopped.

For example, the continuum decided not to invest in certaintransitional housingprograms, partly because officials found that people living in time-limited housing were more likely to become homeless again than those who received permanent housing with supportive services.

"We can build facilities with 100% utilization, but if there is ultimately no impact, it's not worth investing limited financial resources," Eichenbaum said. "We only focus on programs that have an impact, because that is our North Star."

This requires a cultural shift. For example, a soup kitchen should not celebrate serving 500 more meals than last year, but rather celebrate serving 500 fewer over the year. "That means demand has decreased," he said.

Organizations serving the homeless in the Greater Houston area can still access other sources of support, mainly private funding, whether or not they participate in the continuum. Eichenbaum said some organizations in the region are not part of The Way Home continuum and do not accept its funding, but still operate through private funds. However, "they are few and far between."

Catherine Villarreal, communications director of the Coalition for the Homeless, said many organizations that are part of The Way Home also receive little or no funding through the continuum, relying mainly on private funds.

Eichenbaum said sometimes data allows the continuum to improve the lives of the homeless. For example, leaders can see people leaving a particular shelter in the morning and taking public transit five miles to a place that serves breakfast for coffee. Rather than having people travel long distances, breakfast distribution points could be set up within the system closer to shelters.

The system also alerts leaders when housing units become available, so they can match people in need of permanent supportive housing. When that person enters a soup kitchen or interacts with the system, staff can tell them to contact a case manager to arrange for placement.

Continuum leaders can also see whether people placed through their efforts are still receiving various services. If needed, they can contact case managers to check in and help prevent a return to homelessness.

Benefits and costs

Sara Martinez, vice president of communications and development at the Coalition for the Homeless, said Houston's Housing First model relies on a high level of data-driven decision-making.

Data-driven decision-making enables the continuum to use public and private funds and federal housing vouchers as efficiently as possible, achieving successful outcomes for clients. "We no longer make decisions based on anecdotes," Martinez said. "Real-time data allows us to make strategic decisions based on real people and real needs."

The Coalition for the Homeless can also "look at the characteristics of the homeless population across the community to understand needs and identify gaps or shortages in programs."

Thao Costis, president and CEO of SEARCH Homeless Services, said in an email that the system is "still being refined," but the continuum continues to build on the data collected, providing "more consistency" for the entire homeless service system and its clients.

Oliva said operators of Homeless Management Information Systems often face challenges in data collection, analysis, and use. Dedicated funding and staff are needed to maintain quality, privacy, and security. City governments need to prioritize multiple technical elements.

Transparency is another factor. Many effective systems led by continuums, cities, and counties have established public dashboards that provide information to community stakeholders, enabling transparency and accountability.

"Collecting and using personal data of homeless individuals requires trust between government, service providers, and the data subjects," Oliva said. Any misuse of data by an entity could lead to a decline in data quality and usefulness, as individuals and organizations may "refuse to provide information because the system is perceived as untrustworthy."

Hartwell said that for case management, having detailed client information can be "extremely useful." But if multiple services are fully integrated, evaluating the effectiveness of a single program becomes more difficult. However, when cities can effectively track the enormous costs of homelessness and shelter stays, "in comparison, developing long-term affordable housing seems less expensive."