Coalition Staff Attends National Human Services Data Consortium Spring Conference
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) staff members from the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County attended the
National Human Services Data Consortium (NHSDC) spring conference held in Minneapolis, MN on May 1 & 2.
The theme of the conference was "Data in Action: Transforming Systems and Lives," and the main focus was a new set of HMIS Data Standards that were released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Houston as a community was highlighted by Eric Grumdahl of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness for its utilization of HMIS for mobile outreach and Coordinated Access.
All three of our staff members in attendance referenced the interaction with other HMIS administrators and managers as one of the greatest takeaways from the conference. One of the goals of the NHSDC is to provide members with peer-to-peer education, and the conference provided an incredible opportunity for HMIS users from across the country to share their struggles with managing and reporting data, as well as the opportunity to share and learn from other users' successes.
The Coalition for the Homeless manages HMIS, which is a computerized data collection tool specifically designed to capture system-wide information regarding the characteristics and services needs of all people experiencing homelessness in the Houston area. HMIS participation is required for programs and organizations that receive certain funding from HUD, as well as other federal sources. In addition to serving as the lead agency of the Houston/Harris County Continuum of Care (CoC), the Coalition for the Homeless also serves as the HMIS lead agency for the CoC.
Click here to learn more about HMIS and the role it plays in Houston.