Background

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's definition of a ‘‘chronically homeless’’ individual is defined to mean a homeless individual with a disability who lives either in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter, or in an institutional care facility if the individual has been living in the facility for fewer than 90 days and had been living in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter immediately before entering the institutional care facility.

In order to meet the ‘‘chronically homeless’’ definition, the individual also must have been living as described above continuously for at least 12 months, or on at least four separate occasions in the last 3 years, where the combined occasions total a length of time of at least 12 months. Each period separating the occasions must include at least 7 nights of living in a situation other than a place not meant for human habitation, in an emergency shelter, or in a safe haven.

Chronically homeless families are families with adult heads of household who meet the definition of a chronically homeless individual. If there is no adult in the family, the family would still be considered chronically homeless if a minor head of household meets all the criteria of a chronically homeless individual. A chronically homeless family includes those whose composition has fluctuated while the head of household has been homeless.

211OC has created an interactive tool that will help you determine the Chronic Homelessness status of your clients.

Chronic Homelessness

• Project Type Applicability: Permanent Supportive Housing
• Data Collected About: Head of Household and Adult(s)
• Collection Point: Project Start
• Screens in HMIS: Enrollment Screen
• Data Elements Used to Determine CH Status: Approximate Date Homelessness Started, Prior Living Situation, Disabling Condition