According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the community should have strong data on the utilization of shelter services and access to housing21. Data could be maintained by each shelter or by the homelessness service system manager. Targets should be established and data on percentage of exists to permanent housing, time spent homeless, and returns to homelessness, should be measured and regularly reported on. This information should be used on an ongoing basis to understand shelter use patterns and detect changes, identify frequent users, reduce length of time spent homeless, and right-size shelter capacity.

Prevention

Beyond diversion when people are seeking shelter, additional prevention efforts can help people who may soon face homelessness preserve their current housing. There is evidence on an international level that homelessness prevention makes sense from social and economic perspectives, and can contribute to reductions of homelessness. A range of prevention interventions have showed success, including evictions prevention, support for survivors of intimate partner violence, and landlord mediation. When a person presents at any of the community’s access points they should be assessed for prevention opportunities, such as referring and helping them to access appropriate community services.

Outreach

Outreach is another key component of effective homelessness service systems that should play an interactive role with shelters. Effective outreach includes ensuring people in need know that help is available and how to access it22. It involves actively approaching clients with the intention of offering supports related to service provision and/or to establish engagement23. A deliberate strategy is required to reach people who are couch-surfing or living without shelter, for example on public lands, such as in parks and ravines. According to the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), it is a best to take a systemic documented approach to outreach, which could include drawing up maps, schedules, assessments and other outreach materials to inform outreach efforts24. Effective outreach should include gradual, warm handoffs to housing and service providers, such as shelters when clients are ready to access shelter.

Coordinated Access

Coordinated access is a community-wide system that streamlines the process for people experiencing