Homeless Data Sharing Network

Briefly describe the collaboration you are looking to explore.

THN is working to create a statewide Homeless Data-Sharing Network (HDSN) that will allow
our state’s homeless crisis response systems to effectively collaborate on ending
homelessness. This network will allow us to improve outcomes on our goal of making homeless
rare, brief and a one time event by expanding access, eliminating inefficiencies, preserving
resources, and more accurately measuring the effectiveness of strategies.

The collaboration and partnerships that will go into creating and maintaining the data sharing
warehouse, and the closer cooperation between the organizations that will result from the data
sharing warehouse, are the key value gained from the project. For the planning stage, we have
agreements with the Dallas, Houston, and TX BoS CoCs. This network is the beginning of a
growing collaboration that will eventually encompass all homeless crisis response systems and
the stakeholders in these areas.

The planning stage of the project, collecting responses and input from each member and
growing the participating members, will offer an opportunity for collaboration and consensus to
emerge between the members on which data vendor to select, among other decisions. This will
solidify the partnerships between the members and will ensure the long term viability and vision
of the HDSN, getting us closer to ending homelessness in Texas.

Describe the reason(s) the organizations are considering collaboration, and what
prompted each organization to consider a collaboration at this time.
A statewide data sharing network, the HDSN, is the tool that we need to quickly and efficiently
move people out of homelessness. This network will save time and money by providing service
providers with more in-depth information to develop housing strategies across homeless crisis
response systems. THN approached the two homeless crisis response systems representing
Texas’ largest metro areas, Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), and Houston’s The Way
Home. Those two, along with the TX BoS CoC that covers 215 of the 254 counties in Texas, will
form the pilot project in the planning stage.

Currently, Texas has eleven homeless crisis response systems, but they rarely talk with one
another. This can lead to many costly inefficiencies and a lack of care and opportunity for the
most frequent users of these systems. We need to be able to identify these frequent users and
collect data to identify trends. This will allow us to see how our systems and resources can
respond to challenges and work more effectively, thus reducing homelessness.
When asked why they are considering this collaboration, our partners replied with the following:
“MDHA wants to be part of this collaboration because we understand the importance of sharing
data and how that can help inform all of the areas in Texas to end homelessness.”

“The Coalition for the Homeless and our Continuum of Care partners are excited to be part of
this data collaboration because we recognize the value of using data to increase coordination,
recognize efficiencies and ultimately end homelessness.”

Discuss the potential benefits of the collaboration. How might the collaboration
meaningfully change how the organizations involved will operate? What can you
accomplish together that you cannot do separately? What might the potential
impact of these changes be on the individuals/communities served?

Texas has eleven homeless crisis response systems. While the leads of those systems
regularly talk, the components rarely communicate in an integrated way. We need to connect
Texans experiencing homelessness to necessary services as efficiently as we can. To do this,
we need clear communication between these systems.

The current data system is unable to deal with the realities of the flow of people and the
continuous change in their living situation. Hurricane Harvey demonstrated the need for quicker
communication and collaboration between homeless crisis response systems. The benefits of
having a data system, and by extension resource network that can respond to the realities of
people’s lives and meet them where they are is crucial to making homelessness rare, brief, and
non-recurring.

The overall objective of this project is to create an integrated data network that will allow us to
quickly identify people at risk of or experiencing homelessness so we can prioritize services and
housing. For example, a case manager in Dallas is working with a person who has been
experiencing homelessness for years. With a data-sharing network, the case manager can look
up available housing in another location, like Waxahachie or even as far away as Houston. This
capability will make our homeless crisis response systems more agile resulting in persons or
households exiting the system quickly.

This network will be especially useful for identifying the chronically homeless and frequent users
of community care systems resulting in better health outcomes, and more efficient use of
community resources, saving taxpayers’ money.
Program Description (32500 characters max)

Texas Homeless Network is building out a Homeless Data-Sharing Network (HDSN) pilot
across Texas. THN has already completed a proof-of-concept with in-kind support from Amazon
Web Services (AWS) that includes data between two large homeless crisis response systems
that cover 215 rural counties and the City of Houston.

The next stage of this process is to plan and implement a pilot before launching a
comprehensive, statewide HDSN. For the pilot project, THN has enlisted the support of partners
from rural Texas (215 counties), Dallas, and Houston, and consists of two phases: a planning
stage, and an implementation stage.

THN staff has been preparing for the upcoming planning stage of the project. Meetings with
communities, technical assistant consultants, software designers, and developers have been
and are being conducted over the summer of 2019. THN staff are continuing to work with AWS
on the goal of developing the HDSN, a relationship that started in June of 2018. Both partners
are invested in continuing the completion of the full implementation of that project.