Urging Congress to Accelerate Solving Homelessness by Prioritizing Adoption of By-Name, Real Time Data as a Top Domestic Priority

Adopted at the 92nd Annual Meeting in 2024

  • WHEREAS, the lack of real-time, by-name data to address homelessness severely impedes effective service coordination and rapid housing solutions, thus exacerbating the homelessness crisis across the nation; and

    WHEREAS, a significant barrier to reducing homelessness is underutilization of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to provide real-time, by name data about who is experiencing homelessness, data analytics and interoperability with other critical systems including behavioral health and criminal justice; and

    WHEREAS, communities that have access to high-quality, real-time, by-name data are shown to more effectively reduce homelessness by identifying and resolving service bottlenecks and better allocating resources; and

    WHEREAS, opportunities exist for the federal government to greatly enhance local efforts to combat homelessness through increased support and investment in modern data systems, enabling communities to implement efficient real-time data solutions; and

    WHEREAS, modernizing HMIS to serve as a dynamic platform capable of real-time, person-specific data and reporting would significantly improve the operational capacity of homeless services across the United States to make homelessness rare and brief; and

    WHEREAS, legislative clarification that HMIS could be a modern, person-centered platform for communities to leverage to its fullest potential, thus enabling more strategic and rapid responses to homelessness; and

    WHEREAS, the interoperability of HMIS with other critical data systems is essential for holistic service delivery that can more effectively address the complex needs of individuals experiencing homelessness; and

    WHEREAS, ensuring HMIS compliance with updated data standards and the ability to produce a by-name list on a real-time basis is crucial for frontline workers to coordinate services and expedite the housing process; and

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the United States Conference of Mayors urges the U.S. Congress and the Administration to recognize the crucial role of data modernization in addressing homelessness, and to prioritize resources toward a nationwide enhancement of homeless data systems to improve service delivery and achieve significant reductions in homelessness.
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