Agencies’ data on homeless full of holes

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005 | 8:31 a.m.

Two years after all local agencies receiving federal funds for helping the homeless were told to create a database about their clients, a report shows that the system is far from ready for use as a planning tool.

The idea was to gather as much information as possible about who the homeless are, what they need, what they're getting and what is working.

Without that information, millions of dollars may be going to programs that may not meet the community's needs.

But the valley's computer network or the "homeless management information system" is "not nearly what it's supposed to be," said Matt White, who was hired by the Housing and Urban Development Department to train agencies on the system.

"All (the network) can do right now is describe the homeless population, but we don't know what leads to their homelessness, or what works in helping them," he said.

The Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth's report said:

* Three of four homeless people visiting the agencies were men;

* One of four was black;

* One of four was a veteran.

But those numbers are based on 897 clients, not all of whom answered every question.

And Bryan Tosi, project director, said although eight agencies had joined the network between Oct. 1, 2004, and July 1 -- the partnership report's time frame -- some came on line toward the end, and most, if not all, did not enter data from all of their programs.

Six agencies joined the network after July 1, Tosi said.

Perhaps more importantly, the data used in the report does not include whether the clients suffer from mental illness, addictions to drugs or alcohol, or some combination of the three; if they have sought or are seeking treatment for those problems; and if the treatment worked.

Those issues -- mental illness and addictions -- are some of the main causes of homelessness, or obstacles to getting off the streets, experts have said repeatedly.

White said that HUD's intention was to have communities nationwide gather demographic data as well as "program-level" data -- such as what problems lead to homelessness, what services people seek and what works to get people into housing.

But he also said that "about 90 percent" of the approximately 440 communities receiving federal funding nationwide are also behind in implementing the system.

Problems in getting started include security concerns -- whether the information will be made public in any way -- as well as inabilities to manage or pay for the system, White said.

Local agencies may be "playing the game and doing the minimum," Tosi said.

Meanwhile, HUD has lifted deadlines, so there's no time frame for when all agencies and data will be in the network.

"Not being able to get better statistics actually hurts people," said Linda Lera-Randle El, director of Straight From the Streets, an organization that doesn't receive federal funding.

"If they don't find out what works, then they can't help the homeless better.

"There's no accountability."