Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:
Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR): The Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) is a report to the U.S. Congress on the extent and nature of homelessness in America. The report is prepared by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and provides nationwide estimates of homelessness, including information about the demographic characteristics of homeless persons, service use patterns, and the capacity to house homeless persons. The report is based primarily on Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) data about persons who experience homelessness during a 12-month period.
The Housing Inventory Count (HIC): The Housing Inventory Count collects information about all of the beds and units in each Continuum of Care homeless system, categorized by Provider Project Types.
Point-in-Time Homeless Persons Count (PIT): The Point-in-Time Counts provide counts of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night. Counts are provided by household type (individuals, families, and child-only households), and are further broken down by subpopulation categories, such as homeless veterans and people who are chronically homeless.
Link: http://www.hudhdx.info/
Date Inventory Completed: 7/10/2015
Screening
- Is the data collected opinion-based?
- Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
- Is there data available for 2013?
- Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level?
- Can we access the data by August 15th?
Purpose
What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?
HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes; utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination, and transform the way HUD does business.
Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?
To inform policymakers and the public about the state of homelessness in the US
Who else uses the data?
Policymakers and researchers
Who do they sell the data to?
Free
Method
What is the data collection method?
Online survey
What is the type of data collected?
Administrative
If designed, who created the questions?
What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)?
These reports are based primarily on data collected and maintained in Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS)
Description
What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?
Homelessness
What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?
2007 to 2014
Is data collected and available periodically?
Yes
How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided?
Unknown
Selectivity
What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?
Homeless individuals in the US
Accessibility
- How is the data accessed?
Direct download
- Is it open data?
Yes
Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?
Must create an account first online, which then needs to be approved. (reports freely available)
Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?
Free
Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? NO
Explanation:
There is no census tract information (aggregated by state or by continuum of care program)