Shared, secure databases, accessible via the internet, Homeless Management Information Systems facilitate effective collection and sharing of information between agencies in order to identify needs and gaps in delivery of services to homeless and at-risk populations and to provide holistic solutions to unhoused clients. HMIS streamlines emergency shelter and supportive service delivery to clients receiving shelter and services, while reducing duplication of effort and technology by staff at agencies that serve this population. HMIS provides partner agencies throughout a county access to information about their clients – with each clients’ informed consent -- to be able to track demographic information, record services received and provide wrap-around care through referral to services of other HMIS partnering programs. Clients no longer need to repeat their basic information each time they apply for services giving staff more time with the client to concentrate on finding real solutions. HMIS provides a clear picture of the unhoused residents to help policy makers and stakeholders determine gaps in services and how to best use scarce resources to end episodes of homelessness.

Community Technology Alliance operates the HMIS program in Santa Clara County (www.HMISSCC.org) and Santa Cruz County (www.SantaCruzCountyHMIS.org), and offers training and technical assistance nationally. 

We lead the Regional Homeless Information Network (RHINo), a project of the Bay Area Counties Homeless Information Collaborative (BACHIC), a data warehousing collaborative effort among eleven counties' Continua of Care in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas.

Imagine looking for a job or a home without a telephone. Community VoiceMail provides the homeless and at-risk in Santa Clara County with access to personal, reliable telecommunications to connect with opportunities for jobs, housing and stability.

As one client, a formerly homeless disabled mother of three, told us, "I believe having our own private Voice Mail box helped us immensely because landlords heard my voice, not some motel operator or our friends' answering machine."

The difficult search for emergency shelter is simplified through our toll-free Shelter Bed Hotline. Callers throughout Northern California receive information about emergency shelter in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area – 24/7 -- with one call to this memorable number -- 1 800 7SHELTER. Using the technology of our Cisco Voice Mail system, callers are given a menu of choices to find the shelter that best suits their needs. Last year, the Shelter Bed Hotline connected 7,897 calls with information about shelter in Santa Clara County.

Internet technology is perfectly suited for providing comprehensive, up-to-date information and referral to health and human services in a user-friendly format. Our comprehensive, on-line directory of all health and human services in Santa Clara County is available on the web at www.HelpSCC.org.

HousingSCC is the comprehensive, online repository of information on low-income, subsidized housing in Santa Clara County -- available at www.HousingSCC.org.

Visitors to the web site can search for housing by a combination of criterion including wait list status, size of unit, monthly rent amount, location, wheelchair accessibility and services offered. Information provided for each property includes location, contact information, how to apply and eligibility requirements.

Members of the Santa Clara County Collaborative on Affordable Housing and Homeless Issues work collectively to increase the supply of affordable housing and reduce homelessness in the County. Community Technology Alliance maintains a number of technical tools used by the collaborative to share information and advocate to end and prevent homelessness.

CalWORKs participants can now accumulate required hours during school breaks and other times when their normal activities are interrupted through a new, innovative distance learning website developed to provide access to approved podcasts and other on-line learning materials. Access the distance learning site at CalWORKs.HelpSCC.org.

Community Technology Alliance is a member of HUD’s National HMIS Technical Assistance team.  We work with ABT Associates and Cloudburst Consulting to deliver technical assistance and training to communities across the United States. 

A team member since 2005, our staff delivers training on HUD Data Standards, provides disaster relief assistance, facilitates community collaborative efforts, develops white papers, delivers training on data warehousing and assists communities with submitting Annual Homeless Assessment Reports (AHAR).