St. Louis Becomes Fourth U.S. City to Collect Data on All Single Adults Experiencing Homelessness

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Jun 10, 2024, 08:36 ET

NEW YORK, June 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Community Solutions announced that St. Louis became the fourth city nationwide to obtain real-time by-name data on all single adults experiencing homelessness.

"We can't solve homelessness unless we understand the scope of the problem, and quality by-name data is crucial to that end," said Beth Sandor, chief program officer at Community Solutions. "St. Louis city leaders can now pinpoint who is experiencing homelessness -- and use that information to quickly match people with housing and services according to their needs."

Most cities rely on the annual point-in-time count, which only tallies the number of people experiencing homelessness once a year. Quality by-name data is a comprehensive source of information on every person experiencing homelessness, including their name, history with homelessness, as well as health and housing needs. Outreach teams collect the data with consent and update it at least monthly.

Unlike the annual count, real-time data allows cities to better evaluate whether their strategies reduce homelessness over time. It also enables communities to prioritize resources and monitor whether homelessness reductions are racially equitable.

The city of St. Louis reached this milestone through its participation in Built for Zero, an initiative of more than 100 U.S. communities using data to measurably and equitably end homelessness. Next, the St. Louis team will focus on reducing chronic homelessness in the city.

Three other Built for Zero communities -- Fairfax County, Va., Washoe County, Nev., and Missoula, Mont. -- have secured by-name data for all single adults. More than 65 Built for Zero communities have achieved by-name data for at least one homeless population.

"With this milestone, the city of St. Louis is one step closer to solving homelessness," said Desiree King, director of House Everyone STL. "This achievement was only possible because of the collaboration between homeless response organizations across the city. Now, it's incumbent on us to harness this data and ensure that everyone in St. Louis has a place to call home."

About Community Solutions
Community Solutions is a nonprofit committed to making homelessness rare and brief. It leads Built for Zero, a network of more than 100 US communities using a data-driven methodology to improve local housing and homelessness response systems and the impact they can achieve. To date, 14 communities have reached functional zero veteran and or chronic homelessness, a milestone for homelessness being rare and brief for a population. Learn more at www.community.solutions or follow us at @CmtySolutions.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Alden Iaconis
(202) 516-6593
[email protected]

SOURCE Community Solutions