Understanding the First Time Experiencing Homelessness Report

The First Time Experiencing Homelessness report is built based on HUD's System Performance Measure 5: Number of Persons Who Become Homeless for the First Time. The calculations are programmed to align with the specifications provided by HUD for this measure. To learn more about the original measure itself, we encourage you to view the video that HUD has created about the specific measure (see below).

Report need-to-know
Who runs this report?	ICA, as the HMIS Lead Agency.
Can agencies run this report?	No. This report must be run by ICA staff.
Who gets this report?	Upon request, ICA provides this report to committees and task forces that oversee program performance. ICA typically needs at least one to two weeks notice to provide the report, but this can vary based upon current reporting workload.

HUD-Developed Resources

This video is from the HUD Exchange.

A transcript of this video is available here (pdf).

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did ICA develop this report?

This report was requested, in various formats from multiple CoCs within the Missouri implementation.

What project types are included in this report?

The types of projects that are included in this report are:

Emergency Shelters
Transitional Housing
Safe Havens
Rapid Rehousing
Permanent Supportive Housing
Other Permanent Housing

How are clients identified as experiencing homelessness for the first time in this report?

This report pulls clients who are enrolled in emergency shelters, safe havens, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and other permanent housing projects during the report period, and looks within the two years prior to the report start date to see if they were enrolled in any of these types of projects. If they were not, they are identified as experiencing homelessness for the first time and included in the count.

Why two years? Why not 10? Why not ever?

This report was designed to align with HUD's definition of clients who have become homeless for the first time, and they have designated that this only looks back at a two-year period.

Can I see HUD's programming specifications myself?

Yes. They're available on the HUD Exchange: CoC System Performance Measures Programming Specifications.

What if I have questions that haven't been answered?

If you still have questions that haven't been answered above, we encourage you to reach out to our helpdesk.