Data

Person-Centered Data

Homeward’s data collection and analysis are vital to understanding and addressing homelessness in the Greater Richmond region. We gather data through the Homeward Community Information System (HCIS) and the Point in Time (PIT) count, both of which inform planning and resource allocation.


The PIT count, conducted twice a year, involves direct conversations with individuals experiencing homelessness, including veterans, chronically homeless persons, and unaccompanied youth.


As the HMIS Lead for the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care, Homeward manages HCIS, which tracks homelessness trends, service interactions, intervention effectiveness, and resource needs.


This data enables Homeward to evaluate program outcomes, assess cost-effectiveness, and provide recommendations to optimize resources for maximum impact.


Regional, Person-Centered Data Reporting

Data quality control and analysis in the regional homelessness system (primarily the Homeless Management Information System, or HMIS) is governed by local and federal policies aimed at producing aggregate, de-identified reports while protecting individual privacy. Homeward serves as the designated Collaborative Applicant and HMIS Lead for the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care and follows specific requirements for data privacy, data quality, and security.


 The authority to publish reports that use data from HMIS to show the scope, scale, and performance of the regional coordinated homeless services system is centralized with Homeward. When citing and presenting Homeward data, partners are encouraged to include relevant context such as the reporting date and population scope to support accurate interpretations of the data.

 For questions about this policy or if your agency has a data request, please visit https://www.homewardva.org/make-a-data-request.


Source and Use Policy

Greater Richmond Continuum of Care (GRCoC) agencies and community partners are permitted to use system-level data analyzed and reported by Homeward for their communications, reporting, presentations, and other needs. Any data, tables, or charts generated by Homeward must use the following credit line: Source: Homeward, homewardva.org.


Branded tables, charts, and infographics should not be altered to remove Homeward or GRCoC logos or watermarks. Failure to properly credit Homeward and/or removal of logos or watermarks could result in future denial of data requests. 


Latest Reports:


For the most recent publicly available system-level reports submitted to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, please visit https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/coc-dashboard-reports/. You can find a summary here.

Data Visualizations

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