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Chronically Homeless Individual
This refers to an individual with a disability who has been continuously homeless for 1 year or more or has experienced at least four episodes of homelessness in the last 3 years where the combined length of time homeless in those occasions is at least 12 months.
Chronically Homeless People in Families
This refers to people in families in which the head of household has a disability and has either been continuously homeless for 1 year or more or has experienced at least four episodes of homelessness in the last 3 years where the combined length of time homeless in those occasions is at least 12 months.
Continuums of Care (CoC)
These are local planning bodies responsible for coordinating the full range of homelessness services in a geographic area, which may cover a city, county, metropolitan area, or an entire state.
Emergency Shelter
This is a facility with the primary purpose of providing temporary shelter for homeless people.
Homeless
This describes a person who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. For a more detailed definition, please see the HUD Exchange Definition of Homeless.
Housing Inventory Count (HIC)
This is produced by each CoC and provides an annual inventory of beds in the CoC.
Individual
This refers to a person who is not part of a family with children during an episode of homelessness. Individuals may be homeless as single adults, unaccompanied youth, or in multiple-adult or multiple-child households.
Other Permanent Housing
This is housing with or without services that is specifically for formerly homeless people, but that does not require people to have a disability.
Parenting Youth
These are people under age 25 who are the parents or legal guardians of one or more children (under age 18) who are present with or sleeping in the same place as that youth parent, where there is no person over age 24 in the household.
Parenting Youth Household
This is a household with at least one parenting youth and the child or children for whom the parenting youth is the parent or legal guardian.
Rapid Rehousing
This is a housing model designed to provide temporary housing assistance to people experiencing homelessness, moving them quickly out of homelessness and into permanent housing.
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)
This is a program designed to provide housing (project- and tenant-based) and supportive services on a long-term basis to formerly homeless people. HUD McKinney-Vento-funded programs require that the client have a disability for program eligibility, so the majority of people in PSH have disabilities.
People in Families with Children
These are people who are homeless as part of households that have at least one adult (age 18 and older) and one child (under age 18).
Point-in-Time Counts
These are unduplicated 1-night estimates of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations. The 1-night counts are conducted by Continuums of Care nationwide and occur during the last week in January of each year.
Safe Havens
These are projects that provide private or semi-private long-term housing for people with severe mental illness and are limited to serving no more than 25 people within a facility. People in safe havens are included in the 1-night PIT count but, at this time, are not included from the 1-year shelter count.
Sheltered Homelessness
This refers to people who are staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, or safe havens.
Transitional Housing Programs
These provide people experiencing homelessness a place to stay combined with supportive services for up to 24 months.
Unaccompanied Youth (under 18)
These are people who are not part of a family with children or accompanied by their parent or guardian during their episode of homelessness, and who are under the age of 18.
Unaccompanied Youth (18 to 24)
These are people who are not part of a family with children or accompanied by their parent or guardian during their episode of homelessness, and who are between the ages of 18 and 24.
Unsheltered Homelessness
This refers to people whose primary nighttime residence is a public or private place not designated for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for people (for example, the streets, vehicles, or parks).
Veteran
This refers to any person who served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States. This includes Reserves and National Guard members who were called up to active duty.