About Street Outreach

Street Outreach (SO) is a program funded by PATH, RHY, CoC, and ESG. Because so many of the HUD projects fund it, SO isn't limited to helping just one group. Instead, SO reaches youth, veterans, the mentally ill--virtually anyone living literally on the streets or in a place not fit for human habitation. 


The purpose of Street Outreach is to engage potential clients to try to get them off the streets and into a shelter. This can be an emergency shelter or more stable housing. 


SO and PATH (Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness)


PATH is a federal grant to aid the truly homeless (those who live in a place not fit for human habitation) or those at risk of homelessness and have severe mental illnesses. More information about PATH can be found at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) PATH website here and at the PATH Program HMIS Manual here. Is this the right place for the link to the HMIS manual? I don't understand why not. The manual does include much most users don't need, such as project setup, but it also includes information they may find helpful. From the introduction:


The PATH (Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness) Program HMIS Manual is intended to support data collection and reporting efforts of Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Lead Agencies, State PATH Contacts and PATH Program grantees. 


STEH would be the lead agency, I don't know who State PATH Contacts would be (agency HMIS leads?), and PATH Program grantees are the agencies. 


PATH funds two types of projects:

  • Street Outreach: For persons residing in a place not meant for human habitation (e.g. streets, cars, abandoned buildings, etc.)
  • Supportive Services: For those residing in a place that is meant for human habitation or is at imminent risk of becoming homeless.


Enrolling a Client in PATH SO

Pull up the client's profile and click on the 'Programs' tab and choose the Street Outreach program. Enroll the client following the instructions in the 'Program Enrollments' article. 


SO and RHY (Runaway and Homeless Youth)

RHY works with youth who are homeless, have run away from home, and/or are living on the streets. RHY's goal is to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse of America's youth living on the streets. 


RHY funds three types of programs:

  • Street Outreach: Meant to meet immediate needs such as stable shelter and services.
  • Basic Center Program: The Basic Center Program is designed to help youth under 18 years of age in two different ways: by providing shelter and out-of-shelter services. 
  • Transitional Living Program: Provides up to 21 months of long-term shelter and services for youth aged 16-22. 


SO and CoC

Under CoC funding, SO is considered 'Supportive Services Only' (SSO), meaning funding recipients can help clients by putting them in touch with shelters and providing other services. Can you elaborate? SSO is broadly defined as funds provided to agencies to help both sheltered and unsheltered individuals and families in a variety of ways, but the client(s) cannot be housed in a place operated by the agency. SSO can pay for RRH, TH, Street Outreach, moving costs, childcare, counseling, job training, etc. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/24/578.53   https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/coc-program-eligibility-requirements/ 


Data Collection Does this apply only to CoC or all SO? I don't understand this question. Does it apply only to the Curriculum of Care or all Street Outreach? Or should they be reversed (only to SO or all CoC)? If it's the latter, I'd say all of CoC, but it depends on what you mean by the question. 


A challenge for a street outreach worker is a person experiencing homelessness may not be willing to provide all the information necessary for the worker to begin the program. For instance, the worker may only be able to record the program start date and the client's name. Data may need to be edited as time goes on for accuracy and completeness.


Note: Do not edit the original enrollment. Editing the original enrollment will result in reporting errors, inaccurate information, and possible funding issues. Instead, complete a Status Update Assessment, or if the client has been enrolled in the program for more than a year (unlikely in the case of Street Outreach), complete an Annual Assessment. Both can be found under the Assessments tab when you click into the program.




Duplicate Client Records

Sometimes one client may encounter different street outreach workers, resulting in duplicate Clarity records. If this happens, be sure to contact HMIS Support at HMISsupport@end-homelessness.org to request de-duplication. Do not send Personal Identifiable Information (PII) such as birthdates, Social Security Numbers, or full names. Instead, send the Client Unique ID found on the client's Clarity profile page. 


Current Living Situation

A current living situation assessment needs to be completed after every contact with the client. 'Contact' means 'an interaction between a worker and a client designed to engage the client', and can be a conversation about the client's well-being or needs, an office visit, or a referral to another service. See below for details on completing a current living situation assessment. 


Date of Engagement  

The 'Date of Engagement' in an SO program indicates the point the outreach worker has developed a relationship with the client and completed a deliberate client assessment or the beginning of a case plan. 


Note: 'Assessment' in terms of date of engagement means the client's situation has been assessed by the outreach worker. It does not necessarily mean an assessment completed in Clarity (for instance, rental update, current living situation, or status update assessments). 


The date of engagement may or may not be the same date as the date of enrollment in the program, meaning the client may be enrolled in a program, and the date of engagement to assess their situation may be another date. However:


  • A client may be enrolled in a program and not be engaged. For example, the client was enrolled and left without notice before a deliberate assessment/case plan could be developed and was then exited based on no further contact for a period of time.


  • The client cannot be engaged after the client exited the program (if there is an exit date attached to the program). The client must be actively enrolled in the program for a date of engagement to be entered. 


  • If the client shows up later a new enrollment should be completed and that enrollment could include the date of engagement if an outreach worker was able to assess the client's needs more thoroughly and/or develop a case plan. But any date of engagement must be entered within an active enrollment.


  • If the client is engaged after enrollment, the caseworker should enter the date of engagement when the engagement occurs. Additionally, based on data entry requirements for street outreach:
    •  A current living situation (CLS) assessment should also be entered at the time the client is engaged because the client would have been contacted in order to assess their situation and a case plan developed. 
    • A CLS should be entered each time a client is contacted so a CLS should be entered on enrollment or at any other point of contact for street outreach.



SO and ESG


Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) provide funding to:


(1) engage homeless individuals and families living on the street; (2) improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families; (3) help operate these shelters; (4) provide essential services to shelter residents, (5) rapidly rehouse homeless individuals and families, and (6) prevent families/individuals from becoming homeless. 


Funds may be used for five program components: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance, and HMIS. 

Source: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/esg/esg-requirements/ 


For street outreach in particular, ESG provides the services required to reach out to those experiencing homelessness, both individuals as well as families, and to guide them to emergency shelter, housing, critical services, and administer urgent care. Specifically, the services ESG provides include engagement, case management, emergency health and mental health services, and transportation. 


Street Outreach and Clarity


Enrolling a Client in SO in Clarity


From the client's profile page, click on the 'Programs' tab, then choose the 'Street Outreach' program.

Select any or all household members to be included in the program enrollment. Click 'Enroll'. 



Enter the information in the drop-down boxes as completely and as accurately as possible. Complete the entire page. 



At the bottom of the page, click 'Save & Close' (if entering multiple clients in the same household, click 'Save & Next' until finished, then click 'Save & Close'). 


Scroll to the top of the page to make sure you've saved the information correctly. If you see a green bar, you can proceed. A red bar means one or more errors were made. Correct them, then click 'Save & Close' again. 




Providing Services

Enrolling a client into a Clarity program automatically brings up the Services screen. Here you can choose from a number of different services. Choose the most applicable to the situation. 



To select a service, click the downward-facing arrow. The service field opens, and the calendar defaults to the current date. Both the start and end dates are the same. Enter any notes necessary, and click 'Submit'. Clarity automatically closes and records the service. 


Click the Program History tab to check to make sure the service is complete and correct. 


Completing Assessments

See the article 'Current Living Situation' for detailed information on completing assessments. 



Exiting a Client From a Program

See the article 'Exiting a Client From a Program' for more information. 


Additional Information

If you'd like more information on how Strategies to End Homelessness works with partner agencies to assist Street Outreach, go to our website: https://www.strategiestoendhomelessness.org/what-we-do/shelter-and-outreach/ 



Contact Us


If you need help or wish to offer suggestions or feedback, please contact the Cincinnati/Hamilton County HMIS Support Team at HMISsupport@end-homelessness.org or call (513) 263-2790 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday through Friday excluding holidays. 


Note: When contacting HMIS Support about a particular client, please do not send personally identifiable information such as full name, social security number, medical records, or any other information used to determine a person's identity. Instead, send the client's Clarity Unique Identifier found on the client's Clarity profile, first name and last 4 digits of SSN, or Vesta Public ID.