The Best Thresholds for Rapid Identification of Episodic and Chronic Homeless Shelter Use

TL;DR

This study identifies optimal thresholds for rapidly pinpointing clients with episodic or chronic homelessness to improve housing support targeting, using new impact metrics and analyzing shelter use patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to determine effective thresholds for identifying homeless clients, enhancing early intervention strategies.

Findings

Optimal thresholds vary by client type and context.

New impact metrics improve identification accuracy.

Insights into characteristics of under-the-radar clients.

Abstract

This paper explores how to best identify clients for housing services based on their homeless shelter access patterns. We focus on counting the number of shelter stays and episodes of shelter use for a client within a time window. Thresholds are then applied to these values to determine if that individual is a good candidate for housing support. Using new housing referral impact metrics, we explore a range of threshold and time window values to determine which combination both maximizes impact and identifies good candidates for housing as soon as possible. New insights are also provided regarding the characteristics of the "under-the-radar" client group who are typically not identified for housing support.