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5 <br /> <br />Glossary of Terms <br />By-Name List: A real-tfme, person-specific record of individuals experiencing homelessness in a community. Each <br />entry includes key details such as housing status, service needs, and contact informatfon. These lists help service <br />providers coordinate care, prioritfze resources, and track progress toward housing outcomes. <br />Coordinated Entry (CE): a standardized process that helps communitfes assess, prioritfze, and connect people <br />experiencing homelessness to appropriate housing and services. It simplifies access, reduces duplicatfon, and <br />ensures those with the greatest need are served first. <br />Diversion: A strategy that helps people avoid entering the homeless system by resolving their housing crisis quickly, <br />often through conflict mediatfon, reconnectfon with family, or one-tfme financial support. It reduces shelter demand, <br />shortens tfme spent unhoused, and ensures crisis resources go to those with no alternatfves. <br />Emergency Housing Assistance Short-term housing with minimal barriers, designed to provide immediate shelter for <br />people experiencing homelessness while they seek permanent housing. <br />Functional Zero is the point when the number of people experiencing homelessness at any tfme is no greater than <br />the community’s proven capacity to quickly house them with appropriate, long -term support. <br />Homelessness: The lack of a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. It includes people who: <br />• Sleep in places not meant for habitatfon (cars, parks, abandoned buildings) <br />• Stay in emergency shelters or transitfonal housing. <br />• Flee domestfc violence or unsafe conditfons without stable housing. <br />• Youth or young adults who rely on temporary arrangements like “couch -surfing” without a permanent <br />home. <br />Homeless Management Information System (HMIS): A shared database used by service providers to track client <br />data and service use. HMIS enables coordinatfon among providers, accurate reportfng, and data-driven funding and <br />planning. High utflizatfon improves system performance and accountability. <br />Housing instability is the conditfon of being at risk of losing safe and adequate housing. It includes people who: <br />• Face evictfon, foreclosure, or loss of housing <br />• Struggle to pay rent, utflitfes, or other basic housing costs. <br />• Move frequently or rely on short-term, unstable housing. <br />• Live in overcrowded or unsafe conditfons that threaten long-term stability. <br />Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Long-term affordable housing with optfonal support services for people with <br />chronic homelessness or high housing barriers. <br />Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is a survey conducted on a single day each January that records the number of people <br />experiencing homelessness, both sheltered and unsheltered. It is used to track trends, guide planning, and meet <br />federal reportfng requirements. <br />Unsheltered Homelessness: Includes people who sleep in places not meant for habitatfon (cars, parks, abandoned <br />buildings). This is known to lead to increased risk of illness, violence, and long-term instability.