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