Why does HMIS matter to
North Dakota?
1) We must participate in HMIS to receive Emergency Shelter Grant funds and Continuum of Care funds. These funds provide the majority of services and housing to individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our state.
2) HMIS is meant to help people experiencing homelessness, because the data allows us to be accountable for funds we receive and apply for to help homeless people. Using HMIS means we get to keep funds we already receive and apply for funds we haven´t yet accessed, which means we can help more people as time goes on. HMIS empowers people experiencing homelessness to tell us what they need in their unique situations.
3) HMIS gives homeless people a voice. Homelessness in ND isn´t very visible, but it is a serious problem that must be solved. Everyone has a right to shelter. By collecting information from homeless people served in our state, we can prove that this is a relevant and costly issue needing immediate attention. It´s essential to tell homeless people´s stories, but it´s equally necessary to have statistical data to back up our narratives. Every record entered into HMIS demonstrates a larger need, and decision-makers will listen to numbers as well as dollars and cents.