Mission and Purpose

The National Homeless Information Project (NHIP) is a grassroots effort to increase sharing and understanding of homeless services data in order to increase knowledge in the field.  The cornerstone of the NHIP effort is to foster a collaboration of professionals working in the field to improve the collection of homeless services data, to increase the sharing of homeless services data and to promote a greater understanding of homeless services across the country.

Key activities of the NHIP will include:

1. Sharing of information across the 400+ Continuums providing homeless services.

2. Supporting key initiatives to improve the collection and analysis of homeless services data.

3. Building the knowledge and skills of all homeless services staff.

The complex and changing nature of homeless services and homeless services data demands both an increase in the knowledge base of every staff working in the field and a platform upon which to share this increased knowledge.  The NHIP hopes to serve as this platform in a collaborative manner led by the many skilled professionals currently working in the field.

Funding for the NHIP is being provided by private donors and is limited to the cost of design and maintenance of the website.  The NHIP does not plan to employ any staff or seek any large funding.  Limited and unobstrusive advertising may be added to the website only to subsidize the basic costs of keeping the website running.  As the collaboration builds, the NHIP will reconsider the need to organize with a formal structure.  Our intent is to "keep things as simple as possible."

Originally posted 03.01.16

Who can use the NHIP website?

One of the purposes of the NHIP is to provide a central place for persons working in homeless services to find and share important data concerning homelessness in their own community, neighboring communities, and national trends.

Many types of people can find the website helpful including:
-  Agency management
-  Grant writing staff or consultants
-  Foundations and private funders
-  Media Outlets (local or national)
-  Legislators and policymakers
-  Researchers and students

The website may especially be helpful to agencies and communities that have limited funding or capacity to find and write data that empirically describes the problems in their communities.

If you or your agency is looking for data and cannot locate it on the web or on our website - please feel free to contact us at nhipdata@gmail.org and we will gladly help you out - NO CHARGE !