Help End Homelessness

To members of the Senate and House Finance Committees,

I am writing to tell you that I am concerned about the state of homelessness in Minnesota and feel that it is necessary for the state to assist in the fight against homelessness.

HMIS fills a vital role in the fight to end homelessness.

HMIS helps the homeless by decreasing duplicate intakes and assessments, creating more accurate referrals, and having coordinated case management.

HMIS benefits agencies and programs by tracking client outcomes, coordinating services with others, providing data so that organizations can prepare more accurate reports for grants and funding, and will assist in shaping the programs that serve this community.

HMIS assists advocates and public policy makers by better conveying the extent and scope of the homeless, having more accurate counts of the population, identifying where services or lacking, better informing policy decisions, and assists in developing a forum that addresses community-wide issues.

I support the appropriation of $800,000 to the Housing Finance Agency to administer the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), as stated in bills SF1813 and HF2001.

Thank you for your attention and support.