Which Form 944 Pr Veterans 2011-2023

All across Los Angeles, everywhere you turn, you see encampments. You see people living on the streets. On any given night in Los Angeles, we know there are about 4,800 veterans who are experiencing homelessness, according to our last point in time count. Over the past few years, we've seen a lot of improvements in data and how it is collected. Because of that, we are closer to being able to say we have an exact count of who the homeless veterans are, what they like, what they don't like, what motivates them, and what doesn't motivate them. This enhances our skills from a case management perspective to make sure we are meeting their specific needs. At the federal level, we closely look at data with VA and HUD to ensure we all have the same understanding of each other's data. We use this data to drive federal policy and programmatic decisions. However, the biggest changes have happened at the local level. Communities have moved away from just knowing an estimate of how many veterans are experiencing homelessness to having actual by name lists of veterans in their communities who are experiencing homelessness. Before 2011, we relied on a more paper-based system, but in 2011, we implemented a new online data system called Homes. This system provides real-time data, allowing us to clearly identify veterans in the community and determine their individual needs. Based on this information, we can connect them with the right services that they need. Data is essential in homeless programs because we need to know that what we're doing matters. It has been a total game changer for us. We track veterans as they engage in services, enter programs, and exit programs. We look at program outcome information to help us determine if our programs are providing the most effective...