Lessons in Family Homelessness: Coordinated Entry

Coordinated Entry, which is considered the front door of the homeless system, is intended to provide equitable access to housing resources for people experiencing homelessness, with distribution of those resources based on an objective assessment of a household’s level of vulnerability. Unfortunately, Coordinated Entry has fallen short of those ideals. Applying what we learned through our experience leading the 10-year Family Homelessness Initiative, Building Changes has developed a list of three guiding principles to improve Coordinated Entry for families. This brief details those lessons, illustrating them with stories and voices of those who are working to improve experiences and outcomes for families that engage with the homeless system. The lessons revolve around continuous improvement strategies that homeless systems ought to implement to make Coordinated Entry more faithful to its original intent.