Mary Ann Priester
Senior Management Analyst
Mecklenburg County Community Support Services
Almost five years ago, Mecklenburg County Community Support Services introduced the “One Number”. Since its inception in 2019, the “One Number” has served as the primary benchmark for the number of people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. In July 2023, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care implemented a new Homeless Management Information System (HMIS): Clarity Human Services: Bitfocus. This system transition was undertaken to facilitate system improvement by strengthening and enhancing the local homeless services data system. The transition was necessary in order to support the community’s shared goal of delivering efficient and effective, impactful, data-informed homeless services. However, due to the transition, One Number metric data updates on the Housing and Homelessness dashboard were delayed as we worked to develop the needed reports to provide these metrics to the community. We are excited to share that with the support of Community Solutions, Built for Zero, the needed reports have been finalized and we are able to resume our monthly reporting of the One Number.
This week’s blog post provides an overview of the One Number update, what’s changed, the latest trends and analyses; and what this means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
ONE NUMBER
The One Number is generated from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). It encompasses individuals enrolled in Emergency Shelter (ES), Transitional Housing (TH), Street Outreach (SO), Permanent Housing (PH) (if no move-in date to housing is recorded yet), and Coordinated Entry (CE) programs in HMIS. The One Number includes both those experiencing sheltered homelessness and a portion of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It also provides a comprehensive By-Name List of persons experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
One Number data not only provides an overall count of homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, it can also be broken down by household and population type and disaggregated by demographic characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, and age. In addition, One Number data also facilitates the examination of inflow and outflow patterns associated with homelessness. The Housing Data Snapshot highlights inflow to (Newly identified, Returns from Permanent Housing, Returns for Inactivity) and outflow from (Exit to Permanent Housing, Exit to Inactivity), homelessness.
CHANGES AND UPCOMING ADDITIONS
Household Composition
The One Number will continue to be broken down by household composition but there are some changes to how household types are defined. In addition, we were previously unable to differentiate households with minor children from households with multiple adults. With our updated reporting capacity, we can now report out on these as separate household types. One Number household types include:
Families with Minor Children: Households that have at least one minor (17 years or younger) child in the household.
Multiple Adult Families: Households consisting of multiple adults who present as a family. This group might include couples with no children, multi-generational adult households, or a group of individuals who are not necessarily related by blood or legal ties but who have chosen to seek services together.
Single Adults: Unaccompanied individuals age 25 or older.
Unaccompanied Youth: Unaccompanied youth ages 18-24.
Race
In October 2023, HUD implemented the 2024 Data Standards which combine race and ethnicity data into a single element where an individual is able to select multiple responses. The data field also adds Middle Eastern or North African as a response option. For this reason, disaggregated race data prior to October 2023 have been archived. Current and future race data will be reported in alignment with the new race and ethnicity data element. Initially these data have been reported on the overall One Number. However, this data table will be expanded to include disaggregated race data by household and population type.
Gender Identity
In addition to race and ethnicity, the 2024 HUD Data Standards also updated the gender identity data element by changing the categories and allowing clients to select multiple gender identities. We are working with subject matter experts to determine the best way to aggregate the multi-select data. These data will be added to the Housing Data Snapshot in the coming months for both the overall One Number and by household and population type.
Age
In addition to presenting age data for the overall One Number, we have now expanded the data table to include the revised household types and the subpopulations of both chronic and veteran homelessness.
HISTORIC DATA
As mentioned in a previous blog , there were aspects of our previous HMIS system, including but not limited to how data were entered in HMIS prior to the implementation of open data-sharing, that impacted the data quality for specific data elements. The data quality issues were addressed through data transformations as part of the data import into the new system. The Clarity Bitfocus system also provides auto-exit functionality which ensures people are exited from the system when they are exited from any project to a permanent destination or if they do not have any system activity in 30 days. Finally, the system transition allowed us to identify and merge duplicate client records in a way that was not previously possible. The data transformations and enhanced functionality have resulted in a more accurate estimate of the number of people actively experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. However, due to the transformations, it is not possible to compare One Number metrics from the legacy HMIS (August 2019 – June 2023) to current data. The updated Housing Data Snapshot now displays data from July 2023 forward (post-HMIS migration). Historic data will still be downloadable from the Housing Data Snapshot landing page. However, all comparisons should be done with caution.
LATEST DATA & TRENDS
As of February 29, 2024, there are 3,035 individuals experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This total includes 1,845 single individuals, 127 unaccompanied youth, 289 households with minor children (totaling 997 people), and 21 families with multiple adults (totaling 51 people). Included in the total of 3,035 individuals, 215 are homeless Veterans, and 713 are individuals who are experiencing chronic homelessness.
Based on these data, the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness right now (and therefore, the minimum number of housing units and/or subsidies needed) in Charlotte-Mecklenburg is 3,035.
Considering inflow (into homelessness) and outflow (out of homelessness), here are some noteworthy trends:
- There has been a 25% increase in homelessness from July 2023 to February 2024. As context, it is important to note that, during this period there have been significant investments in expanding capacity in the service areas of street outreach and coordinated entry. It is possible that while the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased, the rise in homelessness is due to, at least in part, enhanced capacity to connect with people experiencing unsheltered and sheltered homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
- In February 2024, 759 individuals entered homelessness (inflow) and 818 people exited (outflow). February 2024 was the first time since July 2023 that the system outflow exceeded system inflow, a necessity in order to realize real reductions in the overall number of people experiencing homelessness. Of the 759 individuals entering homelessness, 78% (593) were newly identified, whereas 8% (60) represented returns to homelessness from permanent housing, and 14% (106) returned from an inactive status. Of the 818 individuals exiting homelessness, 30% (245) moved to permanent housing and 70% (573) exited homelessness to an inactive status, which means that they had not been engaged in services for the previous 30 days.
- Between July 2023 and February 2024, change in homelessness varied among all types of household composition and categories: the number of families with minor children increased by 31; the number of families with multiple adults decreased by 2; the number of single individuals increased by 401; and unaccompanied youth increased by 59. In addition, the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness decreased by 2; and people experiencing chronic homelessness increased by 41 individuals. Finally, the median number of days it takes to exit homelessness into housing increased from 277 days to 294 days and the average number of days it takes to exit homelessness into housing decreased from 815 days to 692 days. The median tells us the typical number of days it takes to exit homelessness into housing while the average might be skewed by long-stayers in shelter and people experiencing chronic homelessness.
- According to the most recent One Number data, disaggregated by race and ethnicity, individuals who identify as Black/African American continue to experience homelessness at rates much higher than their proportion of the Mecklenburg County population (73% vs. 33%) while individuals who identify as White, non-Hispanic experience homelessness at a rate much lower than their prevalence in the population (14% vs 45%). Individuals who identify as Hispanic/Latino have a prevalence of 3% in the homeless population but comprise 14% of the Mecklenburg County population; this reflects a possible underrepresentation of the people who experience homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and identify as Hispanic/Latino.
SO, WHAT
The One Number is the best snapshot available for the number of people actively experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. By monitoring One Number data over time, including household composition and inflow/outflow dynamics, the community can identify needs, gaps, and trends. These data can and should be used to inform targeted interventions and strategies to address homelessness effectively and to inform policy, programming, and funding decisions related to homelessness and housing instability.
