Overview and How to Use this Guide
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), in collaboration with Oregon’s Continuums of Care (CoCs), collects and manages the homelessness and housing retention data displayed in this dashboard. Each CoC collects data about the people it serves in alignment with standards published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Each CoC inputs these data into their regional instance of a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). There are currently three HMIS instances in Oregon:
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Lane County HMIS, administered and utilized by Lane County CoC,
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Portland Metro HMIS, administered by Multnomah County and utilized by Multnomah County CoC, Washington County CoC, and Clackamas County CoC
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Oregon-Multi Continuum HMIS administered by OHCS and utilized by Jackson County CoC, Central Oregon CoC, Marion/Polk Counties CoC, and the Balance of State CoC
Data from projects funded by OHCS are entered into the HMIS and shared with OHCS to better understand and evaluate the performance of its programs. The data displayed in this dashboard highlights the people accessing services from a variety of programs funded by OHCS, including emergency shelter, homeless prevention, rehousing services, street outreach, and other supportive services.
The dashboard displays data on Oregonians accessing homelessness and housing retention services funded by OHCS within the time range displayed (the 23-25 biennium – July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025) and whose data exists in the HMIS. The dashboard does not contain data on all the individuals experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness in Oregon. Any program funded by an alternative source other than OHCS, such as federal, city, county, or other municipality funds, is not captured in these data.
This guide explains the terms used in this document and on the dashboard, and provides insight into the methodologies used to create the dataset that is the foundation of the dashboard. Additionally, this guide will provide discussion on the limitations and descriptions of the data visualizations.