Homeless Daily Average

This is an approximate DAILY AVERAGE count of individuals staying in shelters, transitional housing, or places not meant for habitation. In keeping with HUD guidelines, this count does not include individuals who are “doubled up” or “couch surfing” temporarily with extended family or friends.

Stably Housed Daily Average

This is an approximate DAILY AVERAGE count of individuals with prior experiences of homelessness now permanently housed with temporary or long-term supports as needed for housing stability.

At Risk Daily Average

This is an approximate DAILY AVERAGE count of precariously housed clients receiving supports to prevent homelessness before it starts.

Unknown Daily Average

Beginning Q1 2023, KnoxHMIS is reclassifying a certain subset of homeless service recipients from "Homeless" and "At Risk" to "Unknown (meals/services only)."

This group typically represents about 10-15% of all clients served by KnoxHMIS partners. Most clients in this category received meals or basic needs services targeting homeless or housing precarious populations by one or more partner agency, but homelessness was not required for eligibility and their housing status was not explicitly defined in an ongoing way. In the past, we made assumptions based on clients’ reported housing situation at the beginning of project enrollments, when that was known. Given the fluid nature of housing instability, however, we feel that “unknown” is a more transparent, if less gratifying, designation. No doubt some remained homeless or in unstable housing throughout the report. Others, still, were likely experiencing “episodic homelessness,” meaning that even within the reporting period their status may have fluctuated between unsheltered, institutional, and/or “doubled up” housing situations.

Chronic Homeless

Persons with disabling conditions who experienced homelessness for a total of at least 12 months within the prior three years.

Household Size

This chart counts program enrollments - not clients -- by household size. One individual may have been enrolled in multiple programs within the reporting period, and may have been enrolled individually in one program and with a family in another. All such enrollments are counted here.

Stayers/Leavers

This chart reports the final exit destinations of individuals no long enrolled in any KnoxHMIS-affiliated program at the end of the reporting period (quarter or year).

Inflow/Outflow

This System Inflow-Outflow chart tracks those entering the KnoxHMIS system experiencing homelessness for the first time, as well as those leaving the KnoxHMIS system permanently housed.

NOTE: These totals include individuals in Night-by-Night (NbN) shelter. NbN shelters offer emergency shelter to individuals on a nightly basis, allowing clients to come and go as needed. Given the high volumes of those served, NbN shelters, in contrast to other Emergency Shelter programs, typically do not track exit outcomes. Thus, while including clients enrolled in NbN shelter more accurately represents the volume and flow of clients through the Knox homeless service system, this may underrepresent the true rate of exits to permanent housing, since anyone finding housing on their own is not included in the total. Under "Housing Status at System Exit," those exiting from NbN shelter are included in the "Unknown" count.

Families

In 2022, KnoxHMIS adjusted its methodology for counting families to more closely align with the method currently used by HUD. In prior years, families were counted if any single member of of a household with children sought services within the reporting period. The HUD methodology, in contrast, only counts families if at least one adult *and* at least one child received services together. We believe this transition better reflects family counts, serves as a better guide for strategic planning, and serves for cleaner comparisons with national trends.

Last Known Permanent Address

Hit play/pause (top right of map) to control the slides, zoom in and out using the “+/-” in the top left, and click on the map for more information by zip code. Map shows last zip codes in which clients were housed before entering homelessness, delimited to those receiving homeless services for the first time.