Glossary of Terms
Affordable Housing: Housing, either ownership or rental, for which a household will pay no more than 30% of its gross annual income.
Chronic Homelessness: Description of an unaccompanied individual who has been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years and usually has a disabling condition.
Continuum of Care: Organization of service providers established by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to oversee community planning around homelessness. Continua work together to define needs, plan strategies, and prioritize funding for supportive housing services. Entity that applies to HUD for federal funding.
Homeless Persons: Persons or families lacking a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence or are residing in a place not meant for human habitation, or in an emergency shelter, or in transitional housing for the homeless, or are being evicted within 14 days from a private dwelling, or are being discharged within 14 days from an institution in which they have been a resident for more than 30 consecutive days, or are fleeing a domestic violence situation. In case of children and youth, it also includes sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or similar reason or awaiting foster care placement.
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS): A community-wide database congressionally mandated for all programs funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development homeless assistance grants. The system collects demographic data on consumers as well on information on service needs and usage.
Housing First: A model that moves chronically homeless consumers from the streets immediately into permanent housing with the provision of supportive treatment services to the extent of need.
Rapid Re-housing: approach that focuses on moving individuals and families that are homeless into appropriate housing as quickly as possible.
Re-entry Housing: transitional and supportive housing options for people coming out of prison and jail.
Single Room-Occupancy (SRO): a building that offers residents a single, furnished room, often with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities.
Supportive Housing: Permanent affordable housing, in any housing configuration with supportive services attached that are designed to help people maintain the housing. It is for people who have been or are at risk of homelessness and who have special needs including disabilities, or other substantial barriers to maintaining housing stability. Permanent means housing with no limit or length of stay and no requirement that tenants move out in their service needs change.
Download Key Principles of Supportive Housing.
Ten Year Plans to End Homelessness: Local and statewide campaigns that seek to engage all sectors of society in a revitalized effort to confront and overcome homelessness in America. Each Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness provides solutions and options to end homelessness rather than to manage it.
