The Housing Options Tool (HOT) is now live! Many of you have seen demonstrations of the HOT over the past few months, so you know that it provides an online venue to find housing for persons with long histories of homelessness – based on their preferences, program eligibility, income requirements, and desired level of services.
Almost 50 programs are participating in HOT, and search results can be refined based upon more than a dozen filters! Even better: the tool includes an online Vacancy Reporting form so that any program can post and publicize a housing opportunity in real time, as well as an Applications Warehouse where housing application materials for all listed programs can be downloaded.
Over the next few months we will be refining the tool, increasing provider participation, and incorporating the use of the VI-SPDAT, a proven screening tool. These enhancements will be made by October 1st, 2014, when we launch our Coordinated Assessment initiative! Until then, please try out the tool and let us know what works for you, what maybe doesn’t work, and what we may have missed.
