San Luis Obispo CoC HMIS Newsletter

Documenting Services

Service options are customized at the agency and/or program level, so may look different depending on the user. For Reporting needs, be sure to enter all services within a client's "Enrollment." Review this Knowledge Base Article for best practices to add Services to a client record in HMIS.

Thursday, December 25: County Offices Closed

Thursday, January 1: County Offices Closed

1PM Wednesday, January 7: Veterans BNL Meeting

3PM Wednesday, January 7: HMIS "Drop-in" Office Hours

9AM Tuesday, January 20: HSOC Data and Performance

CES Report - No Activity 60Days

The Coordinated Entry (CES) Team has created reports to help users ensure successful referrals. The "No Activity for 60Days" report offers users a proactive look at clients who may soon be auto-exited from their CES program enrollment without activity at 90 days. Learn more about the No Activity-60Days Report in this Knowledge Base article.

⁠Ending 2025 with Gratitude and Appreciation

As we conclude 2025 and prepare to welcome in the new year, we recognize and appreciate our HMIS partners across the county. Every service provider, city partner, and individual user has played an important role in our community to help us better understand the landscape of homelessness. In 2025, we welcomed three new providers to HMIS further strengthening our homeless system of care.

We would like to especially thank Janna Nichols and Staci Dewitt for their pivotal contributions. Janna's leadership and advocacy as Chair of the Data and Performance Subcommittee were instrumental in preparing our community for the migration to Clarity HMIS. Staci led HMIS Support operations and provided invaluable guidance to users across the county. We are grateful for their leadership and for all our partners who continue to champion HMIS in the community.

Sheltered Point-in-Time/ Housing Inventory Count

While the Longitudinal Systems Analysis reporting continues, the HMIS Team is preparing for the upcoming Sheltered Point-in-Time and Housing Inventory Count. Like in previous years, the HMIS Team will work with all providers for emergency shelter and transitional housing opportunities and will offer a reporting tool for any non-HMIS participating agencies.

Join the HMIS Team on Tuesday, January 20 at 1PM on TEAMS.

Unsheltered PIT Count Volunteer Registration is LIVE!

The 2026 Point-in-Time Count is a community-wide effort of volunteers, service providers, and government staff to count each person experiencing homelessness in San Luis Obispo County on a single night. We need service providers to help compassionately survey people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and we need community members as volunteers to help us ensure complete geographic coverage in the county. Learn more about the 2026 Point-in-Time Count here and

complete your Volunteer Registration Form today!

The 2026 unsheltered PIT Count will take place on Tuesday, January 27 at 5:30AM with Warming Shelters activated countywide on the night of Monday, January 26, 2026.

Winter Operating Hours for the HMIS Support Team

There are county holidays in December and January where the HMIS Helpdesk operated by the HMIS Support Team will be unavailable. Please note the HMIS Helpdesk is closed on Thursday, December 25 and Thursday, January 1. The HMIS Support Team will be back and available on Friday, January 2, 2026.

Thank you for attending HMIS Office Hours

We appreciate all the users who make the time to drop-in to HMIS Office Hours and meet users across all agencies and ask questions directly to the team. We are looking forward to more opportunities to build community while ensuring personalized help to foster confidence in HMIS!

Click here to join HMIS Office Hours on Wednesday, January 7 at 3PM.

Supporting Veterans and their Families in San Luis Obispo County

The VA Greater LA Healthcare System facilitates SLO County's Veteran ByName List (BNL) through the Coordinated Entry System in Clarity HMIS. By embedding referrals and matching into HMIS, our community expands access to housing opportunities and services for veterans and their families.

Updates:

The Veteran BNL meeting will be cancelled in December and the team is offering Office Hours on Tuesday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 30 from 1 - 2PM. Join office hours with this link.

The Veteran BNL Meeting on Wednesday, January 7 will be in-person at the CAPSLO Southwood campus.

Thank you and Happy Holidays from everyone at the VA to our SLO County partners! It has been a year filled with collaboration, building strong relationships, and continuing our shared focus on ending veteran homelessness in SLO County - onward! Thanks everyone!

Stay Connected:

Ila Thatcher-Geis

Homeless Outreach, SSVF and Transitional Housing Services

Good Samaritan Shelter

Chris Stanley

Homeless Outreach and SSVF Services

CAPSLO

Thank you for helping us serve those who served.

The CE Team, in partnership with the HMIS Support Team, is using a new helpdesk email address to field technical questions. The email address is: hsd_CESsupport@co.slo.ca.us. The CES Team will be out of the office on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1 and 2, 2026.

Housing Updates and Queue Referrals

Referrals for The Maxine Lewis Grove housing project are ongoing!

For more information on the project, email hsd_CESsupport@co.slo.ca.us to request a copy of the housing project's Matching Guidance.

Important Updates for Successful Referrals

CES has implemented changes to the Prioritization Scoring & Eligibility Guidance that require a Photo ID and Social Security Card to be uploaded to the Coordinated Entry Program (CEP) in HMIS prior to a referral to a Housing Project. Changes also include using the CEP program start date and Household Size as tiebreakers for clients who have the same VI-SPDAT score. Learn more about the required documentation for successful referrals with this Knowledge Base Article. This update to CES Prioritization guidance was delayed due to the government shutdown, which impacted documentation requests.

For more tips on how to complete successful referrals, how to upload the required information to HMIS, or if you need a copy of the CES Prioritization Scoring and Eligibility Guidance - reach out to the CE Team!

Thank you from the CE Team

Nathan, Hayley, and Nathaniel

Veteran Resource Fair & Pancakes

Join the Pismo Lions Club on Saturday, January 10 at 9AM. Veterans eat free and all are invited to explore local resource and services for our community in the armed services. Learn more on the Pismo Lions website here.

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