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Dear Vela Advocates,

This Saturday, September 30th, between 9:00 PM and 2:00 AM, we anticipate a temporary service interruption on your Vela site. Our development team will be performing crucial updates and system enhancements during this time as we work to maintain our HUD compliance as an HMIS comparable database with the FY2024 updates. Your understanding and patience during this scheduled maintenance window are greatly appreciated.

HUD has updated a few standard elements applicable to all Vela users, including race, ethnicity and gender identity. it is important to note that after updates, each of these fields will have new options for all Vela advocates to select from. Please make sure advocates are aware of the changes and have a good understanding of how to support survivors in selecting the option(s) that best align with the way survivors identify themselves. We understand and are compassionate that these options though more inclusive, do not honor every identity holistically. We are committed to working alongside our federal partners to make sure data reflects every survivor in a way that is meaningful to them and representative of their identities.

Here are the upcoming Race/Ethnicity options:
  • American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous
  • Asian or Asian American
  • Black, African American, or African
  • Hispanic/Latina/e/o
  • Middle Eastern or North African
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
  • White
  • Client Doesn't Know/Prefers not to Answer
  • Data Not Collected
Gender - Here are the upcoming gender identity options:
  • Woman
  • Man
  • Culturally Specific Identity
  • Transgender
  • Non-Binary
  • Questioning
  • Different Identity
  • Client Doesn't Know/Prefers Not to Answer
  • Data Not Collected

Though this round of updates is primary focused on HUD standards, there are a few features being released that will benefit all Vela users!

Anticipated features include:
  • Automatically sorting incidents in drop-down menus by most recently added first
  • Adding Hotline Caller Type to Hotline Calls grid in Flex Reports
  • Adding Residential City, State, Zip to incident grid
  • Adding Shelter Site to Bednight Counts grid... and more!

After we update all sites, we will send an email letting everyone know about the new features, and instructions on how to use them.

Your partnership and communication is essential to keeping Vela running smoothly for all Vela users. If you notice an error or something is not working as you might expect, we appreciate you taking the time to share it with our support team so that we can begin to work on identifying the issue and finding a solution as quickly as possible. Though we don't anticipate any specific issues, our team is ready on standby to address any issues that you may experience and here to support you through it!

Read below for a few more updates from our team, and keep in touch with any technical assistance or training needs at support@veladirect.com.

-Your Vela Support Team
On Friday we sent out a FVPSA logic update requiring Admin attention and review of program type settings. Admins, if you did not get a chance to read it in Vela, here is that message for you again - it is important, and your attention is appreciated!
 
To better assist organizations in accurately aligning their program types with allowable services under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), we have implemented a new option within the Administrative settings, under the "Program Types" section for mapping a program type to "Allowable FVPSA Services."
 
By default, we have configured all program types, excluding "Emergency Shelter" and "Hotel Motel," to be automatically mapped as "Allowable FVPSA Services." However, it is essential to ensure that your organization's programs are accurately represented in alignment with FVPSA requirements. If your organization operates programs that FVPSA does not gather service data for, such as "Transitional Housing" or "Batterer’s Intervention," it is imperative to set them as "Not Applicable."
How can your organization better utilize Vela's FAQ?

In the dropdown menu in Vela next to your profile image are a couple of really useful resources for learning more about Vela. In Vela's FAQ you can find step-by-step instructions for most Vela functions. Additionally, your organization can create it's own FAQs to highlight best practices, preferred workflow, add resources and share tips and tricks. Read this quick tutorial to learn more:
Not sure how to get ahold of our support team?

Please email us anytime at support@veladirect.com with any questions or needs you might have. All training and technical assistance is included! We're happy to assist you. Additionally, you can submit a request to us here: https://www.veladirect.com/request-support/