Coalition Update – Coordinated Access Project
Communications Admin • April 3, 2014
In January, Houston began Phase 1 of Coordinated Access. Coordinated Access is a new and more efficient delivery system to quickly end homelessness for individuals and families. Previously, the homeless services delivery system in Houston has been focused on answering the question of “does this client fit into my program,” and as a result, clients could enter the system from a large number of points and often received the wrong intervention. What Coordinated Access does is answer the question “what housing and/or service intervention is best for this client,” through a smaller number of entry points and a standardized, coordinated effort between local service providers. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is requiring Continuums of Care (CoCs) to develop and implement a Coordinated Access System for all CoC and ESG (Emergency Solutions Grant) funded programs, because research has shown that coordinated access systems help communities quickly and efficiently end homelessness.
The mission of the Coalition for the Homeless is to provide leadership in the development, advocacy, and coordination of community strategies to prevent and end homelessness. A large part of this leadership and coordination is done by program staff members at the Coalition who work with homeless service agencies, government entities, and other groups to foster collaboration and drive the process of creating real change to prevent and end homelessness in Houston. One such staff member is Ana Rausch, who serves as the Coordinated Access Project Manager at the Coalition for the Homeless. Her main function is to guide the implementation of this new delivery system, and work with those staff members who are working on the frontlines, with everything from assessment through housing the client.
Coordinated Access team members have come from local homeless service agencies that have amended certain grant contracts to reassign existing employees to work on behalf of Coordinated Access. Currently, there are three Housing Assessors who perform the intake process with a standardized questionnaire to determine what program or intervention will end an individual’s homelessness. There are also two Housing Navigators who, once a client is assessed and matched with housing, will assist the client with any appointments and paperwork it may take to get them housed, and see them through until they are housed. Through this process, Housing Navigators build an incredible amount of trust with their clients, so the Navigators work to transfer that trust to the client’s case manager who, once the client is housed, works with the client to ensure that they are successful in housing for the long term.
Phase 1 of Coordinated Access began on January 6, and in this soft rollout, 24 clients were assessed by Housing Assessors and assigned a Housing Navigator who ensured that these clients were housed. To highlight early successes of Houston’s Coordinated Access system, the first client to participate was housed within seven days of his initial assessment. From January 6 through March 31, 11 additional clients were housed and an additional 7 have pending approval. The remaining 5 households are still working with Housing Navigators to be matched with appropriate housing and resources.
Phase 2 of Coordinated Access began on April 1, and Rausch anticipates approximately 80 or more households to be assessed and housed (Phase 2 will run through July). Rausch also hopes to increase the Coordinated Access team by continuing to work with local agencies to reassign staff to contribute to this new and more efficient system. Existing outreach teams in the community will also be trained as assessors. Currently there are two physical locations where Coordinated Access assessments are being performed, but Rausch says that this will eventually increase to meet the need created by Houston’s large geographic area. Assessments will also be performed virtually (over the phone) using the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) database managed by the Coalition. “Even though there will be multiple hubs where individuals can be assessed, through Coordinated Access, there will still be one standard assessment, one waiting list, and one system,” says Rausch.
Rausch says that she really enjoys her job because she sees the value in having an impartial party to help guide the process. “Since the Coalition for the Homeless serves tose who serve the homeless we are really once removed from providing direct service. This means that we can help develop best practices and stand by the Coordinated Access team members who are working with the clients to help them figure out this new system.” Furthermore, the greatest thing that Rausch has witnessed so far has been the collaboration between agencies and seeing “everyone working toward a common goal.” We are proud at the Coalition to play a part in helping foster collaboration and working together to end homelessness in Houston.
Houston, Texas (February 24, 2026) – This week, the nonprofit Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (CFTH) is leading the annual Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey (“PIT Count”) to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness across Houston and throughout Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties. “We may see a slight uptick in the number this year, but we have a plan,” said Kelly Young, President & CEO of CFTH. “With the support of the City of Houston, Harris County, and private funders, we have been piloting new interventions to shorten the length of time people in our region experience homelessness. With adequate funding, we look forward to expanding those interventions to help people regain lives of self-determination.” CFTH coordinates the Houston region’s public-private homeless response system, The Way Home . Through this collaboration, The Way Home partners have successfully housed over 36,000 people since 2012. CFTH will release the results of Houston’s 2026 PIT Count in the summer, following independent verification by an epidemiologist. These findings will provide insight into how factors such as increases in the cost of living and the end of federal pandemic relief funding have impacted homelessness in our region. More information about the 2026 Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey The PIT Count offers a snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness in our region on a single night. This year, the “night of record” is Monday, Feb. 23. CFTH determines the number of people staying in shelters on that night by pulling records electronically from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) . The unsheltered count will be conducted on the following days, from Tuesday, Feb. 24 to Thursday, Feb. 26. More than 400 volunteers and staff of local nonprofit service provider partners will canvass the three-county region to survey people living unsheltered, using an app on their mobile devices. Results from the 2026 PIT Count will help gauge the progress of The Way Home’s ongoing collaborative efforts. It will also help CFTH and partner homeless outreach teams understand geographic shifts and target their outreach throughout the year. The PIT Count illuminates specific programmatic gaps and provides additional information needed to allocate resources most efficiently. The PIT Count is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for the annual Continuum of Care (CoC) funding process. HUD furnishes the majority of funding for programs that provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness in the region. In 2024, HUD granted more than $71 million to the Houston area.
As lead agency to The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), CFTH is working with local governmental entities to advocate on behalf of people experiencing homelessness to ensure their needs are being considered as winter weather affects our region. We will make frequent updates as we receive information. Please check back often for the latest information. Last updated 02/01/2026 at 12:00 p.m.
While our system has helped thousands of people move from homelessness to housing, this year’s results highlight the need to broaden our approach.
