Coordinated Entry can serve all people (single adults, young adults, couples, families, and veterans) who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness in Central Oregon.*

Being homeless means you are:

•         Living and sleeping outside or in places not meant for human habitation,
•         Fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence**,
•         Staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing, or
•         Exiting an institution*** where you stayed for up to 90 days and were homeless before entering that institution.

Being “at risk” of homelessness is more broadly defined and includes individuals and families who are facing eviction soon, living in a motel, exiting an institution like prison, or are “doubled up” with another family.

*Central Oregon includes Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

**Domestic violence means the person or family is afraid to return to their home or is experiencing dangerous or life-threatening conditions at home, usually due to abuse, stalking, dating violence, sexual assault or other physical assault. Persons who have experienced human trafficking or sexual exploitation may also be served by CEA.

***Institution means a jail, prison, a psychiatric hospital, medical hospital, or a drug/alcohol treatment program.

The Coordinated Entry System previously required people to go to an in-person assessment at a Hub for an assessment. Families and individuals who met the criteria were referred to a program based on what best fit their needs, but there has never been enough resources to help everyone who needs it.

The programs that people were being referred to for resources are facing a funding shortage. Because we value your time and privacy, we switched to the short online intake form so you can spend a few minutes filling it out online or with a case manager instead of having to come in person. When funding support is available again, we’ll contact people from this list and set up a time for another assessment appointment.

In the meantime, the Coordinated Entry System Coordinator (Colleen Sinsky), and others will be working on reaching out to you to connect you with what you said you needed on the form. If you have questions, please email Colleen at CoordinatedEntry@cohomeless.org

We’re trying out a new system where you don’t have to do the VI-SPDAT at first. When there are resources available, we’ll call you to tell you where and how to do this assessment. For now, the online intake form is the first step to the Coordinated Entry System.

The VI-SPDAT allows communities to assess clients’ various health and social needs quickly and then match them to the most appropriate housing interventions available, based on an individual’s vulnerability score.

In general, the assessment tool asks a series of questions about you, your health, how you are experiencing homelessness, and what other needs you might have.