Conquer the HMIS Challenge 2026 – Master Data, Make a Difference!

When a household moves into permanent housing, you must record the date of that move-in. This Move-In Date marks the actual transition from homelessness to permanent housing and provides the baseline for measuring how long the household was homeless before obtaining PSH. It also supports accurate reporting of housing outcomes and program performance, since many HMIS analyses depend on knowing exactly when the permanent housing status began.

The other data elements aren’t the official indicator of that transition at program entry: one refers to housing arrangements without specifying when permanent housing was achieved, another captures living situation as an assessment at intake, and the end date is meant for terminating a program or service, not marking the moment permanent housing begins.