Utilizing Data to Improve Systems for Addressing Homelessness
City: Huntington, West Virginia
Reporting to: Senior Advisor to the Mayor
The Challenge
Like many cities, Huntington faces a growing challenge with homelessness. Between 2021 and 2025, the city’s annual “point-in-time” count of people experiencing homelessness on a single night documented a 50-percent increase. Over the past decade, the number of people living unsheltered has more than tripled. Part of the issue is that a large portion of Huntington’s homeless—72 percent according to the latest count—have a substance use disorder. And until recently, there weren’t many places for them to go. There was only one “low-barrier” shelter in town that did not require people to stop using drugs or alcohol first, and the facility’s lack of privacy, space, and access to support services turned many away. Another important issue in Huntington has been an absence of data coordination to track individuals served or collective outcomes. City leaders have no reliable way to understand who is served, what needs are met, or how effectively systems for addressing homelessness are functioning.
Concerned that people would freeze on the streets this winter, Mayor Patrick Farrell addressed the shelter situation. Working in collaboration with Valley Health Systems and other partners, the City of Huntington opened a new low-barrier shelter called The Hub on November 1, 2025. With room for up to eighty people, The Hub provides a safe and dignified space, with restrooms, showers, coordinated meals, and support services on site. Starting in 2026, The Hub’s Phase Two expansion will add wraparound services aimed at treating individuals’ underlying medical, mental health, or substance-abuse issues and connecting them to housing and transportation.
The next priority is closing gaps in data coordination. City leaders aim to develop a data-informed framework to evaluate The Hub’s impact and guide the future management of homeless services citywide. This shift supports a broader move from reactive emergency response to systems-level transformation, enabling the city to measure outcomes more clearly, allocate resources more effectively, improve accountability, and strengthen public safety. Over time, city leaders hope new data systems and routines can inform future investments, build more effective and compassionate services for the region’s most vulnerable residents, and reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in Huntington.
Key questions we hope the fellow can address include:
- How can data sharing between service providers, law enforcement, and city agencies be improved?
- What data governance or privacy considerations must be addressed to allow secure, ethical data sharing?
- What additional partnerships or referral pathways (mental health, addiction services, housing, and workforce) could be formalized through memorandums of understanding or new standard operating procedures?
- Are there identifiable patterns among frequent users or long-term stays that suggest systemic gaps?
- What are current data blind spots, such as unsheltered individuals who avoid services, and how can they be addressed?
What You’ll Do
The fellow will develop a comprehensive roadmap for Huntington to build the data systems, processes, and routines needed to effectively coordinate care for homeless individuals, track overall progress, and inform decision making. Currently, there is no unified system to track client utilization patterns, connections to services, and outcomes. While the local Continuum of Care (a planning body) utilizes a federal data tool known as the Homeless Management Information System, those who provide health care, behavioral health, and substance-abuse treatments do not. To assess current data systems and recommend changes, the fellow will engage numerous stakeholders including relevant agencies within the City of Huntington, Valley Health Systems, the Continuum of Care, Marshall Health Network, Prestera Health Services, Ohio Valley Physicians, Harmony House, Huntington Police Department, Branches Domestic Violence Shelter, individuals experiencing homelessness, and frontline workers who deliver services.
Key actions and deliverables include:
- Assess current data systems used by partners engaged in homeless services, identifying gaps in existing data and barriers to coordination between service providers, law enforcement, and city agencies.
- Recommend a set of measurable indicators of success for clients and the community.
- Design a long-term strategy for multiple stakeholders to coordinate data collection, integration, and analysis to inform policy and operational decisions.
- Provide guidance for evaluating outcomes related to The Hub’s Phase Two expansion of wraparound services.
- Present a final report and implementation roadmap to city leadership and partners.
What You’ll Bring
The fellow will be expected to possess the following skills:
- Data Analysis
- Policy Analysis
- Design Thinking
- Qualitative Interviewing and Analysis
