Our Housing Resources Team has many different resources, which CoC member organizations can and should take advantage of. One of these resources is the Housing Preference Questionnaire (HPQ) – This MDHA created tool can help case managers narrow housing searches, make them more client-friendly, and make a case manager’s work more effective.
Cynthia Scaife, MDHA’s Housing Resources Liaison explains: “Suppose you are going to see ten clients, today, to discuss their concrete housing plans. You will need to subsequently update their files. What if instead of just treating this as a bureaucratic task, you could update your files with information that would allow you to pick up from where you left off quickly and efficiently, next time you see them?”
The HPQ is perfect, in this regard! It covers up to 50 different interrelated points that every person should consider when moving into housing. It can be easily filled out in the course of a natural conversation regarding client objectives and preferences. Alternatively, you could walk your client through the questions, one by one; you decide.
With a completed HPQ in hand, you can turn a generalized housing search, with low chances of success, into a data-driven client-focused housing search with much higher chances of success. Download the HPQ, and keep it handy, so you can switch your housing searches into overdrive! Oh, and feel free to share it with anyone you like. This one’s on the house…
