A By-Name List is a real-time list of all known people experiencing homelessness in your community.  It includes a robust set of data points that support coordinated access and prioritization at a household level and an understanding of homeless inflow and outflow at a system level.  This real-time actionable data supports triage to services, system performance evaluation and advocacy (for the policies and resources necessary to end homelessness).

For further background information about By-Name Lists:

• By-Name List Question and Answer (Q&A) – provides answers to over 20 of the most commonly asked questions about By-Name Lists
• Watch this short 4 minute CAEH video on By-Name Lists and Functional Zero Chronic Homelessness
• By-Name Lists: An Essential Tool for Ending Homelessness (CAEH webinar, Feb 2021) – Recording and PDF – covers what a By-Name List is, why you would want to use one and how to get started.
• Read this CAEH blog on the Power of Real-Time Data
• See this short 3 minute OrgCode video that explains the difference between a By-Name List, Coordinated Access List and Prioritization List (and how they work together).

This three-page 10 Steps to Create and Use a By-Name List document provides you with simple steps and links to further resources to help you develop, use and sustain a quality By-Name List.

10 Steps to Create and Use a By-Name List

Getting Started with a By-Name List – Webinar Series 

• By-Name Lists – What and Why? – Recording (20 min) and Presentation (PDF)
• 10 Steps to Create and Use a BNL – Recording (50 min) and Presentation (PDF)
• Leveraging a Point-in-Time Count to Kickstart or Strengthen your By-Name List – Recording (18 min) and Presentation (PDF)
• Privacy and Confidentiality – Recording (30 min) and Presentation (PDF)
• System Level Data and Data Reliability – Recording (14  min) and Presentation (PDF)
• By-Name List Excel Workbook Series
  • 01 – About the Excel Workbook – Recording (4 min) and Presentation (PDF)
  • 02 – Overview – Recording (24 min) and Presentation (PDF)
  • 03 – Workbook Setup – Recording (11 min) and Presentation (PDF)
  • 04 – Adding, Updating and Storing Client Data – Recording (36 min) and Presentation (PDF)
  • 05 – Capturing Monthly Data – Recording (7 min) and Presentation (PDF)
  • 06 – Troubleshooting Data Balancing – Recording (6 min) and Presentation (PDF)
• Leadership and Governance – Recording (40 min) and Presentation (PDF)

More coming soon!

Getting Started with a By-Name List – Community of Practice Presentations

• Peterborough (July 23, 2021) – Recording and Presentation (PDF)
• Kawartha-Haliburton (July 9, 2021) – Recording and Presentation (PDF)
• Chatham-Kent (June 25, 2021) – Recording and Presentation (PDF)
• Durham Region (June 11, 2021) – Recording and Presentation (PDF)
• Stratford-Perth-St. Marys (May 28, 2021) – Recording and Presentation (PDF)
• Guelph-Wellington (May 14, 2021) – Recording and Presentation (PDF)
• Kingston (April 30, 2021) – Recording and Presentation (PDF) and BNL Excel Template
• London (April 16, 2021) – Recording and BNL Excel Template

The By-Name List (BNL) Scorecard 3.0 is the updated 11 question self-assessment tool that assists you to take a snapshot of your local progress towards a quality By-Name List and identify areas for improvement. For an overview, see the BNL Scorecard 3.0 launch webinar or PowerPoint PDF.

By-Name List Scorecard Guide

Draft By-Name List Scorecard 3.0 Guide

Start by reviewing the By-Name List Scorecard Guide.  The Guide explains what the BNL Scorecard is and walks you through each question (including a full explanation along with tips and resources).

Complete the By-Name List Scorecard

By-Name List Scorecard 3.0

Record your answers in the By-Name List Scorecard 3.0 and receive your score for Basic, Veteran and Advanced Quality. The BNL Scorecard 3.0 is part of the Scorecards & Tools Google Worksheet (view only – you can make a copy of to use for your community). The Scorecards & Tools Google Worksheet includes the following seven tabs:

• • Tab #1: Instructions
  • Tab #2: About Your Community
  • Tab #3: By-Name List Scorecard 3.0
  • Tab #4: Coordinated Access Scorecard 3.0
  • Tab #5: Provider Participation Tool
  • Tab #6: Provider Participation Tool – Instructions and Results
  • Tab #7: Work Plan
• Remember, your score is for improvement, not judgement. 
• Take the Scorecard with others in your community – here are some ideas for Scorecard Group Exercises.
• Use the notes section to explain your answer and identify your next steps. 
• Note:
  • BFZ-C communities complete the Scorecard in their BFZ-C Change Package.
  • Non-BFZ-C Reaching Home Designated communities working with CAEH BNL/CA Training and Technical Assistance complete the Scorecard in the TTA Change Package.
  • Quebec and all other communities can use the Scorecard included on this page (Scorecards 3.0 will be translated and posted by January 2021).

Scorecard Tools:

• BNL Scorecard Group Exercises – ideas you can use with your community when you review the BNL Scorecard together
• Coordinate Outreach Coverage – Key Considerations and Examples (for BNL Scorecard 3.0 Question #2)
• Outreach Mapping Tools (for BNL Scorecard 3.0 Question #2) – some options – make a copy and customize as needed
• Inactivity Policy – Key Considerations and Examples  – see also Inactivity Policy Template (for BNL Scorecard 3.0 Question #4)
• Timely and Accurate Updates Policy Template (for BNL Scorecard 3.0 Question #5)
• By Name List Data Reliability Tool – this interactive tool allows communities to enter By-Name List data and determine if it is balanced and reliable. It also provides definitions, samples and calculations for each of the BNL key aggregate data points.

See CAEH BNL Excel Workbook and CAEH BNL Excel Workbook Guide.  For further information, please refer to our By-Name List Excel Workbook Series in the 10 Steps to Create and Use a By Name List found on this web page.

The CAEH By-Name List Excel Workbook is a customizable interim approach for storing and using BNL data to end homelessness. It can be used until communities are able to fully implement a more sophisticated real-time Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) like HIFIS 4 (the Homelessness Individual and Family Information System).

The workbook is intended to be customized by communities for their unique needs. As is, the workbook meets the basic quality requirements for both the CAEH chronic and veteran BNL Scorecards. It is also designed to collect monthly inflow and outflow data.

This workbook is compatible with Excel 2007 and onward. Older versions of Excel (2003 or older) will not be able to run this workbook properly.

To learn how to use this workbook, please consult the CAEH By-Name List Excel Workbook Guide (linked above).

Other Sample Community BNL Excel Templates

• London’s By-Name List Excel Template
• Kingston’s By-Name List Excel Template

Its not just about having data through your BNL – its about how you display it for further analysis to help make data-driven decisions in your community.  Below are sample data dashboards from a number of communities.

• Built for Zero Canada Community Dashboards (tracks monthly progress toward functional zero for chronic and veteran homelessness)
• Adelaide Zero Project (inflow and outflow data points updated on a monthly basis to track progress toward ending street homelessness)
• Toronto Shelter System Flow Data Dashboard – a Tableau dashboard showing monthly inflow, outflow and total active homeless data from the City of Toronto shelter system
• Toronto Daily Shelter Usage and Overnight Service Usage (daily reporting includes occupancy, vacancy, and capacity data based on a snapshot at 4:00 AM)
• Chicago (real-time)
• Edmonton (real-time updates through Tableau on emergency shelter usage, By-Name List chronic data, and overall housing and homelessness data by gender, Indigenous identity, location, and age)
• Fort Collins (tracks progress toward Housing First program targets as well as system-level data on inflow and outflow)
• Montreal (tracks progress toward goal to house 2,000 people by 2020)
• Peterborough Report Card (an interactive report card made through Genially updated on a monthly basis to show inflow and outflow changes and other BNL data points)
• Waterloo System (weekly) 
• By-Name List Excel Workbook (data reliability tab shows inflow and outflow data for the previous and current month) 

A By-Name List is the crown jewel of a strong Coordinated Access system (CA).  A CA is a way for communities to design, streamline and bring consistency to the process by which people experiencing homelessness access housing and services. A strong CA uses a housing first approach along with a standardized and coordinated process for access, assessment, prioritization and referral for housing and other services across all the agencies and organizations in a local area.

This short 3 minute OrgCode video explains the difference between a By-Name List, Coordinated Access List and Prioritization List (and how they work together).

Further information and resources to support your work in developing and improving coordinated access and prioritization processes can be found on the Coordinated Access page of this website.