NSQs and Housing Plans
Diverting people from the homeless-serving system is an important part of CAA and is achieved using the Needs and Services Questionnaire (NSQ) and Housing Plan. Housing Strategists are trained to help clients find their way home, reserving valuable program spaces to those in greatest need. Calgary’s System of Care has several ‘door agencies’ with Housing Strategists on staff offering prevention and diversion resources and will complete NSQs creating additional access points into CAA.
When an individual access the CAA Team at SORCe or a Door Agency, a Housing Strategist utilize the NSQ and a Housing Plan based on individual choice. The NSQ helps determine the level of service a client requires and type of program needed to end their experience of homelessness. These tools may not suggest the intervention necessary is through a CAA Placement Committee, but instead suggest some resources to aid in Prevention and Diversion. NSQs are reviewed at weekly Placement Committee meetings for triaging into Housing First programs. Membership is comprised of CHF-funded agencies and System Partners to create a Collaborative Service Delivery Group. Clients are matched to programs based on availability, length of homelessness, best fit, and client choice.