Step-by-step guide

How to get on the housing list through coordinated entry

The short answer

Most homeless housing programs in the U.S. fill their openings through one shared front door called coordinated entry. You go to an access point, answer an assessment, and get put on a single list for your area. Housing is offered by priority, not first come, first served.1 2

To find your access point, call 211 or use HUD's Resource Locator to find your local Continuum of Care contact. Shelter for tonight is separate: you should never have to finish an assessment before you can get emergency shelter.5 4 2

Updated October 2026. Rules differ by state, so call your office before you go. Questions? We're here: call or text 888-860-RISE.

A small group of adults talking together outdoors

Need a safe place tonight?

Federal rules say emergency services must have as few barriers as possible and can't depend on the hours the assessment office is open. Ask for shelter first and the list second.2

If you're fleeing abuse, a domestic violence program may run a separate, safer entry process, and you can't be turned away from coordinated entry because you're a survivor. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is open 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.2 8

Your steps, in order

1
Find your local access point
Each area's homeless system is run by a Continuum of Care, a group of local agencies and providers. Every Continuum that gets HUD funding must have a coordinated entry process that covers its whole area.2 1
Access points can be a walk-in center, an outreach team, a phone line or a shelter. Call 211 and ask, "Where do I go for a coordinated entry assessment?" HUD's Resource Locator also lists each area's homeless points of contact.5 4 3
Tip:
Ask whether there's a separate access point for families with children or for young adults. Albuquerque and Chicago, for example, have their own sites for youth.17 16
2
Do the assessment
The assessment is a set of questions about where you've been sleeping, your health, your safety and your household. The answers help decide who is offered housing first, and HUD wants the people with the most severe needs and the highest risk to be helped first. In Albuquerque, it usually takes 30 to 60 minutes.2 17
You can refuse to answer questions. Federal rules say you can't be denied an assessment or services for refusing, unless the information is needed to show you're eligible. Every access point in an area is supposed to use the same assessment.2
Honest answers about health conditions, past trauma and time spent outside can help you. Some programs, like permanent supportive housing, are only for households where someone has a disability.7
Bring
- Any ID you have (helpful, but in some areas no documents are required to be assessed)
- A phone number, email or message number where you can be reached
- Names of shelters or agencies that know you
- Papers showing a disability, if you have them
- Proof of income, if any
3
Know what you might be offered
Rapid rehousing helps you move into your own lease quickly, with rent help for a short time (up to 3 months) or a medium time (up to 24 months) and a case manager you meet at least once a month. You don't need a disability to qualify. You still sign a one-year lease, even if the rent help is shorter.6
Permanent supportive housing is long-term rent help paired with services. At least one person in the household must have a disability, and some programs are only for people who have been homeless for a long time.7
You can say no to an offer. Federal rules say you can turn down housing without being punished or losing access to help, and each area must have written rules on how you keep your place on the list.2
4
Stay reachable while you wait
When a spot opens, the program has to find you. Give your access point every way to reach you, and update it each time your phone number or shelter changes.
Rules for staying active differ. Utah's written policy for areas outside Salt Lake County (last posted version dated 2018) says an assessment expires after six months, and a person with no response for 60 days after several tries can be marked inactive, then come back later without conditions.9
Some areas don't have a status line. Albuquerque, for example, asks you to follow up in person at your access point after you're assessed.17
HUD recommends areas keep the wait on their list to 60 days or less, but many areas have far more people than openings, so waits are often longer.2
Tip:
Check in on a schedule, even when nothing has changed. Asking "Is my assessment still active?" once a month keeps you from being dropped as unreachable.
5
Ask for a review if something seems wrong
Every area must have a way for people to appeal coordinated entry decisions, and it can't use a process that discriminates based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex or age. Ask your access point for the written appeal process.2
If you were removed or think your score is wrong, ask to be reassessed. Your situation may have changed since your first assessment. You can also call or text RISEaid at 888-860-RISE and ask for someone on our team to help you work out who to call.

Where to start in some areas

Every area runs its own system. These are examples from each area's own pages; call 211 or check HUD's locator to find yours.

Utah

Call 211 (or 888-826-9790), or text your ZIP code to 801-845-2211. In Salt Lake County, the Homeless Connections Hotline at 801-990-9999 connects people to emergency shelter. The state lists three Continuums of Care: Salt Lake, Mountainland, and Balance of State.11 12 10

Utah (housing vouchers)

Housing Connect, Salt Lake County's housing authority, sets aside up to 25 vouchers a year for people who are homeless and referred through coordinated entry. It tells the coordinated entry partner when they are available.13

California (Los Angeles County)

Visit or call an Access Center, or call 211, which is an access point. You enter the system by taking the CES Survey. The LAHSA information line is (213) 233-4798 on weekdays.14 15

Illinois (Chicago)

Walk-in access points do assessments. 211 Metro Chicago runs a phone access point at 312-971-4178. For shelter tonight, call 311. Call an access point first to confirm its hours.16

New Mexico (Albuquerque)

You must be assessed in person at an access point. Adults without children go to Health Care for the Homeless (505-242-4644), families to the Heading Home Family Housing Navigation Center (505-344-2323), and young adults 18 to 24 to Youth Development Inc. (505-352-3469).17

Stuck on a step? You don't have to do this alone.

Call or text, and we'll help you find the right office and what to bring. Someone on our team can step in whenever youwhat to bring, with a real person on our team whenever you need one.apos;d like. Or become a RISING MEMBER: a mentor who's been there helps you build a plan, step by step. You do the work; we walk with you.

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Questions people ask

What is coordinated entry?

It's the single process most areas use to fill homeless housing programs. You're assessed at an access point and placed on one list for your area, and openings go to people with the highest needs first, not to whoever applied first.

How do I get on the housing list if I'm homeless?

Call 211 and ask where to get a coordinated entry assessment, or look up your area's homeless point of contact in HUD's Resource Locator. Then go to that access point, do the assessment, and leave every way to reach you.

Do I have to answer every question on the assessment?

No. Federal rules let you refuse to answer questions without losing services, unless the information is needed to show you're eligible. Answering honestly about health and safety can help you be matched with the right program.

What's the difference between rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing?

Rapid rehousing gives rent help for up to 24 months and a case manager, and you don't need a disability. Permanent supportive housing is long-term rent help with services, for households where someone has a disability.

Will I lose my spot if I turn down an offer?

Federal rules say you can refuse an offer without being punished or losing access to help. Each area writes its own rules on how you keep your place, so ask your access point what yours are.

Keep going: more first-step guides

Sources

Official pages, read in October 2026. Rules change. If something here looks out of date, please let us know at hello@riseaid.org and we'll fix it.

1.HUD Exchange (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). Coordinated Entry
2.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Notice CPD-17-01: Coordinated Entry requirements
3.HUD Exchange (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). Need homeless assistance?
4.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Resource Locator
5.211 (United Way). 211: connect to local help
6.HUD Exchange (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). CoC Program components: Rapid Re-housing
7.HUD Exchange (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). CoC Program components: Permanent Supportive Housing
8.National Domestic Violence Hotline. National Domestic Violence Hotline
9.Utah Department of Workforce Services. Balance of State and Mountainland Continua of Care: Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures (2018)
10.Utah Department of Workforce Services. Homelessness programs
11.Utah 211 (United Ways of Utah). Utah 211
12.Shelter the Homeless (Salt Lake County). I need help
13.Housing Connect (Salt Lake County housing authority). 2026 Annual PHA Plan with Moving to Work Supplement
14.Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Accessing the Coordinated Entry System
15.Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Get help
16.All Chicago (Chicago Continuum of Care). Coordinated Entry System
17.City of Albuquerque. Help with housing or services