General Rules

Clients must be in one of the following scenarios:

• Literally homeless
  • Place not meant for habitation
  • Emergency Shelter
  • Hotel or Motel with a paid ES voucher
  • Exiting an institution stay of less than 90 days with previous place literally homeless

Please see our living situations crosswalk for help determining what category is the best fit for a client's living situation.

Not eligible

• Currently staying with friends or family, couch surfing – not literally homeless
• In an institution for more than 90 days or previous place was not literally homeless
• Any other housed situation

Exceptions

Transitional Housing

Rule:  Individuals in all Transitional Housing programs retain literal homelessness. They are not considered chronically homeless. While in TH, individuals do not add additional time to their number of months homeless.

Exception 1.1:  Transitional Housing programs should be responsible for finding permanent housing for their clients, therefore clients currently enrolled in TH are not added to the CWL

Exception 1.2:  Transitional Housing programs funded with VA-GPD dollars are still eligible for the CWL

• Sponsors GPD Veterans Transitional Housing
• St Vincent De Paul Vet LIFT AVC-GPD Transitional Housing
• Reveille GPD TH Projects

Exception 2:  Clients in the following programs are NOT considered literally homeless:

• Sponsors Men’s Program (considered housed in Residential program)
• Sponsors Women’s Program (considered housed in Residential program)

Why? The Sponsors Transitional Housing programs are not designated for homeless persons. They are designated for individuals who were formerly incarcerated.

Naming confusion

• ShelterCare Medical Recuperation is considered an Emergency Shelter
• Safe House provided by Hope & Safety Alliance (or any victim service provider [VSP]) is considered an Emergency Shelter 

Housing Type at a Glance              *not a complete list - see living situation crosswalk for more

Under most circumstances although persons residing in transitional housing (TH) are considered to be Category 1, time spent in transitional housing does not count towards the total length of time homeless required to be considered chronically homeless, and instead is considered a break. More specifically, time spent in transitional housing that is for seven nights or more would count as a break, as only time spent residing in a place not meant for human habitation, emergency shelter, or safe haven can be counted. For more information on how HUD defines a break, please refer to FAQ 2752.

Further persons residing in transitional housing do not maintain their chronic homeless status for purposes of eligibility into other CoC Program-funded projects, even if they were determined chronically homeless prior to entry into TH. This is because to be considered chronically homeless, a household must meet the criteria outlined in the Final Rule on Defining “Chronically Homeless,” which outlines where persons must be coming from and where they must have resided for the duration of their homeless occasions and does not include transitional housing as an eligible location.

Example 1:

Conclusion: Not a break

The institutional stays are not a break, so the client is still considered homeless at the point they stay with friends.

Example 2:

Approximate Date Episode Started: 1/29/26

Time residing in transitional housing is considered to be Category 1, though time spent in transitional housing does not count towards the total length of time homeless required to be considered chronically homeless, and instead is considered a break.