Fall Data Challenge: Data Cookbook

Data Sources

In your submission to the Fall Data Challenge, your team is required to use the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data, which is available in multiple forms, including raw datasets and a written report.

The Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) provides a summary of the Point-in-Time (PIT) estimates, and so offers a “snapshot” of homelessness. The report includes a useful “definition of terms” section.

The report is available here.

The raw datasets are available here:

Data Dictionary

Dataset terms and descriptions

Program Type

ES: Emergency shelter
TH: Transitional housing
HPRP: Homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing program
SH: Safe haven
PSH: Permanent supportive housing

Bed Type

F: Facility-based beds
V: Voucher beds
O: Other beds

Geocode

Enter the six-digit HUD-assigned Geocode corresponding to the jurisdiction in which the program is physically located.

Inventory Type

Determine if the bed inventory is current (C), new (N), or under development (U)

Target Population A

SM: Single males
SF: Single females
SMF: Single males and females
CO: Couples only, no children
HC: Households with children
SMHC: Single males and households with children
SFHC: Single females and households with children
SMF+HC: Single males and females plus households with children
YM: Unaccompanied males under 18 years old
YF: Unaccompanied females under 18 years old
YMF: Unaccompanied males and females under 18 years old

Target Population B

DV: Domestic violence victims only
VET: Veterans only
HIV: HIV/AIDS populations only
NA: Not applicable

HUD McKinney-Vento

For each program, identify whether or not the program receives any funds from HUD McKinney-Vento.

HUD McKinney Vento programs include: Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), Shelter plus Care (S+C), Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single-Room Occupancy (SRO), Supportive Housing Program (SHP)

Resources

RStudio Cloud

RStudio Cloud was created to make it easy for professionals, hobbyists, trainers, teachers and students to do, share, teach and learn data science using R.

Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP)

CODAP is “free educational software for data analysis. This web-based data science tool is designed as a platform for developers and as an application for students in grades 6-14.”

Data Wrangling Cheat Sheet from RStudio

This data-wrangling cheat sheet has tips and tricks for using dplyr and tidyr.

iNZight

iNZight is designed to allow students to quickly and easily explore data and understand some statistical ideas. iNZight Lite (https://lite.docker.stat.auckland.ac.nz/) is the online version of the software.

National Coalition for the Homeless

“The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission: To end and prevent homelessness while ensuring the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness are met and their civil rights are respected and protected.”