Missoula Coordinated Entry System (MCES)

Navigating a housing emergency?
Call the Poverello Center at 406-728-1809 or 
Hope Rescue Mission at 406-549-Hope for assistance.

Missoula Coordinated Entry System (MCES) is a system that centralizes and streamlines housing resources and services. MCES is made up of a vast network of providers that facilitate the same experience regardless of where a person seeks support. Coordinated Entry Systems are a national best practice in reducing and ending houselessness.

• Prioritizing the most vulnerable first: Prioritizing the most vulnerable households first is a coordinated entry requirement across the country; vulnerability is defined as those whose safety is at greatest risk. Local coordinated entry systems construct a Prioritization Policy considering factors that increase the likelihood that someone will pass away or experience further harm if they remain unhoused. 
• Decreasing barriers to access: Staff from over 40 partnering organizations routinely collaborate in MCES. Cross-organizational case conferencing decreases duplication of services and improves care coordination, allowing for more holistic and responsive services for those in need of help. 
• Back-end provider collaboration: Navigating a housing crisis is extremely taxing. MCES screens and helps direct households to resources they appear eligible for using one shared screener and assessment. No single provider is expected to be an expert of all available social services. It’s a collective case load for the entire community. 
• Dynamic, real-time data: Housing crises change daily, so we need real-time data that reflects those changes. Missoula uses a centralized database across organizations to coordinate care and track who is unhoused at any given time. The database is called the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and the current list of households experiencing houselessness is called the By-Name List.