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Welcome & Introduction to HIFIS

Understand the purpose of HIFIS, explore the HIFIS Toolkit, and learn how to navigate this training course.

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What is HIFIS? β–Ά

The Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) is a web-based data management application developed by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC). It supports communities in collecting, managing, and sharing data to reduce homelessness across Canada.

HIFIS is designed to support coordinated access,allowing multiple service providers in the same community to access real-time homelessness data through a single community-wide system, accessible via laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

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Thunder Bay HIFIS - Technical support for Thunder Bay HIFIS is provided by the Lakehead Social Planning Council (LSPC) HIFIS Support Team. For account issues, duplicate profiles, or system questions, contact hifis@lspc.ca. Log in to HIFIS at tbaychat-hifis.ca. For news, updates, and local resources, visit tbayhifis.ca.
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HIFIS is part of Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy, which emphasizes a data-driven, client-centered approach to ending homelessness. The goal is to reduce chronic homelessness nationally by 50% by 2027–2028.

What HIFIS Does

  • Documents the number, characteristics, and needs of homeless individuals and families
  • Tracks the number of people receiving services across multiple providers
  • Supports coordinated access with a shared, real-time database
  • Enables data exports to Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada on a quarterly basis
  • Generates reports to support data-driven decision making
  • Manages Point-in-Time (PiT) Count data
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How to Use This Training Course β–Ά

This course is designed to be completed in the order shown in the module list. After this introduction, begin with your first module, then continue through the remaining modules assigned to your account type. Each module covers a specific area of the HIFIS system and includes:

Your training path is modified for your role. Some modules are optional, and you may not have access to every feature covered in those modules.

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    Step-by-Step Instructions - detailed procedures for every function in the module, drawn directly from the HIFIS User Guide v3.0.
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    Video Lesson - each module has a dedicated video placeholder. Videos will be recorded and uploaded to walk through the steps visually in the live HIFIS environment.
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    Helpful Tips & Notes - important notes, helpful hints, and warnings are highlighted throughout each module.
  • βœ…
    Knowledge Check - a short quiz at the end of select modules to reinforce learning.
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Your progress through this course is saved automatically in your browser. The Role Assessment at the end of your training path is unlocked once all of your required modules are marked complete.
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Getting Help with HIFIS β–Ά

If you have questions that this training course doesn't answer, the following resources are available:

ResourceDetails
🌩️ LSPC HIFIS Support Team Thunder Bayhifis@lspc.ca - For account setup, duplicate profiles, system access, Thunder Bay-specific or any other HIFIS related questions.
πŸ” Thunder Bay HIFIS Login Thunder Baytbaychat-hifis.ca - Log in to Thunder Bay HIFIS here.
🌐 Thunder Bay HIFIS Info Thunder Baytbayhifis.ca - News, updates, and local HIFIS resources for Thunder Bay service providers.
πŸ§ͺ HIFIS Demo Sitedemo.hifis.ca - National practice environment. Video lessons in this course use this site so you can follow along safely; it is not your community’s production system.
πŸ“– Homelessness GlossaryCommonly used HIFIS and Reaching Home terminology and definitions- useful reference when completing client profiles.