Open Path is an HMIS

Open Path is a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) platform! 

Yes, CoCs have been using Open Path for HUD reporting and homeless data management since 2016, and as a complete HMIS system for service provider records and case management since 2023. As more communities adopt Open Path as their HMIS, however, we thought it was time for an official announcement.

The Platform…

Open Path is a full-featured HMIS. Developed with a highly intentional focus on usability, our goal is to make routine tasks easy, and complex operations intuitive. Grounded in Federal HUD data requirements, the system facilitates maintaining data quality and delivers mandatory reports. Yet it also provides intrinsic extensibility, giving organizations the ability to create and maintain their own data tools — assessments, service records, reports, and more — to support all kinds of local requirements, initiatives, and innovations.

Open Path is also, of course, a homeless data integration platform. At its heart is still the HMIS data ‘Warehouse,’ with sturdy functionality for merging multiple data sets from multiple external systems to support analysis, record-sharing initiatives, and integrated service delivery. 

…And How It Came to Be

Green River has a deep and authentic mission to enable social impact. HUD-required HMIS is about compliance and reporting — but it should also be a tool for helping people secure a stable home. Green River is an HMIS vendor, yes, but we also set out to be true partners with the organizations we serve. Open Path originally began as a custom homeless data warehouse for the City of Boston; HMIS functionality first came about in partnership with Allegheny County, PA; and many, many features and components across the system have been created (and improved and maintained) in partnership with many organizations nationwide. Our goal is to create a solution that takes that shared investment and delivers shared value — system tools, innovations, processes — to enable real impact.