As the lead agency that administers the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), our data analytics team is critical to extracting data, analyzing results, transforming information to be accessible, and communicating it widely to the community.

We sat down with Trent to learn about his background, what drew him to this work, and what he looks forward to doing in his role.

What does your role entail at SSF?

I use data to create and share actionable insights. My goal is to create a culture of data at SSF. Data analytics will aid the mission of the Sacramento CoC by helping our collaborators make informed decisions and find solutions to problems.

What motivated you to join SSF?

The mission, the work, the people and the impact. I have seen firsthand how data can help improve people’s lives and I am hopeful to apply what I’ve learned to help individuals who are experiencing homelessness.

What do you wish people knew about homelessness?

The fixes may not be as easy, obvious or feasible as many believe.

What are you excited to do next in your new role?

Find creative ways to analyze and visualize data in this space. I am excited to work with so many people who endeavor to eliminate homelessness through their unique contributions.

Is there anything else you’d like for our CoC community to know about you?

While working at the California Department of Justice, I contributed to the efforts of the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) Advisory Board. While the CoC endeavors to eliminate homelessess, the RIPA Board works to eliminate racial and identity profiling in law enforcement, and improve diversity and racial and identity sensitivity in law enforcement. My work helped me find ways to integrate data analytics within a framework of racial equity.

Is there anything from your department that you’d like to promote (e.g., surveys, tools, workshops, office hours, reports, trainings, etc.)?

The data analytics team at SSF is hiring! If you have experience with data analytics and are hoping to contribute your talents to resolving the homelessness crisis, please let us know.

Trent has a doctorate in psychology and has worked with data for the last decade, including as a supervisor for research teams with the California Department of Justice. The Data Team is expanding and is looking forward to serving the CoC community along with Trent. We’re excited for Trent to apply his knowledge and passions in the homelessness space.

We also encourage you to explore the interactive Public Dashboard with population and demographic information. Data from March 2022 is now available.