Welcome & Introduction to HIFIS

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.

The HIFIS Toolkit – Four Guides

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

HIFIS uses a consistent set of icons throughout the system. Familiarize yourself with these icons to navigate the system more efficiently.

This course is designed to be completed in order, from Module 1 through Module 10. Each module covers a specific area of the HIFIS system and includes:

• 📖
  Step-by-Step Instructions — detailed procedures for every function in the module, drawn directly from the HIFIS User Guide v3.0.
• 🎬
  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.
• 💡
  Helpful Tips & Notes — important notes, helpful hints, and warnings are highlighted throughout each module.
• ✅
  Knowledge Check — a short quiz at the end of select modules to reinforce learning.

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