Patterns
Ask users for…
Housing status
Use with caution: AvailableUsage
When to use this pattern
- Asking users for their housing or living situation or status. For example, when asking whether a user is facing housing instability or may not have a permanent mailing address.
When not to use this pattern
- When the API used by the form cannot accommodate the information. This pattern can potentially gather additional information beyond address, such as point of contact, that must be stored in a system of record and thus must be handled by an API.
Examples
Examples in production
Other relevant examples
- A similar set of questions were used in Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance programs. Questions were co-created and reviewed by members of Treasury and HUD.
How to design and build
Anatomy
How this pattern works
Using a list of questions or criteria has been found in some situations to be more effective than asking a yes/no question about homelessness. The series of criteria help users to self-identify and communicate that they are experiencing housing instability.
Answering in the affirmative to any of the first 5 options (seen in the examples above) sends the user to a conditional page that asks if the user has a mailing address:
Answering in the affirmative to “I have another housing risk not listed here” sends the user to a page that collects other housing risks and then to the page asking the user for a mailing address.
Other housing risks
We understand that you may have other housing risks not listed here. If you feel comfortable sharing more about your situation, you can do that here. Or you can simply check this option and not include any details. We'll use this information only to prioritize your request.
Note: If you need help because of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 800-799-7233 (TTY: 800-787-3224) or text "START" to 88788. Staff are there to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All conversations are private and confidential.
Answering in the affirmative to “None of these situations apply to me” sends the user to the mailing address page which uses Ask users for addresses pattern. They do not see the conditional page asking if they have a mailing address or not.
In addition, it may be appropriate to ask the user for a point of contact to assist us in contacting the person submitting the form.
Your point of contact
To help us process your request, it helps us to be able to get in touch with you. Please provide the name and telephone number of someone who can help us locate you.