Common Help Desk Requests

This page contains a list of common help desk requests. It may be helpful to review this information before submitting a request to the MCAH help desk. Once you have done so, you may email us at mihelp@mihomeless.org (Michigan) or nchelp@nchmis.org (North Carolina), or call us at (517) 485-6536.

Table of Contents

Merging Client Records

If you come across duplicate client profiles within the HMIS and would like to have them merged, please fill out the Merge Request Spreadsheet completely and send it to the help desk. You should also review the Merging Client Records document to make sure that you are familiar with the merge process and the steps required in order for records to be merged. When filling out the spreadsheet, please make sure that you do all of the following:

  • Do not include personally-identifiable information, such as name, Social Security Number, or date of birth in the spreadsheet. If the records that need to be merged show discrepancies in this information, please indicate which profile has the correct data by typing the client ID number into the appropriate field rather than including the information itself.
  • Please make sure that all profiles included in the merge request have open visibility as indicated by the open green lock at the top of the client’s profile in Community Services. If the lock is red, or if the lock is green with a red exclamation point, the profile has a visibility restriction in place and it is not able to be merged with any other record.

Resetting My Password

If you need to have your password reset, please be sure to include which website you need the reset for. For example, you should specify if it is for Community Services, the HMIS training site, or the HMIS Learning Center.

Adding Social Security Numbers

If you need to add or update a Social Security Number on a client record, this request must be made over the phone by calling us at (517) 485-6536. It is very important that you do not include Social Security Numbers in help desk emails!

Blank or Erroneous Assessment Questions

If you come across responses to an assessment question for a particular client that are blank or display an incorrect answer (which may in some cases remain this way even after making the correction), please email the help desk with the client ID number and the assessment questions that are having this issue and we can resolve it.

Chronic Homelessness Verification

If you would like to request a chronic homelessness verification report for a particular client, please fill out the Chronic Homelessness Verification Request Form and email it to the help desk. Please make sure that you have completed all trainings related to chronic homelessness before requesting this report. Also make sure that all of the following steps have been completed, because if they are done incorrectly then we will not be able to fulfill the request:

  • The client must have signed an open release of information; if there are any visibility restrictions requested we are not able to run the report. The release of information must also be active at the time the request is made and entered on the client’s record in the HMIS.
  • A scanned copy of the client’s release of information is uploaded to the File Attachments section of the Client Profile tab. It is very important that you do not include this document in the email to the help desk.
  • On the client’s release of information, they must have completed the Release of Information Outreach Sharing Plan sub-assessment, and this information must be entered on the client’s record in the HMIS. Please note that this step is applicable for Michigan only.

Training Site URL

If you are unsure of what the URL is for the HMIS training site (the version of Community Services that can be used for test client records, etc.), please see below:

If you do not have access to the training site and you would like to, please contact your Agency Administrator or Local System Administrator to discuss setting up an account.