For Shelter Coordinators

What Is Finding A Bed Tonight?

Finding A Bed Tonight is free software that helps outreach workers find available shelter beds in real time. Instead of calling your shelter at midnight to ask "do you have beds?", an outreach worker can check a live dashboard and see your availability instantly.

What Does It Cost?

The software is free. It is open-source under the Apache 2.0 license, which means no one pays a licensing fee, ever.

Someone pays for hosting. Typically your Continuum of Care (CoC) or a local agency covers this. The smallest setup costs about $15-30 per month. Your shelter does not pay for hosting unless your organization chooses to.

How Do I Update My Bed Count?

Three taps. That is the entire flow.

1. Open the coordinator dashboard (you are already logged in if you used the app recently)
2. Find your shelter (it appears at the top of your list)
3. Update the occupied count and tap Save

The form shows your current numbers. You only change what changed. You get a clear confirmation when the save succeeds. The whole thing takes under 30 seconds.

How Often Should I Update?

As often as things change. Two to four times per day is a good rhythm: once in the morning, once in the evening, and any time a large group checks in or out. The more current your numbers, the more outreach workers trust the system and the fewer phone calls you get.

What About Bed Holds?

When an outreach worker finds a bed at your shelter, they can place a hold on it. This means they are bringing someone to you. The default hold lasts 90 minutes. If the person does not arrive, the hold expires automatically and the bed becomes available again.

Hold duration is configurable. Your CoC administrator can adjust the default. For hospital discharge planners who need more time, the hold can be set to 2-3 hours. Holds appear as a read-only count on your dashboard so you know how many beds are spoken for.

Can I Edit My Shelter's Details?

Yes. From your dashboard, expand your shelter card and tap Edit Details. You can update your shelter's phone number, hours, and operational information. Structural details like your shelter's name, address, and DV status are managed by your CoC administrator.

What If My Shelter Does Not Have WiFi?

The platform is built as a Progressive Web App (PWA). Some features work offline, others require a connection:

Works offline (queued and sent when you reconnect):

• Search for beds (cached results stay visible)
• Hold a bed for a client
• Update bed availability counts

Requires a connection:

• DV shelter referral requests (for safety -- referral data is not stored on your device)
• Viewing real-time availability updates from other shelters

When you reconnect, queued actions send automatically. If a bed was taken while you were offline, you'll see a notification. Check the queue indicator in the header to see pending actions.

White Flag Nights and Emergency Capacity

During an active surge event (White Flag night, cold weather emergency), you can report temporary beds -- cots, mats, and emergency floor space -- through your coordinator dashboard.

1. Your CoC administrator activates a surge event when conditions warrant
2. A "Temporary Beds" stepper appears in your dashboard next to each population type
3. Set the number of temporary beds you've deployed (e.g., 20 cots)
4. Save -- outreach workers immediately see the combined total available beds

When the surge ends, the temporary beds stepper disappears. The next time you update availability, the temporary bed count resets to zero automatically.

Sign-In Verification (Two-Factor)

Sign-in verification adds an extra security step when you log in. After entering your password, you'll be asked for a 6-digit code from your phone.

1. Download Google Authenticator or Authy on your phone
2. Log into the platform, click Security in the top menu
3. Click Set Up Sign-In Verification
4. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app
5. Enter the 6-digit code to confirm
6. Save your backup codes -- print them, seal in an envelope, store in a locked drawer

If you lose your phone: use one of your 8 backup codes, or ask your administrator to generate a temporary access code or disable sign-in verification so you can re-enroll.

Quick Reference