[Chasers-general] CHASERS officially released as Free and Open Source Software

[Kenneth T. <kt...@de...>]

I am happy to say that Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) 
officially released CHASERS as Free and Open Source Software today.  
I've included the announcement text in this email, and it's also 
available online.  Many thanks to everyone who's helped with and 
participated in this project!

Ken

http://www.desc.org/chasers_release.html
http://prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-30-2008/0004895149&EDATE=#

September 30, 2008

*FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CHASERS,
SEE http://chasers.desc.org/ <http://chasers.desc.org>

DOWNTOWN EMERGENCY SERVICE CENTER RELEASES CHASERS, FREE SOFTWARE FOR 
HOMELESS SERVICE MANAGEMENT AND BEYOND*

Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) is pleased to release its 
CHASERS application as open-source software. DESC uses CHASERS to store 
and manage information about clients, services and agency operations.


Created by DESC, CHASERS is both proven and a work-in-progress, and has 
been under in-house development for approximately five years. During 
this time, CHASERS has been in continuous use, and now contains 
information on over 70,000 clients served by DESC. Key features include 
web-based access, client and staff management, reporting, permission and 
access control, electronic logs, collaborative caseloads and real-time 
notifications.


"CHASERS has become an integral tool in DESC's ongoing work to serve the 
sickest and most vulnerable homeless people in our community," said 
Executive Director Bill Hobson. "We are pleased to release this software 
to the community, and hope it will become useful for other oranizations 
as well."


As used at DESC, CHASERS is built entirely on Free and Open Source 
Software. In this configuration, there are no software or licensing fees 
involved, allowing CHASERS to be used to its maximum potential. One such 
advantage is that every staff member has an account, without additional 
cost.


"DESC has benefitted greatly from the use of Free and Open Source 
Software, and from assistance from free software communities," noted Ken 
Tanzer, DESC's Director of Information Services. "I'm very happy that 
DESC is in turn contributing to the pool of free software. At the same 
time, other organizations have expressed interest in CHASERS. With this 
release, these organizations can begin determining whether CHASERS can 
provide value to their operations."


CHASERS was designed for flexibility and adaptability, and modified 
versions are used for fundraising and volunteer management, and to 
manage data for a research project conducted in cooperation with the 
University of Washington's Addictive Behaviors Research Center and 
funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A demonstration version is 
available online.



*ABOUT DOWNTOWN EMERGENCY SERVICE CENTER*


DESC is the most comprehensive provider of services and housing for 
chronically homeless adults in Seattle and King County, and has received 
numerous national and local awards. DESC's services include shelter, 
housing, mental healthcare, addiction treatment, and employment 
services. Last year, DESC served over 6,700 individuals and moved 605 
men and women off the streets into permanent supportive housing. DESC 
currently provides 650 units of housing, with another 130 units in 
development. Increasingly, housing development is at the center of 
DESCâEUR^(TM)s mission "to end the homelessness of vulnerable adults."


*INTENDED AUDIENCE AND FUTURE GOALS*


At this stage, CHASERS will be of interest primarily to organizations 
with at least some level of technical expertise. DESC is interested in 
collaborating with other entities in the service delivery, funding and 
technical support communities to continue to expand the functionality of 
CHASERS, create documentation and increase the ease of installation, 
configuration and maintenance.



*DISCLAIMER*


CHASERS is provided entirely as-is, and DESC makes no representation 
regarding the usability or fitness of the software for any particular 
purpose. Entities that choose to use CHASERS do so entirely at their own 
risk, and DESC will under no circumstances be liable for any damages or 
consequences, direct or indirect, in connection with such use.


*FURTHER INFORMATION*


For further information about CHASERS, contact:


Kenneth Tanzer
Director of Information Services
Downtown Emergency Service Center
515 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 515-1519
kt...@de...
chasers.desc.org <http://chasers.desc.org>


For further information about DESC, contact:


Nicole Macri
Director of Administration
Downtown Emergency Service Center
515 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 515-1514
nm...@de...
www.desc.org <http://www.desc.org>