What are the Solutions to Homelessness?

Solutions to Homelessness

To end homelessness, a community-wide coordinated approach to delivering services, housing, and programs is needed. The top 5 things needed to end homelessness are:

Strong Coalition

• Diverse perspectives including people with lived experience
• Focused on ending homelessness, not managing it
• Willing to creative and focused on need of the population
• Active participation in strategic planning and solutions

Strong Homeless Crisis Response System

• Ensure that the system includes prevention, diversion, outreach, intake and assessment, emergency services, housing solutions, and case management
• How much of each service is needed, what performance is expected, what outcomes are reached, what can be improved
• Enhance coordinated entry system to ensure all people experiencing homelessness have access to prioritization list referral

Commitments to Ending Homelessness

• Case conferencing, problem solving, and seeking permanent housing solutions for everyone identified as homeless
• Enhanced case management with team approach across sectors using housing first philosophy, being client centered, and trauma informed
• Focus on reducing inflow into the system and increasing outflow with positive client outcomes

Affordable Housing

• Must have places for people to live
• Units must be affordable (below 60% county medium income, focus on 0-30% county median income)
• Units must be accessible and meet basic housing quality standards
• Units must be rent reasonable and within fair market rent for the community

Landlords and Existing Properties

• Willing to work with people who are seeking to end their homelessness (issues with credit, negative rental history, criminal background, etc.)
• Willing to accept housing vouchers
• Willing to make necessary repairs to bring units into compliance with basic housing quality standards

In addition, the National Alliance to End Homelessness also lists additional solutions to end homelessness which are:

A Coordinated Approach to End Homelessness

Communities should take a coordinated approach to end homelessness. This entails moving away from single programs to a coordinated, community-wide approach using data to drive decision making. Key elements to this approach include

• Coordinated entry
• Planning
• Collecting and examining local data
• A shared data system (HMIS for example)
• Performance Measurement and Evaluation

Housing as a Solution

Housing is the most important solution to ending homelessness. Connecting people experiencing homelessness to housing assists with other areas that may have contributed to their homelessness such as employment, health, and substance use.

Housing programs focused on providing housing assistance such as Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-housing have shown to be effective in ending homelessness.

HUD administered public housing and voucher programs provide decent and safe affordable housing for low-income people which includes Housing Choice Voucher Programs (commonly known as Section 8) and federal funded housing that is rented at subsidized rates.

Assistance for the Most Vulnerable

Programs such as Permanent Supportive Housing has shown to be effective in assisting those that are chronically homeless. This program provides housing assistance, case management, and supportive services to those experiencing chronic homelessness. By providing these services, these households are able to build the skills necessary to sustain housing and live an independent life.

Investments in permanent supportive housing have historically helped decrease the numbers of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. In addition to ending homelessness for people who are chronically homeless, research has demonstrated that permanent supportive housing can increase housing stability and improve health.

Designing a Crisis Response

The goals of an effective crisis response system are to identify those experiencing homelessness, prevent homelessness when possible, connect people with housing quickly and provide services when needed. An effective crisis response includes the following:

• Outreach
• Coordinated entry
• Diversion and prevention
• Emergency shelters and interim housing
• Permanent housing

Increasing Opportunity and Services

A financial crisis is one that leads to housing instability. With incomes not sufficient to cover the high costs of housing, this leaves households to be at risk of homelessness.

Income support programs such Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), unemployment compensation, etc. help many people withstand economic crises.

Helping people experiencing homelessness increase and stabilize their incomes is a primary goal of homeless assistance programs.

Myth vs. Fact

Myth: There is nothing I can do to solve homelessness.

Fact: Although homelessness in America is a complex issue, you can effectively assist in reducing homelessness by 3 simple steps:

1. Be Kind: For those experiencing homelessness, kindness is something that is rarely seen for people who are in a traumatic situation. By simply being kind to those experiencing homelessness in the community, it sheds a bit of humanity that is not often seen on a daily basis.
2. Speak Up: Homeless is complex issue which is rooted in many different social injustices. Advocating for those experiencing homelessness by promoting trauma-informed support that are person centered helps people through many facets beyond homelessness.
3. Rent or Hire: Housing and work opportunities are key to pulling people out of homelessness, however those two are often in scare supply. By offering these opportunities, people are given a chance to exit homelessness and positively change their lives.