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  • Tiny House ‘Villages' for People Experiencing Homelessness Spreading Across the Country

    A successful tiny home community in Missouri is inspiring a doctor-nurse duo to establish one in Wilmington, North Carolina. The idea took hold after they realized that chronic homelessness had a huge impact on health which led to frequent, preventable ER visits. Eden Village is supportive, permanent housing that residents can stay in forever as long as they abide by some rules.

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  • Is There a Better Way to Collect Data on Homelessness?

    A campaign to end housing instability is counting on frequent data collection to provide a clearer insight into the reality and needs of those living on the streets. “Built for Zero” aims to replace the current federal HUD model which consists of a single annual physical count of the unhoused. The data are used to create a command center which streamline the response from various groups and agencies that can address the issue of homelessness. The city of Bakersfield, California, was able to functionally end homelessness even with the onset of the pandemic after implementing the data-driven strategy.

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  • In Eugene, Oregon, civilian response workers—not police—are dispatched to nonviolent crises

    Eugene's well-established CAHOOTS program for replacing police as first responders to certain types of 911 calls has become a model for multiple cities as they seek to replicate its success in an era of questioning the role of police. While it saves its city money and replaces arrests and possible violence with social and health services for people needing housing or mental health care, or suffering from addiction, CAHOOTS is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of programs responding to these challenges. Communities' differences will dictate what works best for them.

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  • This L.A. project shows that homeless housing can be done quickly and cheaply

    A housing complex in Los Angeles was approved and constructed with unprecedented speed and at a much lower cost than traditional homeless housing projects. Using up-cycled shipping containers, the project will include amenities such as bathrooms and refrigerators for each room. Teamwork and collective action from the county’s public works department resulted in the successful project.

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  • Give Housing, Save Money

    Providing people with housing and then giving them the services they need to stay housed is also a very effective way to save tax-payer money. Reducing chronic homeless through programs like The Madrone Project helps keep the unhoused healthier, reducing their trips to the ER, and also saves tax dollars that go into policing those living on the streets. Spending money on housing and services can be considered an investment that helps get people housed and healthy again, as well as a financial strategy to reduce government and hospital costs.

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  • This California city just ended chronic homelessness

    The city of Bakersfield, California, was able to functionally end homelessness even with the onset of the pandemic, after implementing a data-driven strategy led by “Built for Zero.” The initiative focuses on frequent data collection which is then used to create a master command center that all agencies, shelters, and nonprofits work on in conjunction. Pooling resources and working together leads to clearer insight into where the most pressing need is and prevents unhoused people from falling through the cracks.

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  • Pima County program getting people out of jail quicker, speeding up chances for a new life

    An array of services in Pima County, Arizona, greets hundreds of people getting released early from jail or helps keep them out of jail in the first place. By providing drug treatment, housing, job assistance, and other help that people need instead of incarceration, the county's Criminal Justice Reform Unit and Jail Population Review Committee saved the county $2 million in jail costs over just part of 2020. Drug use also declined and officials hope to see longer-range benefits in lower recidivism.

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  • Could This Housing Project Be A Model For Addressing Homelessness On Kauai?

    Affordable housing and wraparound services are being offered to residents experiencing homelessness in Kauai, Hawaii. A new development constructed from shipping containers isn’t meant to be a permanent solution but it does provide “a place to land with a roof over their heads, paid utilities, a laundry room, and wraparound social services.” Residents, most of whom are working families, can take advantage of help finding and securing a job in addition to credit training.

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  • 'It was a godsend': New Minnesota hiring program helps care homes hit hard by COVID-19

    After facing staffing shortages during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the Minnesota Department of Human Services developed an aggressive emergency hiring initiative ahead of potential new outbreaks. Using third-party staffing agencies and encouraging applicants from all backgrounds – like those recently unemployed from the service industry – the initiative has "provided rapid relief to dozens of nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, group homes, homeless shelters and substance abuse treatment centers."

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  • As Homelessness Rises in Seattle, So Does a Native American Housing Solution

    Supportive housing options geared toward Native Americans specifically are rare but much-needed resources in urban areas like Seattle where up to 15% percent of the homeless population belongs to the native community. Native community members are made to feel at home in shelter facilities in Portland and Phoenix where resources include traditional and cultural practices, Native artwork, vocational rehabilitation, and the presence of other Natives getting back on their feet. A Seattle housing project set to open in 2021 will address “the critical shortage of culturally competent outreach."

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