Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • How Houston Has Virtually Ended Homelessness Among Veterans

    Houston is a leader in ending veteran homelessness, with "an engaged police unit, a seasoned group of social and policy workers, and a city looking to innovate and improve," but that success has not scaled successfully to dealing with all chronic homelessness in the city. To truly solve chronic homelessness, Houston has found that it needs to build relationships with those experiencing homelessness to understand what specific services they need to stay housed.

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  • The Art of Humanizing Social Systems

    For social service agencies, prioritizing well-being requires new procedures and a framework for understanding holistic wellness. The Full Frame Initiative has partnered with agencies in the states of Massachusetts and Missouri in an effort to bring categories of well-being into their purview. The Initiative uses five metrics—safety, mastery, social connectedness, and access to resources— to help align social systems, ranging from courts and juvenile corrections to homeless housing services, with social needs so that agencies can better assist their communities.

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  • What can Seattle learn from cities where homelessness has dropped?

    Cities that have had the largest decreases in homelessness in the past five years, including New Orleans, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Virginia Beach, have implemented a variety of approaches. Now, other cities are taking note and learning which might work for their specific situation.

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  • Library Systems Embracing Their New Roles As Social Service Hubs

    Public libraries are increasingly using their positions as accessible centers for information to address homelessness and mental health issues - in San Francisco, a team of Health and Safety Associates have helped place at least 130 patrons in stable housing. While adding social workers to their staff has helped libraries provide social services, the libraries have also focused on hiring people who have experiences homelessness or financial instability to fill those roles and act as peer mentors as well.

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  • Homeless Shelter's Program Financially Assists Families Living on Their Own

    Going Home, a program implemented by a homeless shelter in Athens-Clarke County in Georgia, helps homeless individuals maintain long-term housing and foster financial independence. The program pays six months of rent and half the security deposit on an apartment for homeless individuals, allowing them to start saving money up front, and runs a budget training for participants. The shelter reports that 82 percent of families maintained long-term housing after the program.

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  • Finland's 'housing first' homelessness strategy could help ease Toronto's shelter crisis

    As Toronto's local government strives to address the city's growing homeless problem, officials look to a model in Helsinki, Finland that swapped emergency shelters for permanent housing. Folks who move into these apartments pay what they can, and they're able to set down roots rather than move from shelter to shelter.

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  • Canton men's shelter set for expansion

    In Canton, Ohio, Refuge of Hope is a faith-based organization serving the town's male homeless population, offering a place to stay overnight and meals. The organization runs primarily through the help of volunteers, providing more than 80,000 hot meals and 15,000 nights of shelter.

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  • For Those Experiencing Homelessness, ‘The Bin' Honors Their Belongings

    In Los Angeles, The Bin gives homeless people a chance to store their valuables. “If I didn’t have this bin, I’d have to get rid of most of my stuff. These bins are really great to have.” Across the nation, other cities are unfolding efforts to help the homeless population.

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  • “It's Not Just About Housing”

    While any attempted solution to homelessness is admirable, it’s the ideas that include community that may be the most successful. This is the concept supported by Stephanie Sena, a professor at Villanova who has dedicated her life to bringing “best practices” of homeless communities to Philadelphia. Still in the early stages, this community model would attempt to beat homelessness by bringing people together - not only giving a roof and a bed. Ideally, the community aspect would make the solution sustainable.

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  • Despite high poverty, why fewer people live on Philly's streets than in other big cities

    Several factors contribute to the successful strategy that keeps people off the streets in Philadelphia, where the poverty rate is the highest among the 10 biggest cities in the country. Having multiple services within comprehensive outreach teams is a critical component as is their caring approach to those who need help. Housing services, both temporary and permanent are also vital. Permanent housing is offered with "wrap-around services" which enable people to stay housed. These include physical and mental help in addition to assistance with obtaining a GED, a license and more.

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