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

The city of Detroit’s government spearheaded new partnerships at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to provide transit options for people living in city shelters and residents who don’t have cars to access COVID-19 testing. These partnerships among government departments allowed for transporting those experiencing homelessness to designated emergency shelters and hospitals to prevent the spread of the virus among shelter residents. Government officials anticipated as many as 450 shelter residents would contract the virus, but so far, only 154 people have tested positive with no deaths reported.

The economic growth along the West coast has been huge, but the population increase has also increased housing costs, pushing thousands onto the streets. In response, the non-profit Panza has developed a novel approach to sheltering the homeless. With an affordable land lease from the county, and financial support from the state and local community organizations, Panza has created a "tiny-house village" that has offered space, safety and support for individuals to overcome their financial hardships and find jobs and housing on their own.

Under increasing pressure to remove the homeless from encampments, the San Francisco bay area has had difficulty addressing the problem of where the homeless can find refuge. Oakland has established Compassionate Communities, a piloted program lead by local government officials, which pipelines funds not toward the dissolution of encampments but rather to the creation of permanent housing. So far, the program has successfully transitioned twenty-five residents of encampments into permanent housing and is projecting to dissolve the encampments by April 2017.

Between 2004 and 2014, San Francisco’s mayor attempted to rid the city of chronic homelessness with a ten-year plan. Despite dramatic successes in moving thousands of homeless from the streets, the homeless population numbers remain the same and chronic homelessness may never be eradicated. In reexamining the problems from the ten-year plan, the current administration has new ideas to decrease their number of homeless.

The City of Louisville launched a multi-agency Critical Infrastructure Task Force and passed a city ordinance that regulates secondary metals recyclers, resulting in a 90% drop in copper wire theft incidents for AT&T Kentucky and an ~80% reduction in fiber line cuts for Spectrum between 2024 and 2025.

The Denver Basic Income Project gave no-strings-attached funding to people experiencing homelessness, with some participants receiving $1,000 per month, some receiving a lump sum of $6,500 followed by $500 monthly payments, and some receiving $50 per month. After one year, almost half of the participants had found stable housing, and research showed that the program likely saved the city nearly half a million dollars in costs for services like ambulance rides and shelter stays.

The Hilda L. Solis Care First Village provides temporary housing and support services for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles with the goal of transitioning them into permanent housing. Residents get a private room with a TV and a shower and share other facilities like kitchens and laundry rooms.

In Minnesota, Hennepin County is using a housing-first approach, working with individuals on their specific needs, and focusing on the most vulnerable populations first to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in the county.

A city-sanctioned program allows people to camp on a corner in Chattanooga, despite it being illegal statewide. The safety and stability allow residents to focus on improving their economic situations in order to find stable housing.

To limit the spread of COVID-19, the Everyone In initiative offers housing to people experiencing homelessness. In the first few months of the program, the government paid for hotel rooms – which were empty due to the pandemic – for about 15,000 people. Additional services provided include helping people with substance abuse issues, accessing welfare benefits, and finding permanent housing. Some hotel residents expressed a renewed sense of purpose from having stable housing. A new set of workers, like hotel staff, addressing homelessness for the first time also led to innovation.