Homeless Oaklanders were tired of the housing crisis. So they built a ‘miracle' village

In 2020, homelessness services providers in Walla Walla began meeting weekly to collaborate on how to better coordinate their programs and allocate resources. That same year, the city’s low-barrier shelter began operating 24 hours rather than only at night. The city has become a model for how to provide services for people without housing, having been able to find permanent housing for 74 percent of people who left the system last fiscal year.

Year-round shelters for people experiencing homelessness are uncommon in north central Ohio, making Harmony House a vital resource for the community. The organization provides a place to sleep in addition to wraparound services for people to get back on their feet. The organization relies on government grants and community support.

In southwestern Louisiana, the Acadiana Regional Coalition on Homelessness and Housing wrangled 19 hotels into a makeshift network during the pandemic to house people experiencing homelessness. With help from Beacon Community Connections' counselors, the 456 people who entered the program found the stability and services they needed to connect with government benefits and, in some cases, find jobs. The program's Housing First approach, to admit the chronically unhoused without preconditions like sobriety, creates disciplinary challenges but put many on a path to a better life.

Philadelphia can look to places such as Denver and New Jersey for examples of how to alleviate homelessness by treating it as a health problem. Many people experiencing homelessness struggle with alcohol, opiate and drug addictions as well as mental and physical disabilities. Hospitals are often obligated to treat and keep anyone who may not have a safe place to go after release therefore the healthcare industry has an incentive to mitigate the homelessness crisis by providing wraparound services as well as transitional housing for people who have no where to go after a hospital release.

Britain's response to curbing the spread of coronavirus included the "Bring everyone in" operation which brought people experiencing homelessness off the streets and into accommodation - typically empty hotel rooms. Temporary shelter proved effective with only 16 deaths among those who were brought indoors. People were also given services that could lead to a life off the streets. The success demonstrated the ability of the government to quickly house people when political will and money were put toward solving the problem.

The city of Oakland and local activists use a similar response to the problem – building encampments of "tiny houses" – but there are critical differences between the two programs. An activist group called The Village has taken over parkland or vacant lots to build 23 tiny structures at the heart of self-governed communities that activists hope alleviate homelessness in the short term and lead toward permanent solutions. The city has torn down most of The Village's structures and erected its own two-person sheds in camps governed by the city, an approach that has had mixed success for the people it served.

A coalition of local groups in the Cowichan region focused on the welfare of vulnerable populations during COVID-19 opened five tenting sites that have provided people experiencing homelessness with safety, meals, and access to service. The temporary solution, pending the opening of 100 units of housing to open in 2021, has uncertain financing after its initial $392,000 phase. But, almost immediately, the well-managed sites have had a visible effect: many fewer people wandering the streets.

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.

A growing number of cities are creating formal camps to mitigate housing problems for those experiencing homelessness. The camps feature basic accommodations such as a three-walled structure under which a tent can be pitched - partly protected from cold, rain, and wind. The major draw is the around-the-clock security patrols in addition to portable bathrooms, trash collection, and on-site kitchen. The camps can also provide a place where people can leave their things while working temp jobs.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association Canada and Humanity First Canada teamed up to transform a bus into a mobile shelter for the homeless, complete with 20 beds, a kitchenette, a bathroom, internet, and more. The program is called Shelter Bus and, since launching in December 2019, has served over 1,000 people and reaches up to 50 people a day. The bus has been described as "heaven" by some guests, and they are now planning to have 3 buses by the next year.