'It's a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness

The City of Seattle partnered with Zillow to create a searchable database of affordable vacant rental units. Case managers are using the tool to get homeless residents into housing.

Across the country, governments at every level are working to tackle homelessness. In Houston, connecting permanent housing to services has proven an effective strategy but it has required an increase in affordable housing stock and more strategic organization between non-profits and officials.

Tiny home complexes are emerging as solutions to combat homelessness throughout the country, offering a cheap and efficient way to provide shelter amidst the national housing crisis. In some cases, living in a tiny home community serves as a stepping stone to help locals achieve permanent housing.

Homelessness and lack of affordable housing is a problem in Portland, as it is in many other places around the country. The Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good in Portland is trying to tackle these issues by looking to how Eugene has created solutions such as Opportunity Villages and Conestoga Huts.

Solider On is an organization that serves homeless veterans in 18 counties across central New York. Of their 180 employees, 92 used to be homeless themselves and another 15 are veterans. They travel everywhere to find people who need help and then work with them to get anything they need, such as housing or employment. Some participants testify to how much the program has changed their lives.

Inside Safe addresses the significant homelessness crisis in the city by traveling to encampments and offering people hotel rooms to stay in where they are connected with permanent housing and other necessary resources, like mental health care. Hotel rooms provide people with a safe space to heal and rest while working with a case worker to find housing. The initiative has so far moved 1,373 people into hotel rooms and 77 of them have moved into permanent housing.

Affordable housing communities serve various low-income populations from seniors to veterans to minorities and families. Gaining a safe and affordable place to live — with rent capped at 30% of their gross income — can help turn people’s lives around as affordable housing communities like Hope Cooperative connects residents with services like healthcare, job, and life skills to get back on their feet.

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.

The Fainbarg Chase Thrive Center allocated about $20,000 in emergency grants to provide students with temporary housing in partnership with local hotels that also cover utility bills and down payments. So far, the Center has supported 13 students financially, the majority of which were in need of long-term housing support after experiencing homelessness.

In Australia, a universal survey in several secondary schools helps to identify students who are at risk of becoming homeless and connects them with wraparound services. The prevention-based model may soon be piloted in King County, Washington.