Pioneer Square homelessness effort exceeds original goal

Community Solutions provides support and data analysis for municipalities trying to reach “functional zero,” when it becomes rare for a specific population, such as veterans or people who are chronically unhoused, to fall into homelessness. The milestone has been achieved by several communities, including Rockford, Illinois, and Abilene, Texas, but some, such as Bergen County, New Jersey, have struggled to maintain the standard long-term.

Los Angeles County’s Flex Vote Center Program establishes polling locations at shelters, transitional housing sites, and service centers for people who are unhoused or face other barriers to voting. In 2020, nearly 2,800 people cast their ballots through the Flex program.

Homelessness is a serious issue in any state, but outlined in this article are 3 unique approaches in 3 different states that have proven successful. Albuquerque, New Mexico, Orlando, Florida, and Detroit, Michigan have all figured out effective plans to get people off the streets. Solutions range from actually giving homeless people permanent housing to designing a 90 day action plan with them to get them back on their feet to offering a quick and easy way to make some money for food or a night at a hotel.

In Finland, homelessness has been largely perceived as eradicated through its pilot of the now internationally recognized concept of Housing First, where people experiencing homelessness are offered safe, stable and permanent housing without the requirement of intensive services first. "Between 2008 and 2015, the number of people experiencing long-term homelessness dropped by 35 percent," a number that many countries are trying to replicate.

Riverside is the only city in California to solve veteran homelessness. The approach, called Housing First, works by placing vets into subsidized housing and then proceeding with support services like finding employment or rehabilitating from drugs/alcohol dependence. Now that Riverside has housed all of its 89 homeless vets, it is moving on to apply the same approach to their 400 chronically homeless citizens.

A study on four homeless individuals showed that they cost thousands of dollars, plus hours of city officials' time. Outreach Fort Collins aims to decrease these numbers by recognizing the importance of relationships and checking in on homeless individuals as a neighborhood resource for people to turn to if there is a concern (rather than calling the police).

Homelessness has many challenges that require different services to aid those who have no place to live—including daycare and laundry. Seattle has established Mary’s Place Family Center, a public space that collaborates with non-profits to provide a multitude of social services to the homeless. Large corporations have donated buildings to serve as Seattle’s Mary’s Place shelters to diminish costs.

New Orleans implemented an extraordinary 10-year plan that engaged unprecedented cross-sector collaboration between government, non-profit, and private entities to provide housing and housing services to the city's homeless veterans. The city's success in providing homes for every single veteran formerly on their streets motivated cities across the nation to tackle the crises using similar means, leading to a 1/3 decline veteran homelessness since 2010.

The Homeless World Cup is the premier soccer tournament for homeless players. Programs around the world use soccer as a means of building a sense of community, sublimating negative energies, and encouraging personal growth.

In the U.S. most supportive housing programs have a 75 percent turnover rate, meaning people end up in the streets again. Direct Access to Housing in California manages a turnover rate of only 15 percent by providing a home, counseling, and financial management.