The Art of Humanizing Social Systems

Several California cities have adopted a new approach to clearing homeless encampments that prioritizes housing over displacement, called Inside Safe. The model involves spending 6-8 weeks getting to know each encampment resident individually, matching them with appropriate housing, moving people gradually and minimizing police involvement. Los Angeles's Inside Safe program has moved 5,200 people indoors over three years, with approximately 25% securing permanent housing.

Efforts from the local Housing, Health and Human Services Center helped make Bergen the first — and one of the few — U.S. cities that have reached functional zero for chronic homelessness. Through providing counseling services and helping those in need access care and other resources like employment, the Center has helped several people secure housing, nearly eliminating long-term homelessness for veterans and those struggling with conditions like addiction and other mental illnesses.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has worked with countless non-profits to try to decrease homelessness in the city. Finally, one solution is showing positive effects. Supportive housing is a type of affordable housing that includes job training programs, access to healthcare, and financial literacy education, all with the aim of keeping residents housed. Within New York, 1,400 units of supportive housing are currently funded, and 2,803 units are in the development process.

The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and its subsidiary Building Health act as safety nets for uninsured people experiencing homelessness by expanding the definition of healthcare to also include housing, serving about 85,000 people a year. By providing wraparound care and services from help finding housing to legal assistance and education, the groups’ combined efforts helped shrink the rate of uninsured, unhoused people from 16% in 2020 to about 12% now.

The Healthy Opportunities pilot program uses Medicaid dollars to address non-medical needs like food access, transportation and housing. Since launching in 2022, the program has assisted nearly 30,000 people in 33 of the state’s 100 counties. Research shows the state is spending about $85 less in medical costs per month for each participant, and lawmakers are currently weighing whether to expand the program.

The Housing First model focuses on helping people experiencing homelessness to find stable housing and meet their basic needs before addressing anything else. It's taking off in cities across the United States.

Various efforts to reduce veteran homelessness have worked together over the years to cut the number of unhoused veterans almost in half since 2019. One such effort is the VA Housing First model, which prioritizes finding permanent, supportive housing without conditions like sobriety. In 2023 alone, the VA placed more than 46,500 veterans into permanent housing.

Several community organizations and municipalities like the Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI) have come together to decrease homelessness rates among the transgender population. OTI formed a Trans Advisory Committee which focused on budget and policy advocacy based on input from the transgender community to address homelessness and partnered with efforts like the Transgender District. All in all, these combined efforts have decreased transgender homelessness by 15% since 2019.

In response to managing the homeless crisis, several Safe Rest Villages have emerged throughout the city. These are small, individual units on city-owned land, separate from nearby neighborhoods. There are currently seven active Safe Rest Villages in the city and they have created 350 transitional housing opportunities for the local homeless population.

California’s Whole Person Care pilot program improved care for the state’s most at-risk Medicaid patients, like those experiencing homelessness and addiction. The program resulted in fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits and also provided assistance in education, transportation, employment and helping participants access and maintain housing. The pilot program exists in 26 counties and served about 250,000 people.