The Best Way to End Homelessness

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.

Over 120 hotels and motels have been converted into affordable housing developments in California, housing 8,260 people who were previously experiencing homelessness. Known as Homekey, the state-funded program was initially meant to quickly house vulnerable populations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Funding for the next two years has already been approved for what advocates are calling “Homekey 2.0.”

After a Housing First program in Brno, the Czech Republic's second-largest city, stabilized families' housing and health status, the city of Jihlava used local and European Union money, plus a charity's services, for a two-year pilot to provide subsidized apartments and social services to a dozen families. Nationwide, EU-supported Housing First projects have found housing for about 400 people in 16 cities. Though often opposed as a giveaway, the programs both longer-term and in the pilot phase have shown that after a family is housed, the resulting stability helps set them up to solve many other problems.

Washington D.C. has decreased the number of people experiencing homelessness through the implementation of its permanent supportive housing programs. The 'housing first' initiatives prioritize providing permanent housing to those experiencing homelessness and then connecting those residents to all the services they need to maintain that housing. There are no requirements of sobriety, employment, or medication to receive the permanent housing. The local government adopted the housing first approach in 2008 and has seen a decline in homelessness.

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.

Houston's effort to significantly decrease homelessness was successful due to the overhaul of its previous system which was disjointed, had too many services gaps, and often duplicated services. The new system provides concerted and seamless services in line with the Housing First principles. San Diego's lack of a cohesive plan to carry out the Housing First strategy has left it a lot less effective.

Finland, the only EU country with declining homelessness, uses a “Housing First” program to provide homes for people living on the streets with no preconditions. Nonprofits manage long-term housing and, once in homes, individuals receive a rental agreement and pay rent and expenses. Social workers provide services from offices in residential buildings and the state helps financially. The program provided 4,600 homes in the past decade and costs less than accepting the status quo of homelessness. About 20% drop out and around 1,900 people still live on the streets, but emergency shelters can accommodate them.

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.

The Housing First model proposes finding homes for the unhoused without requiring employment, stability, or sobriety in order to qualify. Getting people off the street first and then helping them stay there through various services has been shown to be a successful approach to alleviating homelessness. Proponents of the model argue that having housing provides a foundation that allows people to remain sober, take medications, work, and function - all of which is more difficult to do consistently when sleeping on the streets or in a shelter.

Several factors contribute to the successful strategy that keeps people off the streets in Philadelphia, where the poverty rate is the highest among the 10 biggest cities in the country. Having multiple services within comprehensive outreach teams is a critical component as is their caring approach to those who need help. Housing services, both temporary and permanent are also vital. Permanent housing is offered with "wrap-around services" which enable people to stay housed. These include physical and mental help in addition to assistance with obtaining a GED, a license and more.