Local and Community Strategic Planning
While preventing and ending homelessness is and should be a national goal, the real work to accomplish this goal takes place on the local level. Each community in America is different and each community strategic plan to end homelessness will reflect this fact. There is no one-size-fits-all cure for homelessness, but there are proven best practices that can help communities achieve their goals.
Why Create a Community Strategic Plan?
- A plan puts your community in the best possible position to implement goals and strategies that have a demonstrated ability to reduce and end homelessness
- A plan creates a single set of community strategies with measureable outcomes that leads to greater public buy‐in and a more effective investment of resources.
- Cost benefit research has demonstrated savings in public systems from reduced use of services including hospital emergency rooms, ambulances, and EMT services.
- Savings in other service systems, including homeless shelters, acute psychiatric services, and corrections can result from placement of individuals into supportive housing
- A successful plan can enhance quality of life for both those experiencing homelessness and those who are housed
Effective communities are already implementing strategic plans to prevent and end homelessness tailored to their local needs. For those who have established Ten Year Plans, Community Strategic Plans, or Continuum of Care Plans, USICH is encouraging you to both reassess your community’s progress to the goals/objectives outlined in your plan and consider revisiting your plans to align with the subpopulations, goals, and timelines given in Opening Doors and with new opportunities outlined in the HEARTH Act. For those do not already have a Ten Year Plan, USICH calls on you to develop a Community Strategic Plan to prevent and end homelessness guided by best practices and aligned with the Opening Doors goals.
Communitywide strategic planning is a pivotal step in ending homelessness and has resulted in demonstrable decreases in homelessness when the plans are well-crafted and implemented. This toolkit is meant to provide your community with the steps and resources it needs to align with Opening Doors while ensuring the unique needs of your community are met.
