Recognizing that the solutions to homelessness cut across federal, state, and local jurisdictions, we need to build a robust interagency, cross-sector approach to preventing and ending homelessness.
To achieve our national goals, leaders from all levels of government and the private, non-profit, and faith sectors need to come together to:
Build momentum behind a common vision: Through regional, state, and local interagency working groups and other processes that coordinate and align activities, policies, and priorities, we can pursue shared strategies and definitions of success. These collaborative, outcome-driven processes should be driven by our national definition of what an end to homelessness means, and criteria and benchmarks for achieving that goal among Veterans, families with children, unaccompanied youth, and people with disabilities.
Reduce fragmentation and duplication: Leadership working in concert can bring together areas of government that have typically operated in silos to reduce duplicative or contradictory activities and ensure the most effective use of public resources. Rolling out the evidence-based Housing First approach across communities, for example, has helped serve more people with better results.
Drive implementation of cost-effective solutions: Coalitions of local leaders can use data and performance measurement to guide investments into evidence-informed practices that efficiently solve homelessness. For example, rapid re-housing is a lower cost promising practice being deployed in communities across the country to get families quickly back into stable housing so that they can pursue their income and employment goals.