On World Homelessness Day, Community Solutions Marks Progress Toward Solving Homelessness

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Oct 10, 2023, 08:32 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, national nonprofit Community Solutions marked World Homelessness Day by detailing the tremendous progress that more than 100 U.S. communities have made toward ending homelessness through its Built for Zero initiative.

"Homelessness is an urgent, complex challenge facing communities nationwide," said Rosanne Haggerty, president of Community Solutions. "But homelessness is not intractable. From rural areas to major cities, the communities we work with are proof that it's possible to make homelessness rare overall and brief when it does occur."

Since Built for Zero launched in 2015, communities have achieved several milestones:

Over 165,000 people were housed in Built for Zero communities.
14 communities have reached functional zero, a measurable milestone making homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring, for at least one population.
43 communities reduced homelessness for at least one population.
Large cities are proving it's possible to solve homelessness. From 2020 to 2022, Metro Denver and Detroit reduced veteran homelessness by over 30%, compared to the national average of 11% during the time period. Since 2017, Minneapolis has moved over 1,490 chronically homeless individuals into permanent housing -- a near 80% reduction in chronic homelessness.
65 communities recorded quality, by-name data on every person experiencing homelessness within a particular population. This data enables them to track whether homelessness is declining or increasing from month to month and make investments that drive reductions.

Built for Zero is a movement and methodology of 107 U.S. cities and counties committed to using data to measurably and equitably end homelessness for entire populations. Communities work to achieve and sustain functional zero, a measurable milestone in which the number of people entering homelessness is fewer than the number of people a community can house in a given month.

In 2021, the MacArthur Foundation awarded a $100 million grant to Community Solutions to expand its Built for Zero initiative.

"On World Homelessness Day, we recognize these milestones and acknowledge the challenging journey ahead," said Beth Sandor, chief program officer at Community Solutions. "With a data-driven, human-centered approach, we can transform our support systems and turn our vision for ending homelessness into a reality."

About Community Solutions

Community Solutions is a nonprofit committed to creating a lasting end to homelessness that leaves no one behind. It leads Built for Zero, a movement of more than 100 communities in the United States working to measurably and equitably end homelessness.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Lauren Barnes
(903) 539-0809
[email protected]

SOURCE Community Solutions