Disrupting housing insecurity and homelessness

Contrast that with the needs of the housing insecure who need different supports that provide relief, whether it’s help with paying overdue rent or utilities or assistance from a housing counselor. A sudden change in one area of their life—a relationship, their health, access to transportation, or job status—could push them into homelessness. Those that are housing cost burdened face similar challenges when an unexpected life event can lead to a sudden decrease in resources available to pay rent, utilities, or a mortgage. Those experiencing housing insecurity and those that are burdened by housing costs often don’t know where to start looking for resources, or think they don’t qualify for help because they are not “technically” homeless.

The specific needs and experiences of each group determine what it will take to move them down the path to long-term housing stability.

Real-time, integrated data is necessary to develop effective prevention and mitigation strategies

Beyond recognizing the spectrum of housing needs, leading jurisdictions have made meaningful headway on deanonymizing aggregate data on homelessness and integrating it to derive insights.

At the micro level, communities need to know who is experiencing homelessness, and that list needs to be updated regularly. Annual point-in-time data isn’t sufficient. Communities such as Bergen County have used high-quality, real-time data to understand their homeless populations, tailor their response to end homelessness for high-risk populations, and sustain that progress over time.⁷

At the macro level, there’s a great deal of information being collected on homelessness. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) collects annual point-in-time data and housing inventory count data for all Continuum of Care (CoC) programs across the country. Homeless management information systems (HMIS) contain data collected by each CoC for reporting to HUD. The National Center for Homeless Education also maintains a database on the education of homeless youth. State and local governments collect data too.

Unfortunately, much of this data sits in jurisdictional silos, making it hard to build a complete picture of homelessness. But that is changing.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, for example, has created a “State of Homelessness” portal that aggregates data from across the nation and represents it in visual form.⁸ Users can employ the portal to examine sheltered versus unsheltered populations, homelessness by race and ethnicity, the availability of beds in each state, and trends in permanent housing solutions. Such open data portals offer insights into the success of various initiatives, highlighting communities that are reducing homelessness. These insights can help refocus resources to appropriate geographic regions and cohorts, both locally and nationally.

Los Angeles County (L.A. County) is using its data to understand who is at risk of homelessness, so it can develop more targeted prevention programs. In a recent project, researchers at the California Policy Lab at UCLA and UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab analyzed millions of interactions between L.A. County’s social services agencies and residents to improve the odds of correctly identifying who will become homeless from 1 in 10 to 1 in 2.⁹ Buoyed by the results, L.A. County launched a pilot program to target at-risk individuals and families for preventive services.

Ending homelessness requires an ecosystem approach

Homelessness is not, nor should it be, solely the government’s responsibility. A broader ecosystem with multiple stakeholders—nonprofits, the private sector, and citizen activists—is needed to help solve the problem. Case in point: Denver’s Road Home initiative.

In 2005, Denver launched a campaign to end chronic homelessness in the city. The Road Home initiative brought together government agencies, nonprofit organizations, faith communities, and local businesses to work toward several aims: find shelter and permanent housing for people who were currently homeless, help such individuals gain skills they could use to support themselves, and prevent evictions that could add to the homeless population.

A key strategy was to keep the initiative local and let communities be part of the strategy. The program asked religious congregations to sponsor and mentor qualified individuals, providing US$1,200 for a security deposit and first month’s rent, plus ongoing advice and moral support.¹⁰ It got Denver’s four professional sports teams to donate money or provide stadium boxes for engaging potential donors. Mile High United Way lent its fundraising muscle and also provided shelter space for homeless individuals in its headquarters.¹¹

Denver’s Road Home not only helped thousands of people find or retain housing, but also showed that effective solutions can save money. Before the initiative was launched, Denver spent an average of US$40,000 a year on emergency department care, detox programs, emergency shelters, etc. for one homeless person. By 2010, the city found ways to keep people in homes for about US$15,000 each.¹²

Looking ahead

To meaningfully address the growing ranks of the housing-insecure and homeless population, a mindset shift is needed. With the funding made available through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, cities and counties have a once in a generation opportunity to invest in tools that will help reduce housing insecurity. These tools will make it easier to access resources across a spectrum of housing needs, provide real-time, integrated data for more effective prevention and mitigation strategies, and help support the entire ecosystem dedicated to ending homelessness in a community. Leading jurisdictions are pointing the way forward, embracing new digital tools and data-driven, targeted approaches that call on the entire ecosystem to come together and align around a shared goal. Their success is demonstrating the value of coordinated and individualized responses using real-time data to address the spectrum of housing needs.