Our Goals
Closing the Door on Homelessness
Funders Together joins its implementing partners, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, along with other national homelessness groups in recommending four core goals:
» View a brief slide show about our mission, goals, and approach.
To make progress on the goal of ending homelessness, the Administration should organize federal agencies to achieve the following, among other tasks necessary to end homelessness:
No veteran should be homeless. Veterans represent nearly one-fourth of the homeless population. Each night, an estimated 150,000 veterans are homeless. We should not add to this number with veterans from the current conflicts. The VA and HUD should provide 50,000 HUD-VASH vouchers (subsidized housing plus services) for those homeless veterans who are disabled, and flexible housing assistance and services to quickly re-house other homeless veterans.
600,000 families experience homeless every year. At any given time, some 85,000 families are homeless. Most of these families do not remain homeless long, but they are quickly replaced by others who have lost their housing. Family homelessness is particularly traumatic for young children. A number of communities around the country have had success with rapid re-housing and a new generation of prevention programs involving shorter term financial help with establishing a source of income through employment and/or benefits, and rigorous targeting to those most likely to become homeless. We can ensure that every child and family has a home by investing in rapid re-housing, and this successful intervention should be made available for every family who is homeless. Congress made a major investment in this approach through the $1.5 billion Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program at HUD.
A small but visible minority of homeless people live on the streets and in shelters for years on end. Crippled by mental illness, chronic substance abuse, and physical ailments, their disabilities inhibit them from escaping homelessness. The primary solution is permanent supportive housing. The nation has made great progress in attacking this problem. Chronic homelessness could be ended with the availability of an additional 90,000 supportive housing opportunities. The outstanding question is the source of funding and oversight for the intensive support services and case management that will be needed. We urge the current Administration to create the additional 90,000 units of permanent supportive housing needed to solve it.
As many as two million youth experience homelessness every year, but most will not be homeless long. However, 110,000 end up living on the streets, half of them under the age of 17. This problem calls for intensive street outreach backed by housing solutions, and what amounts to discharge planning post-foster care either through reunification with family, or through flexible programs where rent subsidies are combined with services to help young people deal with a range of problems and successfully enter the workforce. We urge the Administration to provide 55,000 shelter units to street youth under 17, accompanied by intensive family reunification services. For the 55,000 street youth over 18, flexible housing assistance plus linkages to services will be required.
Ending homelessness is a bold yet achievable goal. Despite the formidable challenges of the moment, we are still a nation with the resources, the moral conviction, and the know-how to ensure that everyone has a home. Focusing on these four core goals will go a long way to making this a reality.
email: funderstogether@gmail.com
phone: 617.236.2244
address: 240 Newbury St.2nd FloorBoston, MA 02116