Blog: Homelessness Ends Here

Barbara Poppe and Jennifer Ho, from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, addressed funders about the role philanthropy needs to play to achieve the goals in Opening Doors, the federal plan to end homelessness. They spoke at the Funders Together to End Homelessness meeting: "Catalytic Philanthropy and Ending Homelessness: Aligning Resources and Creating Change in the Pacific Northwest."

Representatives from more than 40 funding organizations recently spent a day in Seattle--at the new campus of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation--strategizing about ways philanthropy can be the catalyst to end homelessness in their communities.

beyond the “usual suspects” of shelter, housing, and housing-related services, there are many other funding areas through which foundations can touch the lives of people who are homeless, including: child welfare and well-being, food security, workforce and employment training, literacy, veterans’ services, mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence. All of these areas are, in one way or another, related to homelessness. And, the more we recognize the connectivity across our various efforts, the more collaborative and strategic we’ll be in targeting our investments to the most efficient and effective sets of interventions.

Homelessness—always a lagging indicator in economic hard times—needs to remain a priority for both government and philanthropic sector spending as the nation lurches forward. I can think of at least two reasons why this is a good time for both government and philanthropy to work together and engage more effectively in efforts that can end homelessness.

Is there anything funders can do to prevent or even solve homelessness in light of the economic forecast? The answer is a categorical yes. Many communities have continued to reduce their number of homeless individuals and families despite these harsh economic times—and philanthropy has played a key role. Homelessness can be solved, even when times are tough – if we do the right things.

The U.S. debt ceiling debate means philanthropy will be called upon to backfill public sector funding cuts and rescue struggling safety net programs in local communities across the nation. Philanthropy must be more data-driven, strategic, and catalytic in response.

Funders Together announces leadership changes and new board members, and attends NAEH's annual conference on ending homelessness.

For nearly ten years, communities around the country have developed plans to end homelessness. Sadly, some of those plans sat on a shelf, without action or results or had early results and then fizzled out. But the homelessness and housing community has gotten a wave of new energy and support from the new leadership at the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. Under the guidance of Barbara Poppe, the USICH has issued its own plan (which just celebrated its first anniversary) and this in turn has encouraged states to reinvigorate and move forward on their plans—and it’s been exciting to see the progress.

This week is the first anniversary of Opening Doors: the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. To mark the occasion, two members of the Funders Together Board were invited to participate in a webinar hosted by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), highlighting both what has been working in the plan and where improvement is needed. More than 500 people accessed the conference call, engaging in a candid conversation about the first year of implementation of Opening Doors.