Since the Great Recession, our community has struggled to end the rising problem of homelessness. While we’ve made lives better for thousands of our neighbors, the progress as a whole is sometimes difficult to see. Solving homelessness is as complex as each of the 4,500 people on the streets in our community.

What’s working?

When homelessness does happen, our focus is to make sure that it is rare, brief and one-time. Our approach is people-centered, based on their individual needs and coordinated to ensure we provide people with the most appropriate support.

What needs work?

Coordinated entry will be a critical component of our community’s success. When people fall into crisis, it’s important that we gather enough information from the clients upfront to ensure we can help move people to a situation that makes the most sense for them. In the upcoming funding cycle, United Way will require all funded agencies to comply with gathering this information so coordinated entry can bring us one step closer to ensuring that people have homes.

Read on for where we’ve seen success with the $9.2 million we invested last year—and where we’ve got some work to do. When homelessness does happen, our focus is to make sure that it is rare, brief and one-time.

Making it rare, starts with prevention. Keeping people in their homes, helping them avoid the shelter system.

Learn more

Keeping it brief requires emergency shelter and rapid re-housing.

Learn more

Making it one-time involves permanent supportive housing.

Learn more

 …