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Blog: Solutions
One of the first registry weeks of the 100,000 Homes Campaign took place in Hollywood, CA. At the time, we knew we had to get out on the streets and proactively discover who was homeless, but we were all still learning what the process ought to look like. Would homeless people really respond to personal questions about their health? Would enough volunteers show up to participate?
One of the Campaign’s major goals is to help communities house homeless veterans, but that process often looks different in every place. It can also be unexpectedly complicated and bureaucratic. This month, communities will convene across the country in an effort to change that.
Over the last few months, we’ve worked with our quality assurance partners at the Center for Urban and Community Services to take a rigorous look at the data from the first 18 months of the Campaign. We found many reasons to celebrate, but we also identified a few red flags. One of the most important aspects of the Campaign is the way it encourages communities to learn from one another and get better at what they do.
Last week, in a major victory for ending homelessness, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved the development of a $1.2 million dollar pilot program to provide housing vouchers for chronically homeless individuals and families identified by groups like Housing 1000 – a remarkable Santa Clara County organization participating in the 100,000 Homes Campaign. The initiative establishes a bold new template for other counties looking to save money and end homelessness at the same time.
It’s one of the most heartbreaking things we see on the streets-- families, often with with young children, lacking any place to call home. From the outset, the vision for the 100,000 Homes Campaign has included homeless families, and in the coming months, we’ll be stepping up our efforts to help communities identify vulnerable families and move them into appropriate housing that meets their service needs and keeps them together.
Noah Laracy is a regular person. He isn’t a trained social worker, a landlord, or a paid housing advocate. He’s a volunteer who wanted to do something to help end homelessness in his community.
This month, thousands of volunteers are canvassing their communities, block-by-block, as required by law, to count the number of people sleeping on their streets and sidewalks. But several participating Campaign communities are doing much more than that-- they are combining legally mandated “point-in-time” counts of their homeless populations with full-scale Campaign registry week efforts.
The Campaign is thrilled to announce today that the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) will come on board as a formal partner. NAHRO's support is a huge development. The organization brings with it more than 20,000 members, including non-profits, redevelopment corporations and public housing authorities (PHAs) across the country.
Our 1-Year Anniversary report is out, and you won't want to miss it.
Click below for detailed case studies, national data from over 18,000 Vulnerability Index surveys, top community housing rates, and a special letter from Campaign Director Becky Kanis!
Read the report!
Silicon Valley is home to many of the biggest technology firms in the world. Names like Apple, Google, Facebook, and eBay are part of Santa Clara County, California’s identity. But unseen amidst the innovation and wealth just south of San Francisco is a large and burgeoning homeless population.
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