By Mary L. G. Theroux, Adam B. Summers, Lawrence J. McQuillan, Jonathan Hofer, Hovannes Abramyan, and Scott Beyer;    Edited by Adam B. Summers

  Most cities do not have this complete integration of police and fire departments, emergency services, hospitals, psychiatric providers, and all other homeless service providers. Communities across the United States could benefit substantially from looking at the homelessness issue through a more systemic lens. Ultimately, homelessness in itself is not the problem; it is a symptom of larger systems-level problems. We need to enact systems-level solutions to truly address the root causes of homelessness. As a nation, we can overcome homelessness. In order to do so, we have to stop dealing with the symptoms and start dealing with the real issues. This report offers a good starting point for doing so  

   Causes of homelessness are many and often attached to trauma with a strong correlation to mental health issues. Other progressions into homelessness could involve compounded health issues, hospitalization later in life, losing resources, or becoming financially homeless. Each needs long-term personalized and customized care for success. A big part of the current homelessness crisis stems from the unintended consequences of the 2009 HEARTH Act. Our nation shifted from providing funding for emergency shelters to focusing solely on permanent housing and supportive services. Theoretically, this is not a bad way to approach homelessness—but as described in more detail herein, Housing First is only effective if you have the housing capacity to make sure people have a home and the necessary resources to provide wraparound services. In reality, this funding shift caused many cities to either downsize or eliminate shelters due to lack of available f inancial resources and created a ripple effect where people on the street did not have any safe, secure places to go. A larger part of the problem is the lack of affordable housing across the nation. The authors describe the factors driving California’s housing crisis with many of these replicating in cities across the country, resulting in unobtainable housing for the middle class. When dual phenomena of the lack of emergency shelters and an inadequate housing supply occurs, the eventual alternative is the street. It is important that the solutions offered herein address both homelessness policies as well as housing. Homeless intervention does not end or prevent homelessness, it only helps individuals currently experiencing homelessness. To end homelessness, we must address and solve the upstream issues, which include access to safe, affordable housing. T he “Beyond Homeless” report includes profiles of a few sample programs across the country that are achieving positive outcomes, and I am proud of my association with one of them, Haven for Hope of Bexar County located in San Antonio, Texas. As with most cities dealing with homelessness, San Antonio had the police department, emergency medical services, hospital systems, mental health systems, and nonprofit services providers all working in silos and not working collectively to have an impact. In creating Haven for Hope, we were able to bring all these systems together to collaboratively move in the same direction, thus making Haven a community wide model.   

Oakland, CA: Independence Institute, 2021. 66p.