U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)

Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules in the Grants Pass case, laws that make homelessness a crime are ineffective and expensive. For communities looking for long-term solutions to help people move off streets and into homes, USICH just released "19 Strategies to Address Encampments Humanely and Effectively."

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and Kaiser Permanente are co-hosting a webinar to discuss recent federal guidance and effective strategies for collaborative and compassionate care for people experiencing homelessness. Housing is vital for a person’s health, and health systems and hospitals have a critical role in both housing and homelessness. This event is relevant for all health professionals, including public health departments and researchers. Register today!

NEWS: Veteran homelessness has dropped to its lowest level on record—from 35,574 to 32,882—which represents a 7.5% drop since last year, 11.7% drop since 2020, and 55.6% drop since 2010. “This year’s PIT Count shows that VA and the entire Biden-Harris administration are making real progress in the fight to end veteran homelessness," said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. "We still have a long way to go, but we will not stop until every veteran has a safe, stable place to call home.”

Have you read the latest USICH newsletter? Click to read about: ➡️ USICH's new National Youth Homelessness Partnership ➡️ Local and federal efforts to prevent families from losing their homes ➡️ How people without a permanent address can vote

"There’s been a lot of work around helping end homelessness once people are already there ... it’s just as important to focus on prevention," said USICH Director Olivet on the federal government's first-ever homelessness prevention framework released last month. Read (or listen) to the full interview:

"Our policies and decision-making are stronger when those who have experienced challenges firsthand can lead." - Education Secretary Miguel Cardona With the launch of the National Youth Homelessness Partnership, USICH elevates the voice of youth with lived expertise of homelessness in federal and national efforts to prevent and end it.

Almost 3 of every 10 people experiencing homelessness on a night in 2023 were children with a parent. This new blog in our homelessness prevention series explores how the federal government and communities are strengthening safety nets to prevent families from ever experiencing the lifelong trauma of homelessness. For instance, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded $10 million in housing vouchers to prevent children from being placed in foster care primarily because of insufficient housing. And the state of Massachusetts embeds social workers in courts, preventing 80% of eligible households from experiencing homelessness in the last year.

In Hurricane Helene's wake, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development deployed Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing (RUSH) funds to North Carolina, which can be used to: ➡️ Provide emergency shelter, rapid rehousing (including up to 24 months of rental assistance), financial assistance for move-in costs, and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness before the disaster ➡️ Invest in homelessness prevention (including up to 24 months of rental assistance), utility assistance, supportive services, and outreach assistance to meet urgent needs of people at risk of homelessness before the disaster

Have you read the latest USICH newsletter? Read, subscribe, and share it with someone working to end homelessness.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $15.4M to help young adults transitioning out of foster care and experiencing or at risk of homelessness—and more funding is still available.