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."

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

The shortage of affordable housing is one of the biggest causes of homelessness, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded: ➡️ $85M in PRO Housing grants to remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation ➡️ $1.5M to help families using vouchers find and choose housing in lower poverty neighborhoods

The deadline to apply for this first-of-its-kind federal funding to prevent evictions and homelessness is August 20. https://lnkd.in/gGjmbREX

"The Supreme Court is not making communities pass anti-homeless laws. Communities have a choice to invest in housing and services." - USICH Director Olivet in a candid, historical, timely conversation with Indivisible People on the work to end homelessness Watch/listen to the full and wide-ranging conversation below:

Our latest spotlight on alternatives to criminalization that are humanely and effectively helping people move off streets and into homes focuses on Lane County, Oregon's Human Services Division. "Our new approach," they wrote, "fosters a deeper engagement with people living in encampments and has connected more than twice as many folks to housing. It has also brought a new collaboration of cross-agency, multi-sector players together in a shared vision of ending homelessness in ways we have not previously seen."

With a focus on housing and services—not handcuffs—USICH’s 19 Strategies to Address Encampments Humanely and Effectively offers communities alternatives to criminalization. Here are answers to your frequently asked questions about this new federal guidance and how communities like Denver and Hennepin County are helping people move off streets and into homes.

Testifying in a Congressional hearing today on efforts to end veteran homelessness, USICH Director Olivet said, "Even just one veteran experiencing homelessness is a tragedy." Read his full testimony: https://lnkd.in/gd2Ez-FG

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

In our latest "community spotlight," the Denver mayor's office explains how its homelessness strategy is informed by people living in encampments, why the city doesn't track congregate shelter availability, and how they move entire encampments inside together in a day.