18 tweets showing why homelessness is solvable

Homeless responders, people with lived experience, and staff shared their voices during the first-ever Built for Zero Twitter chat on Wednesday. This conversation centered around the topic of homelessness and how we can collectively work to solve it. What ensued was a Tweetstorm of brilliant insights with over 170 tweets using #BfZChat.

How do you or your organization help to make homelessness rare and brief in your community?

A2 – With a person-centered and data-driven approach, we work to meet the immediate needs of our neighbors experiencing homelessness while pursuing the ultimate goal of safe, long-term housing solutions. This is done with community support and partnerships. #BfZChat https://t.co/BfAm39MzlA
— Baltimore City Mayor's Office of Homeless Services (@BaltimoreMOHS) August 17, 2022

Baltimore, Maryland, joined Built for Zero in 2018 and has achieved quality, by-name data for both veteran and chronic homeless populations.

What do you wish people understood about homelessness?

Q3 I wish more people saw & believed that homelessness is solvable; that it is systemic & not individual; and, that at the first sign of difficulty there wasn't a rush to chuck out the things that work in favour of the stuff that doesn't! #BfZChat https://t.co/G7lqrRfrgp
— Tim Richter 🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@timrichter) August 17, 2022

Tim Richter is the CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, one of our international partners working to end chronic and veteran homelessness – a first step on the path to eliminating all homelessness in Canada.

A3: #BfZChat That homelessness is caused by systemic problems in housing, income, healthcare and criminal justice, and the solutions must be scaled and system-wide. No one chooses to live without a home.
— Melville Trust (@MelvilleTrust) August 17, 2022

Melville Trust is a strategic partner in our journey to end homelessness.

How do you know that homelessness is solvable?

After 13 years of Chronic Homelessness and learning all the resources available to me – I am finally stably housed 2 years with my children. I now work remotely for my local Coalition for the Homeless – helping others and ENCOURAGING others to connect to the same stability.
— Long Island Connections (@LI_CONNECTIONS) August 17, 2022

Voices of people with lived experience are essential when creating homelessness solutions. They lend valuable insights into how we can fix the system.

https://twitter.com/rianwatt/status/1559953053909807104?s=20&t=ingDPYJHppRw4W0Zck-9Tw

Watt is the Strategy Lead for Community Solutions’s International and Large-Scale Change work.

A4 – Other BfZ communities have reached functional zero on homelessness, we hope to do the same. Strategic investment of resources has helped communities reduce the time someone spends homeless, prioritize Housing First, and ensure resources meet or exceed demand. #BfZChat https://t.co/uooqSbsuuJ
— Baltimore City Mayor's Office of Homeless Services (@BaltimoreMOHS) August 17, 2022

Mayors and other elected officials play a critical role in helping communities measurably and equitably end homelessness.

In your opinion, what are some successful ways to improve the homeless response system?

https://twitter.com/rianwatt/status/1559954651436367872?s=20&t=ingDPYJHppRw4W0Zck-9Tw

A6 Knowing exactly who is homeless in a community is critical. Working together around that knowledge, targeting resources is also critical. Success must be defined by whether the overall numbers are going down and not by the impact of individual services #BfZChat
— CrisisPractice (@CrisisPractice) August 17, 2022

Crisis UK is an international partner in the United Kingdom working to end homelessness.

Why are coordination and collaboration integral to ending homelessness? How does this look in your community?

A6 Systems building is about relationships. Nashville providers come to the table to tackle challenges together to help leverage funding, coordinate efforts, deduplicate services, & listen to people. Important during local elections to create political will & resources. #BfZChat
— Judith Tackett (@JudyTackettTN) August 17, 2022

Tackett is a homeless response leader in Nashville, Tennessee, and recently wrote a stellar article on the Built for Zero movement in her city.

Q6: It's essential! Homelessness can't be totally solved by the community, that's important to mention, but a few ounces of effort from everyone does so much to lift the burden. Most of our services are directly enabled by community support and collabs with other orgs. #BfzChat https://t.co/OG36NW2Myh
— DetroitRescueMission (@DetroitRescue) August 17, 2022

Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries is part of the Built for Zero effort to end homelessness in Detroit.

A6a. No one person or organization can solve homelessness. We have to work together with our neighbors, community leaders, local government and other nonprofit organizations to come up with long-term solutions. #BfZChat https://t.co/rqW6t4pnFn
— Rebuilding Together (@RebldgTogthr) August 17, 2022

Rebuilding Together works closely with community residents and leaders to revitalize communities and help neighbors stay housed.

How do you currently use data to address homelessness in your community? Is it accurate and reliable?

A7 – Abilene uses data from homelessness to feed the inflow and outflow to housing as well as planning needs for new grant opportunities to meet needs that are not currently being met. Data is more than just numbers though it is actually each Neighbor that has been identified!
— John Meier (@ldsmeier) August 17, 2022

Meier is the Program Manager at West Central Texas Council of Governments. His community of Abilene, Texas, has functionally ended homelessness for veteran and chronic populations.

I think about it this way – without real-time, person specific data, realizing the right to housing is impossible. You cannot access your rights if you are invisible to the system. #BFZChat https://t.co/Az2XrJmEh7
— Tim Richter 🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@timrichter) August 17, 2022

How does your work ensure racially equitable outcomes in your efforts to end homelessness?

A8 We are undertaking research on race, homelessness and housing precarity. We know that people from Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnic groups are disproportionately affected by homelessness. Housing is less affordable for many people from these communities. #BfZChat
— CrisisPractice (@CrisisPractice) August 17, 2022

How can we ensure people with lived experience are part of the solution to ending homelessness?

A.9 By including them wherever possible such as on a Consumer Advisory Board, on your Board of Directors, invite them to testify on a bill, hire them to work at your agency, listen to their needs instead of assuming. #BfZChat https://t.co/31gLPpqZDx
— Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) (@COCoalition) August 17, 2022

Colorado is part of a statewide movement to end homelessness with Built for Zero

A9 – As someone with lived experience, can honestly say that if you can see that everyone in housing crisis is you than finding solutions quickly is not the issue, allow neighbors in crisis to be the drivers in solutions to ending homelessness! #BFZChat
— John Meier (@ldsmeier) August 17, 2022

Meier’s community of Abilene, Texas, is working to end homelessness for all populations.

Thank a homeless response leader in your community!

A10. Thank you to all of the organizations and people helping to end homelessness in communities across the country. Everyone should have a safe and healthy place to call home. #BfZChat https://t.co/qUjaMN9V5j
— Rebuilding Together (@RebldgTogthr) August 17, 2022

A10 – Thank you to all BFZ-Canada partners & front line workers. The last 2 years have been awful but you have dug in, dug deep & kept on despite the multiple, compounding crises you are faced with. You're saving lives every day & proving ending homelessness is possible. #BfZChat https://t.co/6oy5PBku6I
— Tim Richter 🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@timrichter) August 17, 2022

Be part of the conversation!

Join us for the next #BfZChat during World Homelessness Week (October 10-16). Follow us on Twitter for event details and more conversations about homelessness and how to solve it.

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Abilene, TX, Baltimore City, MD, Detroit, MI, Nashville, Davidson County, TN, Northern Colorado, CO, Walla Walla County, WA, Western Colorado, CO | built for zero, Domestic and International Partner Initiatives, Homelessness is solvable, lived experience, Partnerships, PLEH

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