Rockford is the first city in the nation to effectively end homelessness among local veterans.
So Says Zero: 2016. The city is one of 75 cities participating in Zero: 2016, which is tackling both homelessness among veterans and chronic homelessness.
Since June, the city has found housing for 73 veterans and has in place a system to house homeless veterans within a month. That helped the city reach “functional zero,” a term first used in New Orleans. It means that every newly discovered homeless veteran on the street or in a shelter is provided permanent housing within a month, unless they decide to enter a longer-term treatment program.
Zero: 2016 says that to remain at functional zero, there can be no more than eight homeless vets awaiting housing and any new homeless person will be put in housing quickly. The city said the mechanisms are in place to reach those numbers, which it monitors through Rockstat, a data-driven performance appraisal of city programs and services.
