United States Interagency Council on Homelessness - No on should experience homelessness. No one should be without a safe, stable place to call home.

USICH Introduces the Solutions Database


An introduction by Matthew Doherty, USICH Regional Coordinator Team Leader

 

USICH is pleased to announce that we have launched a new collection of tools and resources that communities will be able to use to find real solutions to the challenges of preventing and ending homelessness. The Solutions Database currently contains more than 50 short profiles of practices and programs; each profile includes tips for implementation, information about results achieved, and links to more information and resources.  

 

I and the other members of USICH's Regional Coordinator Team hear frequently from our partners that they want to learn more from other communities. These partners also want to ensure that their plans and investments in preventing and ending homelessness are focused on the most promising and evidence-based practices, are informed by lessons already learned in other places, and are focused on strategies that have proven results. Often information about such practices or programs is available on websites maintained by different federal agencies, national, or local organizations - but it can be difficult to know where to look. We believe that this Solutions Database, serving as a single hub of information, will be a major contribution to USICH's ability to effectively support communities' efforts and to our partners' ability to learn from one another.

 

For example, our team often hears from communities about their efforts to move toward coordinated entry systems and also about their interest in ensuring that they are implementing the most effective models of permanent supportive housing. Both of these topics are well-covered within the Solutions Database, including:

  • Information about the promising practice of Coordinated Entry, and descriptions of model programs from Columbus and Dayton, OH, Whatcom County, WA, and Norfolk, VA that can help guide local decision-making processes; and
  • Detailed information regarding the evidence-based practice of permanent supportive housing. This includes information about a diverse array of model supportive housing programs and initiatives which may help communities identify models best suited for replication in their area.

 

The USICH Solutions Database is designed to help users find information related to a particular population or objective in Opening Doors: the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Users can also search for a solution that has been implemented in a particular state or community. Before beginning, we encourage users to take a look at the page, "How to Search for a Solution," so they can make the most out of the capabilities of this database. From there, it's time to explore.

 

The Solutions Database is a work in progress and is intended to be an evolving library of information; more profiles will be added in the months ahead as we identify more promising models and evidence about the most effective solutions for ending and preventing homelessness.

 

We hope that you will have the opportunity to explore - and learn from - this database, and also hope that you will let us know of other programs and practices that you think should be profiled in the future.

 

Start exploring the database now


  

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