Ending Homelessness: A Crisis Response System

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(Infographic by FHC)


How a Crisis Response System can help end homelessness.


A crisis response system can help people exit homelessness quickly and effectively.

The goals of an effective crisis response system are to identify those experiencing homelessness, prevent homelessness when possible, connect people with housing quickly, and provide services when needed. An effective response system achieves those goals by outreach, coordinated entry, diversion and prevention, emergency shelters and interim housing, and permanent housing. 


Outreach workers can connect people at risk of or experiencing homelessness to coordinated entry, emergency services, and shelter. Working with other programs in the system can connect people to stable, permanent housing. 


Coordinated entry can be implemented with a re-examination of a community's entire homelessness system. It can quickly identify, assess, refer, and connect people in crisis to housing and assistance and services. 


Diversion and prevention are important components of a community’s crisis response. Prevention assistance can aid households in preserving their current housing situation while diversion prevents homelessness for people seeking shelter by helping them identify any alternative housing options. 


Emergency shelters and temporary housing can be a helpful solution for people experiencing a housing crisis or fleeing an unsafe environment and in need of a place to stay, quickly. These interventions should be low-barrier and align their goals and program with larger system goals. 


And finally, permanent housing. The response system must have the capacity to connect people experiencing homelessness with permanent housing programs, such as rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing. 


An effective crisis response system, if designed correctly, can help people experiencing homelessness find alternative options and services quickly and safely. It works because it aligns a community, its programs, and services around one common goal - to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring. 




For more information about this topic please visit: 


https://www.flhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Building-an-effective-homeless-crisis-response-system.pdf



Written by:

Marco Leon

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