Access to a safe and affordable home is the critical foundation for health, wellbeing, education, stability, and social and economic mobility. Yet housing that is affordable is increasingly out of reach for millions of households. There is no state or county in our country where a renter working full-time at minimum wage can afford a two-bedroom apartment.

The solution to homelessness is straightforward: housing. By connecting people experiencing homelessness to housing and services, they have a platform from which they can address other areas that may have contributed to their homelessness — such as employment, health, and substance abuse.

Effective housing solutions must be grounded in data and research if we are to ensure the highest and best use of resources and deliver impact at both the systems and population levels. The Housing Collective is committed to implementing data-driven policy strategies and evidence-based interventions and best practices. We rely on data and academic research to operationalize and improve on innovation in our sector and to hold ourselves and our partners accountable in all that we do.

Proven solutions to ending homelessness and housing instability exist – what’s missing is the political will to provide resources that will put these solutions into practice in our communities. The Housing Collective supports all policy initiatives that advance our mission and goals. We focus our resources proactively on our core policy objectives, while monitoring the policy environment and responding to emerging issues as needed.