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Homelessness is a global challenge.

The United Nations Human Settlements Program estimates that 1.1 billion people live in inadequate housing, and the best data available suggest that more than 100 million people have no housing at all.

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Understanding the Success of Chicago’s Ending Veteran Homelessness Initiative
All Chicago
The Ending Veteran Homelessness Initiative (EVHI) is an effort by local, regional, and federal partners to end and prevent homelessness among veterans in the city of Chicago through a coordinated, data-driven process. The initiative built off the momentum of multiple national efforts, including 25 Cities, Built for Zero, and the Mayor’s Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, among other campaigns. Since its start in 2015,...
Community Response Resources
Corporation for Supportive Housing
This online toolkit by Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), is a community response resource developed for communities, government agencies and nonprofit organizations addressing unsheltered homelessness across the globe. The tool kit comprise policies, tools & templates to customize, reproduce and share in addressing unsheltered homelessness.
Evidence Tools
Centre Homelessness Impact
Centre Homelessness Impact believe that using reliable evidence is critical to helping people make informed and impactful decisions in their work, but this isn’t easy for people working day-in-day-out to end homelessness. These Evidence Tools for homelessness put evidence at people's fingertips, making the evidence that’s available easier to assess and use. Current tools show what the evidence says about homelessness...
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Lifetime Prevalence of Homelessness in the United States
Vincent A. Fusaro
Helen G. Levy
H. Luke Shaefer
Homelessness in the United States is often examined using cross-sectional, point-in-time samples. Any experience of homelessness is a risk factor for adverse outcomes, so it is also useful to understand the incidence of homelessness over longer periods. In this report, researchers explore the impact of race and ethnicity on the lifetime prevalence of homelessness among the baby-boomer cohort in the United States. Results...
Homes For B.C.: A 30-Point Plan for Housing Affordability in British Columbia
The Province of British Columbia
In September 2018, the Government of British Columbia announced a new provincial budget which includes a comprehensive housing plan and record levels of capital investment. This housing plan, called Homes for B.C., aims to make affordable housing more accessible and allocates funding to address homelessness across the province. This plan discusses market stability; tax fraud and loopholes; housing tailored to specific...
Making the Shift Year One Report
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
A Way Home Canada
and MaRS Centre for Impact Investing
Making the Shift (MtS) is a multi-year, multi-phase project, with many moving parts. It is a reimagining of the response to youth homelessness through social innovation in order to ensure the best possible outcomes for young people. Making the Shift is a partnership between A Way Home Canada (AWHC) and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH) with the support of MaRS Centre for Impact Investing (MaRS). This work is...
Homelessness in America: Focus on Families with Children
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
In this Focus on Families with Children brief, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) reviews data and information on the following: the scale of family homelessness; knowledge about the families with children who experience homelessness; knowledge about patterns of homelessness among families with children; knowledge about families’ risks for experiencing homelessness; and the most significant gaps in...
Surviving Severe Weather: Tools to Promote Emergency Preparedness for People Experiencing Homelessness
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
Personal preparedness is a critical component of emergency planning. Yet, mainstream efforts to promote preparedness typically focus on people who are housed and have the resources to stockpile food and supplies and shelter in place. Few communities have adequately prepared people with limited resources, such as people experiencing homelessness, for emergencies. To facilitate discussions about emergency preparedness, the...
The Health of Foreign-Born Homeless Families Living in the Family Shelter System
Alexia Polillo
Nick Kerman
John Sylvestre
Catherine M. Lee
Tim Aubry
This journal explores the challenges faced by foreign-born families experiencing homelessness in Canada. The purpose of this paper is to examine the health of foreign-born families staying in the emergency shelter system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and compare their experiences to Canadian-born homeless families who are also living in shelters.
Implementing Change: Law Enforcement's Role in Addressing the Intersection of Homelessness and Juvenile Justice
This source provides a snapshot of the intersection of law enforcement and homelessness in Chicago. The research summary reflects the estimates and documented incidents between youth experiencing homelessness and the criminal legal system.  Authors go on to make policy proposals to address the criminalization of youth experiencing homelessness. 
Coordinated Entry System Refinement Lab Chicago Action Agenda and Continuum of Care
Corporation for Supportive Housing
This report outlines the coordinated entry system (CES) in Chicago, USA. According to this source, a CES is a collaborative effort wherein all providers of homeless housing and services in the community work together to ensure that from the moment a household first presents a housing crisis, there is a clear, consistent path towards ending their homelessness. The report goes on to document the implementation of CES in Chicago...
Addressing Intersecting Housing and Overdose Crises in Vancouver, Canada: Opportunities and Challenges from a Tenant-Led Overdose Response Intervention in Single Room Occupancy Hotels
Geoff Bardwell
Jad Boyd
Alexander Collins
Taylor Fleming
and Ryan McNeil
This journal examines the acceptability, feasibility, and implementation of the Tenant Overdose Response Organizers program (TORO)--a tenant-led naloxone training and distribution intervention. The project was implemented in privately owned single room occupancy (SRO) hotels that were disproportionately affected by overdose in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood.  Findings suggest that the TORO program was affected by...
The State of the Nation's Housing 2018
This year’s report not only examines recent trends, but assesses whether and how key metrics have changed over the last three decades and serves as a yardstick to measure whether or not the nation has met its goal of producing decent and affordable homes for all.
Permanent Supportive Housing: Evaluating the Evidence for Improving Health Outcomes Among People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness
This report addresses a fundamental question: To what extent have permanent supportive housing programs improved health outcomes and affected health care costs in people experiencing homelessness? The report also describes policy and program barriers that affect the ability to bring the permanent supportive housing programs and other housing models to scale to address housing and health care needs. 
Exploring Domestic Violence Survivors' Need for Transitional Housing
Dessie Clark
Cris Sullivan
and Leila Wood
This study explores the intersection of homelessness and domestic violence (DV) in the U.S. According to this article, DV is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children. The lack of stable housing further increases women’s risk of re-victimization. These findings suggest the necessity for both transitional (TH) and rapid re-housing (RRH) as housing options for survivors. 
Supportive Housing and Healthcare Utilization Outcomes State of the Literature
This source discusses the intersection of homelessness and healthcare utilization. According to this literature review, supportive housing can facilitate stronger connections to primary care and more appropriate healthcare utilization by providing a stable environment in which to manage health and by connecting individuals to services that support relationships with primary healthcare providers The document goes on to discuss...
Assessing the Costs and Benefits of Crisis' Plan to End Homelessness
This report assesses the feasibility of Crisis' plan to end homelessness in Great Britain. 
Housing First Feasibility Study Torbay
Chris Hancock
This report was commissioned as part of a wider programme of work looking to end street homelessness in Torbay. The key question in this study is whether, how, under what circumstances and with what likely outcomes, Housing First can become the primary housing option for homeless people, thereby providing an alternative to existing models of provision.
A transitional housing program for older foster youth: How do youth fare after exiting?
Sonja Lenz-Rashid
This research journal evaluates the Bay Area Youth Center's Real Alternatives for Adolescents (RAFA) transitional housing program in Hayward, California.  The study examines RAFA as a possible preventative intervention against future homelessness, unemployment, lack of educational attainment, receipt of public assistance, and early parenting. 
Still Hungry and Homeless in College
Clare Cady
Anthony Hernandez
Sara Goldrick-Rab
Jed Richardson
and Joel Schneider
This is the largest national survey assessing the basic needs security of university students. It is the HOPE Lab’s 3rd national survey; the other two focused on community colleges. This year we report on 43,000 students at 66 institutions in 20 states and the District of Columbia. That includes over 20,000 students at 35 4-year colleges and universities, as well as students at community colleges. The data show that basic...