Homelessness is an issue that pervades many societies around the world, but it seems to be an exceptional struggle for the United States. It’s a complex problem that leads many to conclude that the homeless will always be a part of today’s urban environment.
However, an organization called Community Solutions believes that homelessness is truly a solvable problem. It’s just an issue that’s lost its sense of urgency.
By utilizing data, Community Solutions is helping communities combat homelessness real time, by tracking progress against monthly goals, and accelerating the spread of proven strategies.
Through an initiative called Built for Zero, they’re creating systems that are built for learning, allowing organizers to change and improve as they go, prioritize resources, identify gaps and match people to the best housing opportunities to fit their needs.
And, it seems to be working. In January, The City of Rockford, Illinois Department of Human Services announced that the City has been recognized as the first community participating in Built for Zero to effectively end homelessness among local veterans.
Using data for improvement isn’t only about having the correct numbers and facts – it’s about using them for decision-making – to make adjustments, refine systems and track progress in real time.
This isn’t a new or revolutionary approach. In fact, most operations and business excellence problem solvers across industries already make daily improvements and adjustments that are centered on data analysis.
It is unusual, though, to see it applied to improving the well-being of a community. In the case of Built for Zero, data analysis has enabled evaluation, troubleshooting and process improvement across a community’s entire housing placement system, helping communities prioritize resources, identify gaps and ensure that individuals and families experiencing homelessness are referred to housing opportunities that best fit their needs.
In the past, cities have not kept track of housing placement data on a community level. Individual agencies may collect data on the number of clients it houses in a week or a month, but odds are that data isn’t relayed across the system. Without this data, community leaders have know way of knowing if progress is being made.
In theory, fixing the problem is simple. In order for a community to end homelessness, the total number of people it places into housing each month should be greater than or equal to the number of people it needs to house that month to achieve a path to zero. If those numbers are out of whack, then it’s easy to tell that a community needs to adjust its strategy.
That’s where an openness for data collaboration comes in. Participating communities are publicly sharing their monthly housing placement measurements, allowing community leaders, partners and stakeholders to track progress in real time. This transparent feedback loop not only allows a community to constantly evaluate and enhance its system, it also creates shared accountability and buy-in across the entire housing placement system and encourages learning and communication across communities within the initiative.
It is this type of transparent, real-time, person-specific data that will help communities optimize resources, improve multi-agency coordination and accelerate housing placements, ultimately bringing the goal of ending veteran and chronic homelessness nationwide over the next few years within reach.
What other societal issues do you think could be helped by process improvement? Please share your ideas!
How are you helping your employees to work smarter by reducing the amount of time they spend on non-productive activities and correcting errors? If your business processes need a “check-up,” please email me at michael@leadingchangeforgood.com! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive workplace.
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