Project Uses Human-Centered Design to Tackle Homelessness govtech.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from govtech.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
VAntage Point
Virginia VA helps homeless program reach “Functional Zero”
VA assists local organizations to achieve major milestone
The partnership includes Crater Area Coalition on Homelessness, St. Joseph’s Villa and Built For Zero.
To be certified as a Functional Zero community, organizations and local governments have created and sustained a support system that ensures fewer Veterans are experiencing homelessness than can be housed in a month.
Ending homelessness is possible.
To be certified as a Functional Zero community, organizations and local governments in the Crater Region have created and sustained a support system that meets these goals.
Great strides
Colorado is experiencing an unprecedented and deepening housing crisis. With the cost of this basic need steadily climbing in what's already one of the
photo by: Dylan Lysen/Lawrence Journal-World
Guests at Justice Matters 2021 action assembly Monday celebrate after hearing local officials pledge to support some of the group s requested actions to fight injustice and chronic homelessness in Douglas County.
With hundreds of honking cars urging them on, several local elected officials Monday night made promises about ending homelessness, new disciplinary strategies in public schools and more leniency for people who miss court dates, among other issues.
Members of the faith-based activist group Justice Matters challenged local elected officials to commit to a variety of social justice proposals at a drive-in assembly at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. The group laid out a vision to address those issues by changing local practices that it says perpetuate mass incarceration as well as chronic homelessness in Douglas County.
“(Mayor Ed Bolt and I) had to basically learn a second language,” she said.
Next came a mapping system to learn where homeless encampments were and where individuals were staying, which is crucial for the program, she said.
“We were able to match the police department with our engineering department that was just a nice organic, problem-solving solution that happened right there just by having a meeting with our inner-agencies,” she said.
Getting support from Shawnee churches, nonprofits
Craig said they also looked outside of Shawnee at others helping with homelessness.
“We worked with a bunch of churches, groups, nonprofits,” she said. They were each asked how they are doing, what is successful and not successful for them, and how they could help.