Solutions to Homelessness
Homelessness in America is not just an individual hardship—it’s the result of deeply rooted, systemic issues in housing, wages, health care, and racial justice. Ending homelessness requires both big-picture policy reforms and direct support for individuals and families. We need to focus on both levels to make lasting change.
Solutions to homelessness include building more affordable housing, paying wages that cover the real costs of living, and increasing access to supportive services. This includes:
- Affordable health and mental health care services
- Transportation to work and school
- Quality daycare opportunities for young children
The federal government—as well as state, county, and local governments—controls many of the laws, programs, and budgets that impact these solutions to homelessness. By changing laws, policies and funding levels, we can address the systemic barriers that lead to homelessness.
For example, since 2016, the federal government has allocated funds through the National Housing Trust Fund to build, rehabilitate, preserve, and operate rental housing for extremely low-income people. However, the demand far exceeds current funding levels. National advocates, including the Housing Trust Fund Implementation and Policy Group, continue to push for greater support.
Ending Homelessness: Setting a Living Wage
In addition to housing policy, we must address income and employment barriers—especially inadequate wages—to prevent homelessness. Raising the national minimum wage is an important step, but many states and cities have already recognized that even higher wages are needed to keep up with the cost of living.
Ultimately, the goal should be a living wage—the minimum income required to meet basic needs like housing, food, transportation, and child care. Without it, even full-time workers can be priced out of their communities and left just one emergency away from losing their home.
This amount varies by region and household size, but the principle remains the same: people should be able to afford to live where they work. Living wage campaigns are gaining traction across the country, and addressing wage inequality—including racial wage gaps—is central to this effort.
As of 2024, 25 states and 60 cities and counties have enacted minimum wage increases, with 62 jurisdictions reaching or exceeding a $15 per hour wage floor for some or all employees. Notably, 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to gradually raise their state minimum wage to at least $15 per hour, with four more states expected to reach $15 by 2027 due to inflation adjustments.
These campaigns are particularly significant for Black and Latino workers, who are disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs. For instance, Black Americans strongly support initiatives to increase the minimum wage to $17, enhance affordable housing, and create an equitable tax system. This support stems from the understanding that systemic inequities in housing, employment, healthcare, and education contribute to higher rates of homelessness among communities of color.
The link between inadequate wages and housing instability is well-documented. When wages and benefits don’t keep pace with housing costs, the risk of homelessness grows. Improving income opportunities and public benefits is critical to helping vulnerable populations afford stable housing.
The momentum behind living wage campaigns reflects a broader understanding that addressing wage inequality is essential to combating housing instability and homelessness, particularly among marginalized communities disproportionately affected by systemic inequities.?
Anti-Poverty Government Programs
Black and Native Americans are significantly overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness—a direct result of long-standing systemic racism in housing, employment, and healthcare. Even when controlling for poverty, Black Americans face much higher rates of homelessness than white Americans. For example:
- Although Black people make up 13% of the U.S. population, they account for 32% of the homeless population.
- Black youth are 85% more likely to experience homelessness than their white peers.
- Native Americans represent about 1.3% of the U.S. population but account for 4.7% of the unsheltered homeless population.
These disparities are driven by discrimination in rental practices, employment, mortgage lending, and access to services. Effective solutions must embed racial equity into every aspect of homelessness response.
The federal government funds several anti-poverty programs that serve as a safety net. Maintaining and expanding access to these programs is essential:
- Housing vouchers and programs like Section 8
- Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) & Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
- Health insurance coverage through Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP
- Food programs including SNAP, WIC, school and summer meals, and child care nutrition programs
- Head Start and other early childhood education programs
- Job training and career development services
Recent policy changes threaten the stability of racial equity initiatives. Federal rollbacks have disrupted tools used to identify racial disparities, cut funding for community-based programs, and placed limits on equity training. Continued advocacy and community support are crucial to protecting these programs.
Bridge to Permanent Housing
Emergency shelters, temporary housing, and other kinds of “bridge housing” are important parts of the solution to homelessness. It can take time to find permanent places for people to live after they have lost their homes. And when a community has a shortage of affordable housing, it takes time to build new homes.
Shelters get homeless people off the streets and temporarily provide a place to stay while looking for a long-term solution. They can provide places to sleep, store belongings, take a shower, and make meals. Shelters can also help people begin to get back on their feet by helping with housing and job searches, connecting parents with daycare and other resources for young children, and making sure school-age kids are enrolled in school and connected with school staff who can support them.
It is also important for homeless people and families to move quickly into permanent housing solutions. Many programs implement a “Housing First” approach by quickly connecting homeless people to permanent housing without preconditions and requirements such as sobriety.
“Continuums of Care” (regional and local planning bodies that coordinate housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals) throughout the country are implementing coordinated entry system processes to ensure all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access and are quickly identified, assessed for, referred, and connected to housing and assistance based on their strengths and needs. Some organizations and communities are starting up host home programs to address the specific housing needs of homeless youth.
Addressing Trauma
When a person experiences a traumatic event—or multiple traumatic events—it can disrupt healthy development, adversely affect relationships, and contribute to mental health challenges. Many homeless people have experienced trauma, either before, during and/or after experiencing homelessness. For this reason, all programs and services working to end homelessness should provide trauma training to staff and volunteers. Otherwise, well-meaning service providers risk re-traumatizing trauma survivors.
Trauma-informed care is a way of structuring programs and providing services that involve understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma. It emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety and helps survivors re-build a sense of control and empowerment.
Read more about how you can help homeless people.
