Families

On any given night, almost 85,000 families are homeless. Rapid re-housing and prevention policies can end family homelessness.

For many communities, the effort to reduce homelessness among families is becoming more and more difficult in the face of the current economic downturn, as they see increased demand in the face of reduced resources. However, many communities had made progress in reducing family homelessness prior to the recession and are continuing to implement those proven strategies most effective at ending family homelessness.

Fortunately, the vast majority of families are in shelter for a relatively brief period of time and do not become homeless again. As a result, preventing family homelessness from occurring in the first place and then rapidly re-housing those families that do become homeless has been shown to be extremely effective. Some families, though, experience multiple homeless episodes and may require more intensive, sustained support to ensure that they do not become homeless again.

Ending families’ vulnerability to homelessness requires a comprehensive policy that attends to housing affordability for very poor families and to their income and work support needs. That policy agenda includes:

  • Increase affordable housing;
  • Provide appropriate income and work supports for low-income families;
  • Provide survivors of domestic violence the necessary tools to preserve and regain housing;
  • Preserve at-risk families;
  • Provide states with resources to meet the housing needs of child welfare-involved families; and
  • Promote healthy families and child development.

Spotlight

Webinar | March 29, 2013
This webinar explores the partnership between the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Charitable Assistance to Community's Homeless, Inc. (CATCH) program that will expand rapid re-housing to homeless families in Idaho.
Solutions Brief | February 19, 2013
The resource provides an overview of how some communities are using TANF funds for short-term rent assistance and how TANF agencies can help improve the self-sufficiency of families.
Solutions Brief | February 19, 2013
This promising strategy profile examines a unique partnership between a homeless service provider and a state agency administering the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families  to help homeless Idaho families rapidly exit homelessness and re-stabilize in homes of their own.
Solutions Brief | January 11, 2013
This promising strategies profile examines how Utah Workforce Services and The Road Home are using resources from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program to provide an integrated employment and housing intervention for homeless families in Salt Lake City.
Solutions Brief | November 27, 2012
This solutions brief describes how one homeless service agency has partnered with the TANF agency in their community to reduce family homelessness. The Mercer County Board of Social Services (MCBOSS) and Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness (Mercer Alliance) are working together to expand rapid re-housing services and change how TANF resources are used. In a two year period, the number of families in shelter or transitional housing on any given day declined by 20 percent and the number of families residing in motels over the course of a month declined by 66 percent.
Congressional Briefing | May 2, 2012
This resource includes all the policy priorities that will be covered at the May 17 congressional briefing "Rapid Re-Housing: Ending Family Homelessness."
Federal Policy Brief | August 17, 2010
Paper on the Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which will provide $1.5 billion over the next five years to support implementation of evidence based home visiting programs that improve the health and development of very young at-risk children and reduce child abuse and neglect.

Library Resources

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Interactive Tool | May 24, 2012
The goal of this map is to display the progress rapid re-housing programs are making across the country and to encourage local communities to share the results with key stakeholders, decision makers, and policymakers so they can understand the tremendous impact these programs have had and can continue to have with sufficient resources.
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Federal Policy Brief | January 18, 2012
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a final regulation to implement changes to the definition of homelessness contained in the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. The new definition is outlined here.
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Fact Sheets | November 4, 2010
This resource describes the "point-in-time counts" - the regular count of people experiencing homelessness. The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities to submit these counts as part of their application for federal homeless assistance funds.
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Federal Policy Brief | December 5, 2009
TANF reauthorization is an ideal opportunity to make TANF an effective tool that more communities can use to end family homelessness. This paper outlines the Alliance's policy priorities for TANF reauthorization.
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Federal Policy Brief | October 21, 2008
This brief discusses the Family Unification Program (FUP) and its impact on homeless families with children. Specifically, it focuses on the intersection between homelessness and child welfare as it relates to FUP and the ways in which FUP can help promote successful partnerships to help families and youth.
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Federal Policy Brief | January 29, 2008
Housing vouchers are successful in helping families exit homelessness and can protect poor families from becoming homeless. This paper summarizes those research findings and draws out their implications for housing policymakers.