Building Bridges Blog

In 2015, the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare introduced the Grand Challenge to End Homelessness (GC2EH). Ending homelessness was one of twelve initial Grand Challenges that were identified as major, societal issues that have scientific evidence suggesting the issue is solvable, and that require interdisciplinary collaboration and significant innovation to solve. This blog provides an overview of the Grand Challenge to End Homelessness and a summary of the recently released Grand Challenge to End Homelessness 2024 policy recommendations.

The Housing Data Snapshot is the hub for the latest data related to housing and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. It provides an overall count and demographics of homelessness by household type and subpopulation and highlights inflow to (Newly identified, Returns from Permanent Housing, Returns for Inactivity) and outflow from (Exit to Permanent Housing, Exit to Inactivity), homelessness. This week’s blog post provides a deep dive into the most recent One Number update with a focus on youth homelessness and what these data mean for addressing youth homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Since its inception in 2019, the “One Number” has served as the primary benchmark for the number of people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Generated from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the One Number encompasses individuals enrolled in Emergency Shelter (ES), Transitional Housing (TH), Street Outreach (SO), Permanent Housing (PH) (if no move-in date to housing is recorded yet) and Coordinated Entry (CE) programs in HMIS. It includes both those experiencing sheltered homelessness and a portion of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It also provides a comprehensive By-Name List of each person experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The Housing Data Snapshot, the hub for the latest data related to housing and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, not only provides an overall count and demographics of homelessness by household type and subpopulation, it also highlights inflow to (Newly identified, Returns from Permanent Housing, Returns for Inactivity) and outflow from (Exit to Permanent Housing, Exit to Inactivity), homelessness. This week’s blog post provides the most recent One Number update; the latest One Number trends and analysis; and what this means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

The Research and News Roundup is a monthly blog series that features a curated list of recent news and research related to housing instability, homelessness, and affordable housing. Together, these topics provide insights about the full housing continuum and provide community stakeholders with information about emergent research, promising practices, and innovative solutions related to housing and homelessness. This month’s Research and News Roundup highlights four recently released tenant protections toolkits, a guide to creating a coordinated public funding strategy for affordable housing, and key findings related to intimate partner violence and homelessness from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH).

Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) is an anti-poverty tool that places money directly in the hands of people who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability and empowers them to utilize the funds in the way that meets their most pressing financial needs. This blog provides an overview of Direct Cash Transfer, its evidence base, and how it is being used across the country to address homelessness and housing instability.

On August 5, 2024, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released their 2024 State of Homelessness report. This report, published annually, not only provides a national overview of homelessness but also includes several interactive tools that allow the reader to drill down to the state and Continuum of Care levels. It includes data on demographic characteristics of people experiencing homelessness, rates of people experiencing homelessness, and the number of beds available for people experiencing homelessness. This blog highlights key findings from the report with a focus on state and local data.

Last month we provided a list of books that provide innovative information and meaningful insights on both the causes of and solutions to housing instability and homelessness. These books provide foundational information that is necessary to understand the current landscape of housing instability and homelessness as well as what policy and practice strategies are needed to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring locally and nationally. In addition to this recommended Summer reading, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg State of Housing Instability and Homelessness report, integrated data reports, the Housing Data Snapshot, and the data and research featured in the Building Bridges blog, there are several podcasts that present emergent research, promising practices, and timely and relevant information related to housing and homelessness. This blog post suggests four podcasts that highlight local and national strategies and recent research focused on housing instability and homelessness and provides a brief overview of each podcast and how the content can be used strengthen the systems in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Since its inception in 2019, the “One Number” has served as the primary benchmark for the number of people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Generated from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the One Number encompasses individuals enrolled in Emergency Shelter (ES), Transitional Housing (TH), Street Outreach (SO), Permanent Housing (PH) (if no move-in date to housing is recorded yet) and Coordinated Entry (CE) programs in HMIS. It includes both those experiencing sheltered homelessness and a portion of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It also provides a comprehensive By-Name List of each person experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The Housing Data Snapshot, the hub for the latest data related to housing and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, not only provides an overall count and demographics of homelessness by household type and subpopulation, it also highlights inflow to (Newly identified, Returns from Permanent Housing, Returns for Inactivity) and outflow from (Exit to Permanent Housing, Exit to Inactivity), homelessness. This week’s blog post provides the most recent One Number update; a synopsis of recent dashboard updates; the latest One Number trends and analysis; and what this means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.