Leaders in metropolitan Washington are partnering on efforts to address the root causes of homelessness, with two new initiatives that leverage data to build a more comprehensive understanding of how and why people experience homelessness in the region.

At its November meeting, officials on the COG Board were briefed on results from COG’s Racial Equity Systems Analysis, launched in 2021 by COG’s Homeless Service Planning and Coordinating Committee and supported by the Greater Washington Community Foundation and C4 Innovations. COG staff also announced a new partnership to begin in 2024 with national nonprofit Community Solutions’ Built for Zero initiative.

As housing assistance programs prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic ended, the region saw a sharp rise in people experiencing homelessness. COG’s 2023 Report on Homelessness in Metropolitan Washington counted a total of 8,944 people experiencing homelessness in the region, an 18 percent increase after a record low in 2022. The region’s leaders hope to improve these numbers and connect more people with essential services and permanent housing through innovation and meaningful collaboration. 

The Racial Equity Systems Analysis reviewed the region’s nine Continuums of Care (CoC) operations and provided guidance on how to center racial equity in our shared efforts to end the experience of homelessness. Over the last few years, local governments and nonprofit service providers engaged in knowledge building, peer-to-peer learning, action planning, and data sharing to develop the plan.

Guidance included as part of the analysis focused on ways the region’s CoCs can collaborate to create a holistic, integrated support network that proactively addresses inequities and disparities. Regionally, recommendations included the formation of a Regional Interagency Council on Homelessness as well as the creation of a Regional Lived Experience Coalition to ensure people experiencing homelessness are centered within the system planning process.
 

As the Homeless Services Committee identifies next steps to prioritize and implement these recommendations, local jurisdictions are working through COG to launch another significant partnership to prevent and end the experience of homelessness. Community Solutions’ Built for Zero initiative is a national movement of over 100 cities and counties that focuses on quality data collection and system transformation to equitably end the experience of homelessness. With COG serving as a regional “backbone organization”, the Built for Zero initiative will provide all nine CoCs in the region with three years of pro-bono technical assistance and coaching to improve regional data quality, systems operation, and cross-jurisdictional collaboration to reach “functional zero” for homelessness in the region.

“Reliable and quality data really allows us to understand trends, our efforts to reduce homelessness overall, and the scale and scope of need in our communities,” said Triina Van, Chair of the COG Homeless Services Planning and Coordinating Committee.

The goals of the Built for Zero movement closely align with recommendations from the Racial Equity Systems Analysis. With this technical assistance, the region can develop the infrastructure needed for effective interagency information sharing and collaboration.

Both initiatives reflect the importance of data sharing among local jurisdictions to identify service gaps and create a strong, unified support system throughout the region.

“I think each of us want to know how we can work together, so that as folks are moving throughout the region, for whatever reason, that we’re able to provide the compassionate care that people need,” said Kate Stewart, Chair of the COG Board and Montgomery County Councilmember.

MORE: Regional Homeless Services Racial Equity and Systems Analysis