Community Solutions works to create a lasting end to homelessness that leaves no one behind.
We envision a more equitable society where homelessness is never inevitable, inescapable, or a way of life.
WHAT WE DO
No matter where you live, you’ve likely seen homelessness in your community. Many people believe it’s only getting worse. But cities and counties across the country are proving that measurable, sustained reductions are possible.
Community Solutions is a nonprofit working with more than 150 cities and counties to reduce homelessness in ways residents can see. Through Built for Zero, our national network, communities are using real-time data and coordinated action to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring. A growing number have already achieved significant, documented reductions.
We work with communities to address the persistent challenges that stand in the way:
- Preventing people from losing housing in the first place
- Building response systems that move people into housing quickly and keep them there
- Expanding affordable housing options so people have somewhere to go
When communities act with speed, coordination, and accountability, homelessness can be visibly and meaningfully reduced. Cities are proving it.
OUR VALUES
We tackle urgent, complex social problems at the systems level because our hope for a just society is at stake. We work in the service of real, lasting solutions.
We discover solutions through iterative experimentation and rigorous, data-driven reflection. We choose curiosity and action.
We start with the question of what matters to the person suffering the problem and work from there.
Our most important lessons and creative opportunities come from facing into what is not working. We don’t let fear of failure keep us from moving forward.
We believe in generosity and in working to make others successful, both within Community Solutions and among the partners and communities with which we work. We support each other in taking risks and learning. We replace the question, “Who is to blame for failure?” with a more powerful question, “What can I do to increase our collective chance of success?”
We each take full responsibility for workplace dynamics and hold ourselves accountable for the success of our projects and the organization as a whole. We hold ourselves and each other accountable to our values; we don’t wait for anyone to do it for us.
We take the fear out of change by making the process encouraging, inspiring, and fun.
We recognize historical and current disadvantages are a leading cause of homelessness. We commit ourselves to building and being a diverse and inclusive organization that pursues meaningful, data-driven strategies for combating disproportionate impacts that lead to and exacerbate homelessness, both on the public stage and in the communities we serve.
OUR STORY
Community Solutions founder Rosanne Haggerty spent 20 years developing affordable housing — but she couldn’t build apartments nearly as fast as homelessness and poverty were expanding.
So in 2011, she launched this organization to find solutions faster, by adapting successful problem-solving tools from other sectors. This approach is helping communities around the country achieve measurable, sustained reductions in veteran and chronic homelessness. In Community Solutions’ first four years, our work helped 25 times as many people as our team’s previous 20 years of work — combined.
JOIN OUR TEAM
Come work with us. We seek mission-oriented people who are not satisfied with the status quo. Explore current job openings and benefits.
HELP REDUCE HOMELESSNESS
Your investment helps more communities act with the speed, coordination, and accountability it takes to visibly reduce homelessness. Join us.
