Building a Shared Path Forward from a Common Understanding
Join civic leaders across the country who are using the "STEPS AHEAD" framework to reduce homelessness in their communities
Get Started NowWelcome,
This website and community is intended to be the go-to resource for civic leaders working to end "The Modern Homelessness Crisis." The information and tools that you will find here are rooted in two simple goals:
- As a sector and movement, we need a shared story of how we got here.
- From this understanding, we must then adopt a common strategy and change management framework that aligns communities across the country in implementing proven best practices.
"The Modern Homelessness Crisis"
There have been many eras of homelessness throughout our nation’s history. Beginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s, we entered "The Modern Homelessness Crisis." This period is being driven by a portfolio of socioeconomic policies that are making it more likely for individual crises to result in episodes of homelessness, particularly in our nation's most thriving metropolitan areas. LEARN MORE
A Failed Response
If the The Modern Homelessness Crisis is "what happened," then the critical next question is - "how have we responded?" In short, over the last 40 years, we have fundamentally decentralized the response to homelessness, largely leaving local communities to their own devices to figure out what to do. This decentralization has created powerful feedback loops that are making it even harder to effectively respond. LEARN MORE
"STEPS AHEAD"
From a place of deep understanding about what is driving this crisis, our mission to support the adoption of a new sector-wide strategy called “STEPS AHEAD.” At its core, STEPS helps us visualize the core components of every homeless system of care, and AHEAD is a change management framework that helps communities implement best practices across each of those components. LEARN MORE
Going back to day one ...
This website was born out of education and advocacy work led by Andrew Hening. Over the past 15 years, Andrew has provided front-line outreach in some of our nation’s largest homeless encampments, managed a growing workforce development nonprofit, served in an executive leadership role in local government, run his own consulting firm working with city and county government agencies on homelessness strategic planning, financial planning, and affordable housing development, and served as the Chief Strategy Officer for the forth largest Continuum of Care in the country.
Andrew has held all of the roles and experienced all of the blindspots. The ideas and resources that you will find here are what he wishes he had known on "Day One."
