Ending homelessness isn’t just possible — it’s already happening!
Cities and counties just like yours are changing how local housing systems work to ensure an end to homelessness that lasts and leaves no one behind.
Built for Zero is movement of more than 90 communities working to measurably end homelessness, starting with veteran and chronic homelessness.
14 communities have achieved functional zero for at least one population
12 communities have ended veteran homelessness
- Gulf Coast region, MS
- Arlington County, VA
- Montgomery County, MD
- Rockford, Winnebago & Boone Counties, IL
- Bergen County, NJ
- Abilene, TX
- Lake County, IL
- Norman, Cleveland County, OK
- Chattanooga, TN
- Lynchburg Region, VA
- Crater Region, VA
- Fremont County, CO
5 communities have ended chronic homelessness
- Rockford, Winnebago & Boone Counties, IL
- Lancaster City & County, PA
- Bergen County, NJ
- Abilene, TX
- Bakersfield, Kern County, CA
3 communities have ended both
Abilene, TX
Ended veteran and chronic homelessness
Chattanooga, TN
Ended veteran homelessness
Lake County, IL
Ended veteran homelessness
Norman, Cleveland County, OK
Ended veteran homelessness
Arlington County, VA
Ended veteran homelessness
Crater Region, VA
Ended veteran homelessness
Lancaster City & County, PA
Ended chronic homelessness
Rockford, Winnebago & Boone Counties, IL
Ended veteran and chronic homelessness
Bakersfield, Kern County, CA
Ended chronic homelessness
Fremont County, CO
Ended veteran homelessness
Lynchburg Region, VA
Ended veteran homelessness
All communities at functional zero will be reviewed annually to ensure they are sustaining this dynamic end state for ending homelessness.
What is Functional Zero?
A community has ended veteran homelessness when the number of veterans experiencing homelessness is
less than the number of veterans a community has proven it can house in a routine month. It has ended chronic homelessness when the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness is zero, or if not zero, then either 3 or .1% of the total number of individuals reported in the most recent point-in-time count, whichever is greater.
Stories of Success
A mayor’s role in reducing and ending homelessness in Rockford
Much of the information below has been adapted from the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative’s case on Rockford. Rockford, Illinois, a city ninety miles north of Chicago, is just one of three communities in the U.S. to reach functional zero for veteran and chronic homelessness. The Continuum of Care for Rockford/Winnebago, Boone Counties joined Built for […]
Kent County, Michigan, engages local business community to support work to end homelessness
Since the start, Kent County’s work with Built for Zero has been closely tied to their local business community. In fact, it was leaders of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce who encouraged and sponsored Kent County’s enrollment into the Built for Zero Collaborative in May 2021. Kent County has since continued to strengthen […]
Case Study: Addressing Racial Equity in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County’s Homeless Response System
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County has committed to equitably ending homelessness by addressing the disparities within and produced by their own homeless response system.
“People think ending homelessness is not achievable, because the system wasn’t designed to end it: it was designed to manage it. But if you redesign it with zero in mind, it can be ended.”
Brenda O’Connell and her community of Lake County, Illinois, ended veteran homelessness with the help of Built for Zero.
