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 80 communities working to measurably end homelessness, starting with veteran and chronic homelessness.
All communities at functional zero will be reviewed annually to ensure they are sustaining this dynamic end state for ending homelessness.
12 communities have ended veteran homelessness
- Gulf Coast region, MS
- Arlington, VA
- Montgomery County, MD
- Rockford, IL
- Bergen County, NJ
- Abilene, TX
- Lake County, IL
- Norman, OK
- Chattanooga, TN
- Lynchburg, VA
- Crater Region, VA
- Fremont County, CO
5 communities have ended chronic homelessness
Three have ended both.
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
Medicine Hat becomes first city in Canada to end chronic homelessness
The Canadian community of Medicine Hat announced in June that they became the first in Canada to functionally end chronic homelessness.
Fremont County, CO: Functional Zero Case Study
The resourceful Fremont County team made incredible strides since joining Built for Zero in 2019, as a sub-region of the Colorado Balance of State Continuum of Care. In March 2021, Fremont County reached functional zero for veteran homelessness, demonstrating that there are fewer veterans experiencing homelessness than can be routinely housed within a month, which is three veterans in Fremont County. By reaching functional zero for veteran homelessness, the community has proven it has built a system that can ensure homelessness is rare and brief, even if new veterans experience housing crises over time.
Spotlight: Fremont County reaches functional zero for veteran homelessness
In March 2021, the Fremont County team functionally ended veteran homelessness, creating a reality where fewer veterans are experiencing homelessness than can be routinely housed.
“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.
