Progress

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 100 communities working to measurably end homelessness, starting with veteran and chronic homelessness.

14 communities have achieved functional zero for at least one population

  1. Gulf Coast region, MS
  2. Arlington County, VA 
  3. Montgomery County, MD
  4. Rockford, Winnebago & Boone Counties, IL
  5. Bergen County, NJ
  6. Abilene, TX
  7. Lake County, IL
  8. Norman, Cleveland County, OK
  9. Chattanooga, TN
  10. Lynchburg Region, VA
  11. Crater Region, VA
  12. Fremont County, CO
  1. Rockford, Winnebago & Boone Counties, IL
  2. Lancaster City & County, PA
  3. Bergen County, NJ
  4. Abilene, TX
  5. Bakersfield, Kern County, CA
  1. Rockford, Winnebago & Boone Counties, IL
  2. Bergen County, NJ
  3. Abilene, TX

Abilene

Abilene, TX

Ended veteran and chronic homelessness

Chattanooga

Chattanooga, TN

Ended veteran homelessness

Lake County

Lake County, IL

Ended veteran homelessness

Norman, Oklahoma

Norman, Cleveland County, OK

Ended veteran homelessness
Arlington VA

Arlington County, VA

Ended veteran homelessness

Crater Region, VA

Ended veteran homelessness

Lancaster PA

Lancaster City & County, PA

Ended chronic homelessness

Fast Company

Rockford, Winnebago & Boone Counties, IL

Ended veteran and chronic homelessness

Bakersfield reached functional zero for chronic homelessness

Bakersfield, Kern County, CA

Ended chronic homelessness

Fremont County, Colorado

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?

Homelessness is a dynamic problem — people are entering and exiting the system constantly. To address this ever-changing problem, the way we measure the progress toward our goal must be able to change as well
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.

Communities across the country are refusing the accept the unacceptable and reducing and ending veteran homelessness.

Stories of Success

Smiling team members from Northern Chicago

“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.
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