USICH Releases New Strategic Plan to End Homelessness

On October 20, The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released its strategic plan, Expanding the Toolbox: The Whole-of-Government Response to Homelessness. According to USICH’s press release, “[t]he strategic plan emphasizes addressing the root causes of homelessness and prioritizing trauma-informed care to support the success of each individual and family experiencing homelessness.” USICH also plans to promote self-sufficiency across federal agencies as a way of ending the cycle of homelessness.

The plan will place an emphasis on transparency and accuracy in reporting the number of Americans who are experiencing homelessness. In the past, this number has been unclear due to artificial changes in definitions of homelessness. According to USICH, the strategic plan also focuses on: the importance and power of the dignity of work, the importance of mental health and trauma-informed care, affordable construction to improve the stock of affordable housing, prevention as an avenue to reduce expenses while reducing trauma, the need for population-specific programming, renewed focus on racial disparities, promotion of alternatives to criminalizing people experiencing homelessness, and the importance of national emergency readiness. USICH’s plan can be found here.