New Video Shows Collaboration Helps Shrink Homelessness

May 14, 2019

Poster; "in the first 18 months of collaboration we housed 125 chronically homeless people

Early results from the Point-in-Time Count in January show chronic homelessness has dropped by 28% since 2017, a testament to a successful push for closer collaboration by various agencies serving people without stable housing.

A new video offers a look at the impact of this new approach to prioritize the most vulnerable people for “housing first” programs with wraparound support to promote stability and healing.

“It is possible to end chronic homelessness and we’re going to do it,” says Mary Kay Sweeney, Executive Director of Homeward Bound. “We can only do it if we’re working together.”

Preliminary analysis found the total count of people experiencing homelessness was 1,034, a 7 percent overall reduction from two years earlier.

A Point-in-Time Count of homeless individuals occurs every two years in each county, with results used to inform policy and funding decisions for services to people facing homelessness. Marin’s count occurred on Jan. 28, 2019.

Read more details in the county’s news release.