A quick-start guide for talking about the work
The big idea
When communities act with speed, coordination, and accountability, homelessness can be measurably reduced. Communities across the country are proving it.
The goal is to build local systems where homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring. That means fewer people experience it, those who do are connected to housing quickly, and people who are housed stay housed.
This is possible because communities are tracking homelessness in real time, person by person, and coordinating across agencies to act on what the data shows. More than 170 communities nationwide are already doing this work through Built for Zero.
What we mean by rare, brief, and nonrecurring
These three words describe what a well-functioning homeless response system produces. They are how communities measure whether their approach is working.
Rare
Fewer people experience homelessness in the first place. The system is preventing homelessness and quickly identifying it when it occurs.
Brief
When someone does lose housing, the system responds fast. People are connected to stable housing in days or weeks, not months or years.
Nonrecurring
People who are housed stay housed. Housing placements are lasting because people are matched to the right housing and support.
Communities also track whether fewer people are living unsheltered (safe) and whether residents can see the difference in their communities (believable). Together, these dimensions create a full picture of whether a community is making real, sustained progress.
How it works
Three things make this approach different from how most communities have historically responded to homelessness:
Say This
Clear, consistent language helps partners, funders, and the public understand the work. Here’s a quick reference.
| Say this | Avoid this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| We’re working to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring. | We’re ending homelessness. / We’re solving homelessness. | Progress requires sustained effort and ongoing accountability. “Ending” implies a one-time finish line. |
| Reducing homelessness; driving sustained reductions in homelessness. | Ending homelessness; eliminating homelessness. | The measure of progress is continuous improvement, not a single point in time. |
| People experiencing homelessness; young people experiencing homelessness. | Homeless people; the homeless; unhoused people. | Person-first language centers dignity. Built for Zero does not use “unhoused.” |
| A coordinated, data-driven approach that produces measurable results. | A program; a project; a plan. | Functional zero remains a recognized milestone. The broader framework measures progress across multiple dimensions. |
| Real-time, by-name data. | A list of homeless people; a database. | “By-name data” better reflects that this is a dynamic system, not a static list. |
| Communities are proving this is possible. | We’ve solved this / we have the answer. |
Ready-to-Use Language
Adapt these for your community’s context. Fill in the brackets with your own details.
The 30-second version (for everyday conversations)
“We’re part of a national movement of communities working to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring. We use real-time data to know, by name, every person experiencing homelessness in [our community], and we coordinate across agencies to connect people to housing as quickly as possible. The approach is working: communities across the country are driving measurable, sustained reductions in homelessness.”
For funders and investors
“[Our community] tracks progress across clear dimensions: whether homelessness is becoming rarer, whether people are connected to housing faster, and whether housing placements are lasting. Every month, we know by name who is experiencing homelessness and whether our system is responding effectively. Your investment supports the coordination and data infrastructure that makes these reductions possible and sustainable.”‘
For elected officials and policymakers
“For decades, communities tried fragmented approaches to homelessness that did not produce lasting results. Criminalization did not work. Emergency shelter alone did not work. Housing without coordination did not work. A coordinated, data-driven approach does. [Our community/state] is using real-time data and system-level coordination to drive measurable reductions in homelessness, with accountability built in. Communities across the country using this approach are demonstrating that sustained progress is possible.”
For media and press
“[Our community] is part of Built for Zero, a national movement of more than 170 communities working to measurably reduce homelessness. The approach centers on real-time, person-specific data and cross-agency coordination. [Our community] tracks whether homelessness is becoming rarer, whether people are being housed faster, and whether people who are housed are staying housed. [Insert local data point or recent result.]”
For community meetings and public forums
“We understand that homelessness is visible in [our community] and that people are concerned. We are too. That’s why we’re using a different approach. We know, by name, every person experiencing homelessness here. We track the data every month. And we coordinate across [list key partners] to connect people to housing as quickly as possible. When the system works the way it should, people move off the streets and into stable housing, and you can see the difference. That’s what we’re working toward.”
Questions? Contact comms@community.solutions
