Some U.S. cities, counties and states have made enviable progress in reducing homelessness, revealing possible solutions for California. 

Houston has reduced homelessness by more than half over the past decade, according to federal point-in-time data. What is Texas’ largest city doing differently? It pours all its homeless funding into long-term housing instead of shelters that offer a temporary fix. Housing also is cheaper in Houston. That’s partly because the city builds more of it – Houston has no zoning – coupled with a mayor who can push projects through – making it easier to build and harder to block housing.

Houston also credits its success to strong collaboration. The city began by bringing together more than 100 agencies, the counties, nonprofit agencies, businesses and the federal HUD. Coalition members continually update a data dashboard that tracks homeless people as they interact with shelters and services. Federal funding also has been key to bringing thousands of new supportive housing units online: HUD nearly doubled its funding for Houston homelessness programs between 2008 and 2018, to $38.2 million.