Unlike most U.S. communities, Milwaukee County has managed to make significant progress toward assisting unhoused residents through a Housing First approach.
For the last decade, Milwaukee County has been bucking a national trend, effectively reducing the number of homeless residents and assisting people with supportive services.
In a piece for Governing, Carl Smith explains how the county’s Housing First approach helped it reduce unsheltered homelessness by 92 percent in the program’s first five years. “By the 2021 HUD count, the county had the nation’s lowest per-capita unsheltered homeless population. Savings to behavioral health and criminal justice systems are also tracked; to date Milwaukee County's Housing First program has saved taxpayers more than $30 million,” Smith adds.
When housing became harder to find in 2023, the city hired a landlord engagement coordinator to incentivize property owners and identify vacancies. Assistance programs also depend heavily on local collaboration. For example, the Milwaukee Downtown business improvement district (BID) funds a homeless outreach coordinator position and two public service ambassadors.
FULL STORY: Year After Year, Milwaukee Manages to Reduce Homelessness
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