Coming Together to Advocate for Community-in-Housing to Prevent and End Homelessness
Please join us from October 29 to October 31, 2024 at The Dana on Mission Bay for the Shared Housing 2024 Conference. This 3-day event aims to help individuals and teams who are committed to ending homelessness build capacity to implement effective shared housing and landlord engagement practices. All experiential sessions are designed around client empowerment and the simple truth that everyone needs and deserves both housing and community.
Send your team of trainers to become shared housing / landlord engagement specialists. These specialists then teach local peers about shared housing processes to prevent and end homelessness. The conference provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations, and housing leaders to learn and work together. As a result, communities will efficiently expand this essential housing option.
Why Shared Housing Now
Homelessness has increased by 12% across the U.S. since 2022. With fewer affordable units available and increased competition for those units, households with extremely low incomes and people exiting homelessness are at a growing disadvantage in finding and keeping housing. Adapting to and reinforcing a system-wide culture of shared housing options is now necessary, with the goal of moving people out of shelters and into housing as soon as possible. Data supports the cost savings of rapidly housing people experiencing homelessness, summarized by a recent study that quickly found re-housing households within 30 days of homeless intake resulted in a significant reduction in a return to homelessness and criminal activities, demonstrating the cost-savings and rehabilitative impacts of rapidly moving people back into housing. The study supports the claim that the sooner people are housed, the better the outcomes. Establishing shared housing as a pragmatic approach for all populations at risk of or experiencing homelessness allows for the movement of people out of homelessness sooner, combatting the exponential costs of both housing loss and social isolation.
Landlord Engagement to Expand Shared Housing Options
With the rising costs of rent across the nation, many households struggle to find affordable units that meet their needs. In particular, households who have experienced a crisis or loss of housing face additional barriers to re-establishing stable tenancies. Landlords or property managers are often hesitant to accept rental assistance due to contract rent limitations or the additional administrative process of unit inspections. If adequately supported, property owners can play an active role in ending homelessness and housing instability by working with service providers and community members to reduce housing barriers and increase access to existing housing stock. The US Department of Housing & Urban Development goes as far as to say: “Establishing positive relationships with landlords in your community is perhaps the single most important factor when it comes to developing a successful housing search assistance program.”
Register Today!
Conference attendees will gain:
- Insight into HUD housing programs.
- Tools for managing tough conversations with participants, property owners, & stakeholders.
- Conflict management resources for shared housing success.
- Property owner engagement strategies for improved housing options.
The Shared Housing 2024 Conference takes place October 29 to October 31, 2024 at The Dana on Mission Bay. It is co-coordinated by Townspeople and the Shared Housing Institute, with support from Goddard Consulting, Co.. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.
