Solving systemic homelessness: A multi-organizational approach
The biggest challenges facing our communities today cannot be solved by just one organization. Whether a pandemic, homelessness, rising obesity rates, or environmental sustainability, these challenges are systemic in nature and require that many organizations come together in a cooperative way with a shared goal if we hope for disproportionate impact.
With unemployment rates skyrocketing and the economic uncertainty that comes with a global pandemic, it’s not unreasonable to worry that we may soon find ourselves faced with a homeless rate that rivals that of the Great Depression. Keeping ahead of such challenges will require working collaboratively with many organizations and end beneficiaries to develop new programs and services that are both desirable for users and feasible for organizations to create and support. For a challenge like homelessness, it’s not just about triaging those struggling on the street. We also have to understand all of the pathways that lead to homelessness to prevent it from happening in the first place. While finding space to re-home those who need shelter is an important aspect of any solution, working to provide a remedy for end-of-cycle issues won’t improve the increasing pressure on our systems.
Upstream, in partnership with the City of Austin, the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA), and ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition), brought leaders throughout the Austin area together to understand the challenge of homelessness in a holistic way, define the levers of change and bring other perspectives to the table. This alignment was crucial to coming up with solutions that work in concert with other organizations. Although public safety is a top priority, our work raised awareness among community stakeholders that if we arrest those on the street, it makes it harder for people experiencing homelessness and organizations supporting them to get employment and housing. Working across interdependent goals is the most critical aspect to solving systemic, multi-stakeholder challenges.
Our work consistently finds that not only must groups identify critical, early areas of intervention but they also need to coordinate efforts in such a way that all groups (public, private, or otherwise) are able to contribute. There are three things leaders should consider when framing their strategies.
Broaden Opportunities By Looking Outside Your Area Of Focus
Going upstream will allow you to understand the precursors that cause the problem in the first place. This opens up the solution set to new programs, services and products that wouldn’t be possible if you focused solely on the triage stage. Going upstream also expands your view and identifies unexpected stakeholders that can help to drive disproportionate impact.
Bring Others To The Table
Solving systemic challenges requires stakeholders to understand the problem in the same way. Otherwise, solutions offered are disconnected and at different altitudes of the problem. Creating a framework of understanding provides alignment by giving all stakeholders the ability to see themselves in it. We see frameworks as an essential tool for effective ideation across stakeholder groups and functional disciplines.
Build Interconnected Roadmaps
Working in collaboration across organizations requires that everyone is rowing in the same direction. Having an interconnected roadmap ensures that goals, metrics and offerings are all aligned across organizations to create measurable and sustainable progress in the near-, mid- and long-term.
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