The U.S. Interagency Council Homelessness (USICH) hosted in March its first council meeting since releasing All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End on Homelessness. Representatives from all 19 federal agencies comprising USICH were present at the meeting.
During the council meeting, USICH invited community leaders to share their ideas about how the federal government can reduce or eliminate barriers to housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. Barriers to obtaining and retaining critical documents, such as birth certificates and Social Security cards, keep many people from accessing the housing and services they need. The Federal Strategic Plan includes several strategies that aim to reduce documentation as a barrier to housing entry, such as by providing regulatory flexibility for federal housing programs and eliminating requirements that applicants have permanent addresses or bank accounts to access federal assistance. USICH will use community input gathered before, during, and after the council meeting to inform the implementation of these strategies.
Additionally, council meeting attendees addressed a soon-to-be launched White House and USICH initiative to reduce unsheltered homelessness. The initiative will help targeted cities and states adopt the strategies detailed in All In to move people off the streets and into homes.
Read a Frequently Asked Questions resource released by USICH that addresses the Federal Strategic Plan.
Read a summary of the council meeting at: https://bit.ly/40lUmex
Learn more about the Federal Strategic Plan at: https://www.usich.gov/fsp