Looking back on the history of rapid re-housing

At the end of September, we convened nearly 100 homeless systems leaders, providers, funders and federal agency representatives to develop a common vision about how to advance rapid re-housing as a primary intervention in the homeless system.

Next week, we will begin a campaign to raise awareness of rapid re-housing as a solution, and we’ll need your help. We want to increase the number of people served across the country, and decrease the number of people experiencing homelessness. But before we get started working toward the future, let’s take a look at the past.

History of Rapid Re-Housing
Rapid re-housing first emerged as a promising model when a number of programs organically began the practice. Programs began experimenting with short-term financial assistance and “rapid exit” concepts for people experiencing homelessness, and realized it worked. On the heels of their success, other communities followed suit and rapid re-housing has increasingly become a staple of a successful response to homelessness. It eventually became a bipartisan priority in the federal response to homelessness. Take a look at the history of rapid re-housing below, and sign up for our Rapid Re-Housing Newsletter to stay informed about our upcoming campaign and help us spread the word: rapid re-housing works!