Built for Zero

Central Oregon has become the 7th Oregon Community to join Built for Zero, a national initiative of more than 90 communities working to measurably and equitably end homelessness.

What does this mean?
● Central Oregon will work toward ending veteran and chronic homelessness by reaching and sustaining a milestone known as “functional zero”.
● Functional zero is a dynamic milestone that works to produce a new sustained reality where homelessness is rare and brief for a population

Watch this video to learn more  Homelessness is a big and complex problem — but it is not one too big or complex to be solved (link to Community Solutions video)

The Built for Zero methodology has been developed and refined to help communities develop coordinated, data-driven systems capable of making homelessness rare and brief for a population.

1. Communities develop or deepen their community-wide teams. The community brings together a community-wide team that works together to measurably and equitably end homelessness.
2. Communities work toward a shared aim of functional zero. Communities work  toward achieving and sustaining functional zero, a measure for ending homelessness
   for a population. Communities start by focusing on creating coordinated, data-driven systems capable of ending homelessness for a population, with the goal of scaling this progress to all populations. An Urban Institute report published in August 2021 found that this methodology helps communities accelerate progress across populations
3. Communities use quality, real-time data. The community develops quality by-name data, which includes each person experiencing homelessness by name and provides real-time insights into their needs. This data also provides population-level insights, like inflow and outflow, which enables communities to understand whether efforts are driving down the overall number of people experiencing homelessness.
4. Communities target interventions based on real-time data. Using the by-name list, the community targets resources and investments for the maximum reductions in homelessness.

This work relies heavily on Central Oregon’s Coordinated Entry System and a collaborative approach to Street Outreach.

 Want to get involved?

Contact: HMIS@neighborimpact.org  or info@cohomeless.org