Learn about homelessness

The actual causes of homelessness

Homelessness is not caused by personal failure. It is caused, overwhelmingly, by the gap between what housing costs and what people earn — plus everything that pushes people toward that gap.

3 min read

Common myths about homelessness — and what's actually true

The most repeated claims about homelessness are usually wrong. Here are the ones that get in the way of helping.

3 min read

The three types of homelessness

Homelessness isn't one experience. Understanding the difference between transitional, episodic, and chronic homelessness changes how you think about who needs what.

2 min read

Where unhoused people tend to be — and why

Understanding the geography of unsheltered homelessness, for outreach workers, volunteers, and curious neighbors.

3 min read

Homelessness by population: who is affected, and how

Veterans, youth, families, women, LGBTQ+ people, and Indigenous people experience homelessness in distinct ways and need different kinds of help.

3 min read

What actually works: Housing First and the evidence

Two decades of research point in the same direction. Get people housed first, then work on everything else. It is cheaper and more humane than the alternative.

4 min read

How to talk to someone experiencing homelessness

A short, practical guide for the moments when you pass someone on the street and want to do the human thing.

3 min read