One phrase is increasingly frequenting the lips of Wichita and Kansas officials when talking about ending homelessness: functional zero. “Functional zero” is a milestone achieved when homelessness becomes rare and brief for a certain population, such as when more people are staying housed than falling into homelessness. It’s a term (and measure) coined by Community Solutions, a national nonprofit that helps communities evaluate whether they have “measurably solved” homelessness for a specific population. Bergen County, New Jersey, Wichita’s “community of inspiration” for reducing homelessness, is recognized nationally for being among the first communities in the nation to reach functional zero. Since its initial achievements, Bergen has been lauded nationally, consistently promoted as a success story in the efforts to end homelessness. It took functional zero from jargon to reality. But then came a shock.
Source: KLC Journal
