Pathway to Permanent Housing
Kansas City Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
The Pathway to Permanent Housing document is a step-by-step list of actions that individuals must take to exit homelessness. Individuals who are homeless often struggle with knowing what step to take next, and no single social service agency provides all the resources necessary to permanently exit homelessness. This document fills the gap for individuals who are navigating homelessness on their own, and for case workers, especially new to the position, to offer clients guidance on which agencies offer specific necessary services.
Challenge/Opportunity
Every community struggles to address homelessnessness in a comprehensive and collaborative way. Kansas City’s social service agencies lack a shared plan for anyone looking to permanently exit homelessness. This project was inspired by the comparison to the medical system treating someone with a broken leg. All the different providers - EMTs, ER providers, primary care physicians, and physical therapists - know how to treat a broken bone and have a shared plan for treating the patient. This document creates that action plan for homelessness, identifying which agencies help with each step and guiding all agencies to collaborate on serving the individual.
Key Elements of Innovation
This document is set up as a straightforward way to exit homelessness one step at a time and lists the agencies that offer help throughout the process. The success of this document is not predicated on providing a large amount of information, but rather is structured for ease of use so that individuals see what actions they need to take and which agency can help. The document also allows case managers at each agency to fill in the details that will lead to success every step of the way. The key partners are agencies that offer services to the homeless population in an a la carte fashion. Even if these agencies are not officially collaborating, they are almost always working with the same individuals, and this single document gives them a collective action plan and access to a full list of options.
Achieved Outcomes
This document is set up as a straightforward way to exit homelessness one step at a time and lists the agencies that offer help throughout the process. The success of this document is not predicated on providing a large amount of information, but rather is structured for ease of use so that individuals see what actions they need to take and which agency can help. The document also allows case managers at each agency to fill in the details that will lead to success every step of the way. The key partners are agencies that offer services to the homeless population in an a la carte fashion. Even if these agencies are not officially collaborating, they are almost always working with the same individuals, and this single document gives them a collective action plan and access to a full list of options.
