Improve Responses to People Experiencing Homelessness

Punitive approaches to people experiencing homelessness must be minimized through collaborations by the public and private sectors to identify and fund programs to solve the root causes of homelessness. Research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of existing programs, such as homeless outreach teams in law enforcement agencies, and to identify best practices, including training protocols, and particularly, which program components are best performed by police officers and which would be better performed by other experts. Data collection, analysis, and sharing must be improved regarding the experiences of individuals experiencing homelessness when they encounter service providers, including law enforcement.