Area of Expertise: Unsheltered Homelessness Response

Communities around the country are struggling with how to manage unsheltered homelessness. Some states and cities are responding by passing laws or ordinances that make living on the streets or parks a criminal offense. Others are clearing encampments in the interest of public safety or directing funding towards “sanctioned encampments” and other interventions, which offer no guarantee of services or access to permanent housing.

CSH offers a better solution for state and city lawmakers that can reduce homeless encampments and get people into stable homes and off the streets.

This sample testimony can be adapted for legislative committee hearings on bills that impose fines, penalties, arrests, incarceration, or other criminal sanctions on people experiencing homelessness. Customize the testimony to reflect your organization’s experience, local data, and the specific bill under consideration.

Action alerts help organizations quickly mobilize supporters when legislation is moving through the legislative process. They are especially useful before key decision points such as: committee hearings, floor votes, budget negotiations, or other key decision points when lawmakers need to hear directly from constituents.

This sample letter can be adapted and shared with committee members and legislative staff when legislation is being considered that would impose fines, penalties, arrests, incarceration, or other criminal sanctions on people experiencing homelessness. Customize the language to reflect your organization’s experience, local data, and the specific bill under consideration.

Legislators often want to act quickly to address homelessness, but building new housing takes time. This model legislation provides states with practical, immediate steps to address rising rates of homelessness while laying the foundation for long-term solutions. This template bill establishes a grant program to fund outreach teams and short-term housing options such as vouchers and motels—critical tools for engaging people and providing immediate relief for unsheltered homelessness.

This model legislation offers a framework for amending legislation proposing a camping ban. This example should only be used when a camping ban has already been introduced and there is strong insistence on keeping that language during negotiations with the legislature. This provision removes tickets, fines, and arrests, while requiring coordination with outreach teams, prohibits the removal of personal property, and ensures extended engagement periods between law enforcement contact—prioritizing connection to housing and services.

This supportive services model legislation focuses on strengthening the services infrastructure that helps individuals obtain and maintain housing. This includes directing the state to pursue a Medicaid waiver or State Plan Amendment to secure sustainable funding for housing-related services. It also creates a services fund to bridge gaps until Medicaid changes take effect and to cover non-Medicaid eligible expenses. These services may include behavioral health supports, case management, tenancy support, and other interventions that promote housing stability. This model is often used to address long-term system capacity and sustainability. By aligning housing and health systems, it provides a framework for funding services that reduce reliance on emergency and crisis responses.

The Task Force or Study Committee model provides a legislative option for lawmakers seeking additional information or coordination before advancing policy changes related to homelessness. Under this model, legislation establishes a time-limited body charged with examining the causes, scope, and impacts of homelessness, including the effectiveness and costs of different policy responses. Membership typically includes representatives from relevant state agencies, local governments, housing and service providers, and, in some cases, individuals with lived experience. This approach is often used in situations where there is political pressure to act, but limited consensus on solutions. When structured appropriately, a task force or study committee can support cross-system analysis, data sharing, and the development of evidence-informed recommendations that reflect housing and services system capacity.

This policy brief presents evidence-based alternatives to homeless encampment sweeps and other costly crisis-response approaches. The resource highlights how coordinated outreach, supportive housing, healthcare partnerships, and housing-first strategies can more effectively reduce unsheltered homelessness while lowering public costs. Drawing on examples from Denver, Boston, and Dallas, the brief demonstrates how connecting people experiencing homelessness to housing and supportive services improves outcomes, reduces reliance on emergency systems, and creates sustainable pathways to housing stability and economic mobility.

Homelessness is rising nationwide, and recent policy proposals risk framing the issue through punitive measures rather than proven solutions. This resource provides evidence-based talking points to counter misconceptions, highlight effective strategies, and advocate for approaches that prioritize personal autonomy, fiscal responsibility, and long-term impact. Use these insights to promote community-based, voluntary support systems over costly, ineffective enforcement tactics.