Geography: National

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.

Supportive housing combines affordable housing with supportive services to help people who face the most complex challenges live with stability, autonomy, and dignity. This innovative, data-driven solution helps people thrive by breaking the cycle of homelessness, ensuring that all individuals have the opportunity to become integral parts of their communities. This one-pager describes what supportive housing is, how it works, and why it is a proven solution that gets people stably housed.

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 brief explains how the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and Qualified Allocation Plans (QAP) influence supportive housing development. It helps affordable and supportive housing stakeholders understand the role that these tools play in advancing supportive housing opportunities in their communities.

This brief outlines strategies Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) and state leaders can use to strengthen supportive housing development through Qualified Action Plan (QAP) policy, funding alignment, and cross-sector partnerships.

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.

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.

CSH applauds the bipartisan passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which cleared the U.S. House of Representatives this week by a vote of 358-32 and now heads to the President’s desk. The Senate passed the same legislation on June 22 by a vote of 85–5.  

The strong bipartisan support for this legislation reflects a shared recognition that communities across the country need more affordable housing options and practical solutions to address persistent housing shortages. CSH looks forward to the President signing the landmark legislation.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is the most comprehensive federal housing legislation in a generation. The bill gives communities stronger tools to build and preserve affordable housing including reauthorizing the HOME program that local partners rely on, making homes easier to finance and develop, and clearing the red tape that slows projects and drives up costs. These are practical changes that will help more people find a home they can afford.  

“When communities have the tools to build more affordable housing, everyone benefits,” said Deb DeSantis, President and CEO of CSH. “For people with disabilities and complex health needs with extremely low incomes, access to stable housing can be life changing. The bipartisan passage of this legislation is an important step toward expanding housing opportunities and helping more people find a stable place to call home and to thrive.” 

Supportive housing relies on many of the same financing tools, development processes, and local resources that support affordable housing development more broadly. By strengthening those systems and reducing barriers, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will help communities expand housing opportunities and create more pathways to stability for people who need them most. 

This legislation is an important step forward and demonstrates what is possible when leaders come together around practical, bipartisan solutions to housing challenges. We commend the bipartisan leadership that carried this bill through the Senate, including Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). We are proud to have worked with Rep. Mike Flood and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, chairman and ranking member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, along with House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill and Ranking Member Maxine Waters, whose partnership helped bring this moment within reach. 

We encourage Congress to build on this progress by continuing to advance bipartisan policies that expand supportive housing opportunities and help people with disabilities and complex health needs remain stably housed in their communities. CSH looks forward to partnering with communities across the country to ensure these new tools help create more supportive housing where it is needed most.