Foundation leaders and experts across the nation speak out about the need to end homelessness...

1. Foundation leaders and
experts across the nation
speak out about the need
to end homelessness...

2. “It is important to ask what the key
interventions are that seem to be
making a difference. You will not be
surprised to hear among these key
interventions are supportive
housing and an emphasis on getting
Nan Roman the most people with disabilities
President into housing. Moving people out of
National Alliance to End
Homelessness the shelter system more quickly
Washington, DC
both reduces the need for beds and
reduces homelessness.”

3. “Working with people who are homeless and
experiencing mental illnesses and other
health problems is not easy. Society has at
times given up on this vulnerable population
and incorrectly concluded nothing can be
done to address their issues, or to solve the
cycle of despair resulting in long-term
Deborah De Santis
President and CEO homelessness. We know differently – there
Corporation for are proven solutions that work. Effective,
Supportive Housing
New York, NY cost-efficient models that move vulnerable
people off the streets and into affordable,
permanent housing where they can receive
the support they need to heal and build
better lives.”

4. “We as a society have been able to
generate cures for some of the most
atrocious diseases, go to places that are
out of this world, and invent items that
are essential to our way of life. In
Houston, our community housed well
over 200,000 people who evacuated
Anthony Love from the areas affected by Hurricane
President and CEO Katrina because our community and our
Coalition for the Homeless
of Houston / Harris County
leaders said we should make sure these
Houston, TX families and individuals are housed.
With that backdrop, I am confident we
can do the same for people who are
currently homeless”

5. “We will make progress on social
problems by finding new ways to
align the interests and the activities
of business, government, nonprofits
and philanthropy.”
Carla Javits
President
REDF
San Francisco, CA

6. “Ending homelessness is about
empowerment. It’s about finding
ways to help people to help
themselves. It is about applying
diligent and thoughtful guidance that
enables each individual and each
G. Robert Hohler family to acquire self-reliance and
Executive Director independence. The people who help
Melville Charitable Trust
Hartford, CT make that happen are among the
most talented and dedicated and
patient that I have ever worked
with.”

7. “Chronic homelessness is an issue
that cuts across many funders’
interests – from health and health
care, mental illness, and child welfare
to prisoner reentry, poverty, and
community development. No single
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
President funder or provider can solve it alone,
Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation and we cannot solve it without the
Princeton, NJ
involvement of both the private and
public sectors.”

8. “People who are chronically homeless
and who are not housed create very,
very difficult circumstances in our cities.
And wouldn’t it make better sense -
wouldn’t our sense of fairness and
justice be met by providing them with a
supportive housing unit? This is not the
Darren Walker 1980s when we were bewildered by this
Vice President of phenomenon. We understand it. We
Foundation Initiatives
The Rockefeller Foundation
know what works. So the question is, do
New York, NY we have the will to actually implement
what we know works, and what, quite
frankly, doesn’t cost us any more money
to do?”

9. “What unites us all, what powers us
all... is the vision of a society where
everyone has a place that they can
call home. It is a vision we all believe
can be achieved. We are sure that
some day, sooner rather than later,
Stephen Melville others will look back upon this time
Board Chair
Melville Charitable Trust and say:
Hartford, CT
In such great country with such
unbelievable resources what on earth
took them so long?”