Making Homelessness Rare and Brief: Lessons from the Built for Zero Backbone Strategy

Built for Zero is a national initiative demonstrating that coordinated systems change can dramatically reduce—and ultimately end—homelessness. Central to this work is a powerful intermediary model that enables backbone organizations, often state and local agencies, to align strategies, data, and resources toward population-level outcomes.

In this workshop, Melanie Lewis Dickerson, Director of Large-Scale Change at Community Solutions, will share lessons from the Built for Zero approach, focusing on how public sector professionals can play a pivotal role in supporting and sustaining local systems change. Participants will gain insight into the enabling conditions, policy levers, and organizational functions that help drive progress toward making homelessness rare and brief.