From Evidence to Action

Available on-demand

Explore how evidence-based solutions are turning the tide on homelessness. This hopeful conversation with researchers, government leaders, and community partners reveals how collaborative prevention models, proven successful in Santa Clara County, are being scaled nationwide to create lasting change. Learn how data and partnership make homelessness solvable.

Featured Speakers:

David Phillips, Research Professor of Economics, LEO
Chad Bojorquez, Chief Program Officer, Destination: Home
Jessica Orozco, Santa Clara County OSH
Alyson Moon, Director of Community Impact, Mary’s Place

Partner with LEO

The Evidence Matters series is sponsored on ThinkND by the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO). Poverty is stubborn and requires the utmost collaboration of thought and action to drive change. People of goodwill must bring their unique strengths and positions together to solve this problem. At LEO, we believe knowledge has to be combined with action. But poverty can’t be solved by just one person, or even one sector. That’s why we bring together innovative social service provider partners, top-tier academics, philanthropists, policymakers, and others to tackle poverty.

Change is possible. And with your action, we can get one step closer to reducing poverty in our country, together.

Your job is to act. What will you do?

For more information, please visit LEO’s website.

2.1 Introduction: A Hopeful Conversation on an Intractable Problem
In a discussion that counters the narrative of despair surrounding homelessness, leaders from research, government, and community-based services came together to share a powerful story of hope and success. The webinar, hosted by King County in partnership with the University of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) and MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), highlighted that when the right partners collaborate around proven, evidence-based strategies, homelessness is a solvable problem. Featuring insights from Santa Clara County, the nonprofit Mary’s Place in King County, and academic experts, the conversation provided a blueprint for building effective prevention systems—a topic of critical importance in our current moment.
2.2 The Power of Evidence in a Time of Rising Homelessness
David Phillips, a research professor at LEO, framed the discussion around a critical debate. With homelessness rising nationally, a common assumption is that current strategies are failing. This pessimistic view suggests that had we done something different, outcomes would be better. However, Phillips presented a more powerful, evidence-based counterfactual: today’s programs are successfully fighting immense headwinds like soaring rent and the pandemic. Without these interventions, the crisis would be far worse. The proof is in the data: while overall homelessness has increased, veteran homelessness has been cut in half over the past decade due to strategic investments in proven programs like HUD-VASH. Rigorous evaluation proves these interventions work, demonstrating that we can make progress even in difficult circumstances.
2.3 The Santa Clara Model: A Blueprint for Prevention
The Santa Clara County homelessness prevention system offers a compelling blueprint for success. Launched in 2017 as a public-private partnership led by Destination Home, the system was designed to address a critical gap: preventing homelessness before it starts. Grounded in a “whatever it takes” philosophy, the model provides flexible financial assistance and supportive services. From its inception, the system was built on a foundation of data, integrating provider services into the county’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and partnering with LEO to evaluate its impact. The results are stunning: what began as a pilot serving 200 families has scaled into a county-sustained, nearly $30 million system that serves over 2,500 households annually. It is a model rooted in equity, with 90% of households served being extremely low-income and 90% being people of color.
2.4 From Replication to Adaptation: Spreading Success
The success in Santa Clara raises a crucial question: can this model work elsewhere? The partnership between LEO and Mary’s Place, a service provider for families in King County, Washington, provides the answer. Allison, Director of Community Impact at Mary’s Place, explained that their team was able to accelerate its work by learning directly from Santa Clara’s experience, adopting validated tools like a refined vulnerability screening questionnaire and avoiding the need to “reinvent the wheel.” However, she stressed that “replication… is not just a direct copy and paste.” Mary’s Place adapted the model to its unique context, including its specific focus on families with children and different local funding structures. This process underscores a vital lesson: scaling success requires adapting proven principles to local needs and expertise.
2.5 Conclusion: A National Movement for Prevention
The overarching message of the webinar is clear: homelessness prevention is a proven, cost-effective, and deeply humane strategy. Building on this momentum, a new initiative is underway to expand this model in 10 diverse communities across the United States. This is a direct federal advocacy strategy born of necessity; as panelist Chad Bhoras noted, there is currently “very little to no dedicated targeted homelessness prevention funding at a federal level,” with the approach not even formally recognized by HUD as an intervention. This effort represents more than just scaling a program; it is the beginning of a national movement to build the evidence base needed to create systemic change and establish prevention as a core, funded strategy.

• Evidence Proves That Homelessness is Solvable. David Phillips contrasted rising overall homelessness with the 50% reduction in veteran homelessness over the past decade. This success is directly linked to scaling evidence-based programs like HUD-VASH, which were rigorously tested and proven effective.
• Effective Prevention is Built on a Coordinated System, Not a Single Program. The Santa Clara model is not one program but a coordinated network involving public, private, and nonprofit partners. Its success relies on a central “network coordinator” (Sacred Heart) that manages data, compliance, training, and partner support, providing the essential connective tissue for the system.
• Adaptation, Not Just Replication, is Key to Scaling Success. As Allison, Director of Community Impact at Mary’s Place, explained, replicating a model is not a “direct copy and paste.” While her team learned invaluable lessons from Santa Clara, they had to adapt the screening tool and program design to fit King County’s unique context and focus on families with children.
• Public-Private-Research Partnerships are Essential for Innovation and Sustainability. Santa Clara’s system began as a public-private pilot led by Destination Home, which allowed for the flexibility and innovation needed to prove the concept. This success, validated by research partners like LEO, created the evidence base for the county to formally adopt and sustain the system long-term.
• Data Paired with Human Stories Drives Systemic Change. Jessica Rosco of Santa Clara County emphasized that while performance metrics are critical for proving success, pairing that data with “actual human stories” is essential for building broad support and keeping the “why” of the work front and center for all stakeholders.