Getting to Zero

Our Goal

We can end homelessness in Canada. 

Our goal is to help a core group of leading communities end chronic and Veteran homelessness – an important step on the path to eliminating all homelessness in Canada.

We can do this with Canadian communities by focusing our combined efforts on those Canadians in the most urgent need across a broad range of populations including youth, women, Veterans, Indigenous Peoples and rough sleepers.

How do we end homelessness?

Our structured, supportive and data-driven approach focuses on creating a sense of urgency, optimizing local homeless systems, accelerating the adoption of proven practices and driving continuous improvement that reduces homelessness.

We are focused on:

  • Helping communities adopt proven practices, deploying existing resources more efficiently, and using real-time data, rapid-cycle testing and human-centred design to improve performance;
  • Engaging leadership from the government, private and philanthropic sectors in securing new resources for communities and removing policy roadblocks; and,
  • Connecting communities for innovation, knowledge capture and group problem-solving.

Using the urgency of a campaign-style movement with a collaborative peer-learning approach, we use a mix of in-person and virtual learning sessions with expert faculty and action cycles with in-person and virtual coaching to walk communities through a structured process to achieving and sustaining functional zero on chronic and veteran homelessness.

We set key community milestones beginning with achieving a quality By-Name List to ensure reliable, real-time and consistent data from which to measure progress.  Once communities have a quality By-Name List, they can use that data to improve performance and reduce homelessness toward functional zero chronic homelessness.

To learn more about our method, check out these helpful videos:

Who We Are

Built for Zero Canada (BFZ-C) is an ambitious national change effort helping a core group of leading communities across the country end chronic homelessness and veteran homelessness – an important step on the path to eliminating all homelessness in Canada.

Our Roots

Built for Zero Canada was launched in 2019 after 38 communities housed 21,254 of Canada’s most vulnerable homeless population as part of the 20,000 Homes Campaign. To learn more, check out our introductory video.

Our Partners

In Canada, a growing number of Canadian cities are showing that with a focused effort, homelessness can be reduced. Built for Zero Canada’s community partners are doing the hard work of ending homelessness.

View the map of all participating communities.

View the community milestone tracker in real-time.

The Movement

Is it really possible to end homelessness? It’s not only possible, it’s already happening! See the following Chronic and Veteran Functional Zero announcements in Canada:   

In the US, several communities working with Community Solution’s Built for Zero have measurably and sustainably ended chronic homelessness, and more are on the path to get there.  To learn more about the US Built for Zero and communities that have achieved functional zero on chronic homelessness visit the following link: https://community.solutions/built-for-zero.

 

Be a part of the solution. Help us end chronic homelessness. Donate