June 23, 2010

On June 22, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness to the President and Congress. USICH is currently chaired by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and consists of 18 other members, including the Secretaries of the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Labor, all of which spoke at the event held to unveil the Plan. USICH has been working on developing this Plan since the passing of the HEARTH Act, which mandated that it develop a national strategic plan to end homelessness.

Secretary Donovan noted that there have been some successes in fighting homelessness across the nation, including a decrease in chronic homelessness by one-third in the past five years. Donovan also stated that “homelessness is a preventable tragedy” and outlined the Plan’s four specific goals for ending homelessness nationwide:

  • End chronic homelessness in five years;
  • Prevent and end homelessness among veterans in five years;
  • Prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and children in ten years; and
  • Set a path to ending all types of homelessness.


The Plan calls for combining the efforts of federal, state, and local officials, community organizations, and business and philanthropic leaders to help implement the strategies outlined in the plan, including increasing access to affordable housing and economic stability, in order to succeed in meeting the Plan’s goals. Donovan referred to Opening Doors as, “the most far-reaching and ambitious plan to end homelessness in our history,” and stated that “this Plan will both strengthen existing programs and forge new partnerships.”

Administration officials will host a webinar on June 23 to explain Opening Doors in more detail.

Additional supporting materials are available on USICH’s website.