Though government programs serve as a bedrock of safety nets, there are often large holes, which allow millions of vulnerable individuals and families to fall through the cracks into housing insecurity or homelessness. And all there charity has been a vital part of the post-war housing system — nimble, compassionate players who help fill in these pressing gaps. By providing interventions, including emergency rental assistance and transitional housing, they avoid crises and open up paths to longer-term stability and serve as a crucial middleman between government help and local needs.
Delivering Emergency Rental Assistance
The most direct and powerful thing nonprofits are doing to intervene is to deliver emergency rental assistance and eviction prevention. “I am trying to fill in the gap for people who are hit with that sudden, horrid change in fortune,” Ms. Oliver said of why she was more concerned about government not providing enough funds than it giving too much. Nonprofits, funded by a combination of private donations and community grants, can act with impressive swiftness. They provide one-time grants to pay back-rent or utilities, which actually keep families from getting pushed out. And finally, many of these groups bundle financial help with legal assistance, giving tenants fighting eviction something just as vital: free representation in housing court, a benefit that greatly improves their odds of staying put. This two-pronged strategy of financial relief and legal representation addresses both the immediate financial crisis as well as the power imbalance at heart in a landlord-tenant relationship.
Running Transitional Housing that Provides a Bridge from Homelessness to Permanent Homes
In addition to immediate crisis prevention, they’re good at running transitional housing that provides a bridge from homelessness to permanent homes. And while government shelters are necessary, they can be overcrowded and offer only temporary, congregate housing. Nonprofits step in to fill this void through provision of private or semi-private transitional housing, often for six months to two years. It’s more than a roof they’re providing, it’s an entire support system. Residents are provided with case management, mental health counseling, substance use treatment and employment training. The key to permanently ending homelessness is not just to provide temporary shelter but also to go directly at the sources of homelessness (by providing applicable skills and some stability) - helping people secure and keep housing over the long run.
Nimbleness, Ties to Communities and Capacity for Innovation
Nonprofits’ one-of-a-kind strength is their nimbleness, ties to our communities and capacity for innovation. Unlike huge, lumbering government bureaucracies, they can just as quickly scale the efforts back up or pivot them elsewhere when a particular area has been covered, whether that’s developing special support for veterans and survivors of domestic abuse or foster youth who are aging out of the system. And they always remedy the defects of the government.
Conclusion
Their close relationship with the community makes them trustworthy and effective in reaching people who may be distrustful of government. But their effectiveness is often curtailed by a lack of secure funding that arrives in spurts through grants and philanthropic donations. A broader coalition is needed to really deal with the housing crisis. There must be a shared focus on innovative financing structures that governments place in service of nonprofits — not seeing them as potential competitors but organizational life forms that if sized and scaled properly can leverage government more effectively to achieve their development objectives. In the end, nonprofits are that lightweight, human-centered force for making sure that the most vulnerable members of society do not get left behind.
