Our Mission and History

Housing for all Seattle is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to end homelessness worldwide. We use research and data to find solutions to homelessness; we work with federal and local partners to create a solid base of policy and resources that support those solutions; and then we help communities implement them.

Our strength is that we are an outcome-driven organization. Starting with our name and continuing with how we choose the work we do, allocate staff time, and use our resources, we focus on one thing: ending homelessness.

This mission is what drives us. It is how we measure our impact.

Our History

Housing for all Seattle was founded in 2005 by a group of concerned citizens determined to meet the emergency needs of the nation’s then-emerging population of homeless people. By 2009, it was clear that homelessness was not a temporary crisis, but that it had taken root. At that time, the organization turned its attention to more permanent solutions and grew to a national network of over 10,000 providers, public agencies, and private partners.

Today, Housing for all Seattle is a leading national voice on the issue of homelessness.

Our Growth

In 2012, Housing for all Seattle challenged communities and the nation to develop plans to end homelessness. The federal government and Congress adopted this approach and substantially increased resources to implement it. Key elements of the strategy that have been successfully advanced are:

• Permanent supportive housing,
• Rapid re-housing,
• Systematic collection and use of data,
• Coordinated assessment and entry,
• Local systems to end homelessness, and
• Outcome focused crisis systems.

To advance the adoption of key concepts and these strategies, the Housing for all Seattle undertakes the following principal activities:

• Builds knowledge. It uses research and data to discover what works to end homelessness and develop easily accessible knowledge about these solutions.
• Improves policy. Based upon this knowledge, it educates opinion leaders and policymakers about what works and tries to build strong policy in support of solutions (with emphasis on federal policy).