October 29, 2026
How we helped 46,000 people move out of homelessness
Our multiyear investment in Community Solutions' Built for Zero initiative gave cities and counties new tools to address housing needs.
Why would a health care organization invest in helping people find stable housing?
We're not a shelter. We're not a housing authority.
But our commitment to improving health goes beyond the care we provide in medical offices and hospitals.
It extends into our communities and to our members and neighbors struggling to find a safe place to sleep at night.
There's also a simpler, harder truth: People without stable housing often face worse health, and too often, the emergency room is their only option for care.
That's hard for them, and it's some of the most difficult, most expensive care to deliver.
That’s why, in 2019, we provided the nonprofit Community Solutions with a multiyear, multimillion-dollar grant to support its Built for Zero initiative.
The program helps cities and counties track, in real time, who is experiencing homelessness, so they can coordinate the right help, faster.
Measuring progress 7 years later
Since 2019, in areas where Kaiser Permanente serves members and communities:
- More than 46,000 people have moved out of homelessness
- 37 communities have used Built for Zero to track homelessness and connect people to housing
- 5 communities have reached “functional zero,” meaning homelessness is rare and brief
How Built for Zero works
Built for Zero challenges communities to work faster and smarter for people without housing.
Many cities measure homelessness once a year. Volunteers go out on a single night and count as many people as they can find. That's useful for a big-picture view, but it doesn't show who needs help this week.
Built for Zero changes that. It helps communities:
- Keep a real-time list of people by name who are experiencing homelessness and what support they need
- Bring the right people around a shared goal
- Share information across agencies and coordinate services
- Track progress and respond quickly when someone’s situation changes
The result: People get support based on what's happening in their life right now, and cities get a clear, real-time picture of who needs help and how to reach them.
On Oahu, Hawaii, that shift helped the island significantly decrease homelessness for veterans and expand the focus to other vulnerable populations.
Building lasting change
By helping communities build better coordination and real-time data, our funding sparked changes that continue today.
It jump-started Built for Zero programs in places like San Diego, Denver, Sacramento, and Oahu.
Colorado and Maryland are expanding the approach statewide, and communities beyond Kaiser Permanente's service areas now use it, too — 170 communities are now using the Built for Zero framework.
More ways we support housing
Our investment in Built for Zero is just one example of our work to help people find and keep safe, stable housing. We also invest in:
- The Thriving Communities Fund, our investment fund for affordable housing across the country
- Medical respite programs, which give people a safe place to recover after they leave the hospital
- Medical-legal partnerships, which help people avoid evictions
Learn more about how our housing for health work supports our members and communities.
