Model and Strategy
Housing is the key to ending homelessness. Yet San Francisco – like most communities – lacks standardized strategies and resources to secure private-market housing for people experiencing homelessness and other vulnerable, extremely low-income households. In partnership with the City of San Francisco and others, Brilliant Corners will launch a Housing Platform to end homelessness for at least 200 households per year – regardless of which program funds their supportive services.
A few simple innovations make this work. We dedicate skilled personnel to landlord engagement and customer service, expanding the pool of available housing resources while freeing nonprofit partners to focus on supportive services. We secure and hold a range of housing options in advance of program participant referrals, so housing options are available on demand. And we provide ongoing rent administration and tenancy supports, coordinating between tenant, landlord, and case manager to ensure housing stability. At scale, our approach opens up closed housing markets, shortens move-in timelines, and positions multiple government and nonprofit partners to overcome their biggest challenge: housing.
Impact
To state our impact most simply, we are going to house a lot of people and we’re going to do it fast. We aim to house 200 people per year with the Housing Platform, and the resulting impact extends beyond those often life-saving individual outcomes. Our case management partners often spend inordinate time and emotional energy trying to help clients secure housing. We mutually agree that that is not the best use of their time. Our unique focus on securing housing empowers case managers to focus on – you guessed it – case management, such as connecting individuals to healthcare and other essential services. This separation of roles minimizes inefficient duplication of services and competition for housing units across the homelessness response system, and allows case managers to focus on client wellness, which results in better outcomes.
Our strategy of cultivating a network of landlord partners and securing units on an ongoing basis reduces wait times from intake to occupancy, which can make all the difference for individuals or families experiencing homelessness. Moreover, at scale, this pooled Housing Platform will create a more consistent approach to matching vulnerable individuals with housing across various government departments and programs – in effect, realizing the potential of San Francisco’s homeless response system with housing options available in real time to meet what we recognize as a public health emergency. Finally, our Housing Platform promotes long-term housing stability, as households receive ongoing housing retention and case management supports where needed, and can relocate within our portfolio to avoid eviction or return to homelessness.
Leadership
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Bill Pickel
Executive Director
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Stephany Ashley
Northern CA Housing Services Director
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Danielle Wildkress
Chief Program Officer