United Way and Community Partners Are Ending Family Homelessness
December 12, 2025
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County set a goal: end family homelessness in our region by the end of 2025. On December 11, 2025, we announced that we have achieved this goal.
When families experience homelessness, it can take different forms. It can look like a whole family sleeping in a car in a Park & Ride. It can be a family navigating life in emergency shelters doing their best to stay together. It can be a cousin opening up their living room or garage providing shelter. Or it can be a courageous mom and her kids fleeing an abusive partner, seeking safety and stability.
What does it mean to end family homelessness?
It’s a big question, but it has a simple answer.
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness or USICH states that a community has ended family homelessness when you can show you are preventing homelessness whenever possible, and when it isn’t possible, you are ensuring that it is rare, that it’s brief, and that it’s a one-time experience.
To measure if a community has changed their system to end family homelessness, USICH measures this large goal into 58 criteria centered around identification, prevention, coordination, speed, and sustainability.
Since funding began for Safe & Stable Homes in 2020, United Way has supported nearly 32,000 families.
In 2023, they announced that Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties successfully met all 58 of the federal criteria to effectively end family homelessness.
This was the first time this happened in the US.
Change is possible.
The strength of United Way is its ability to bring the right people together to explore options for issues that many people think are impossible to solve. It addresses big problems with big solutions.
United Way’s Safe & Stable Homes is guided by strategies that coordinate resources, prevent eviction, and provide wraparound support for parents and children.
Over the past years, hundreds of people have been connected to this important initiative. People who donated, who volunteered, who wrote letters to their elected officials. People who offered their insights and advice, who led discussions on our board and Community Impact Committee. People who simply offered a fresh perspective or new idea.
On December 11, at the close of the United Way 2025 Annual Campaign, we announced that we have met the goal of our first Key Initiative, Safe & Stable Homes, and have met the 58 criteria for ending family homeless in all four of our counties.
“There are so many people who came together in all of our counties who have made this happen, said Amy Lindner, president & CEO of United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. “We thank the public officials, executive directors, case managers, counselors, boards of directors, and our advisory board.”
Lindner continues: “But most importantly, thanks to the families themselves. They have shown us that when they lead with courage and strength, change is possible.”
United Way began this journey by receiving best practices from cities throughout the nation. Today, other cities are reaching out to us.
“We know that families are still struggling,” said Lindner. “And they will continue to struggle. But we now have the strategies in place to support them.”
In fact, a few short weeks ago United Way announced a grant from the Day 1 Families Fund for $5 million over the next five years to help us sustain our work in ending family homelessness.
“We will continue to work to make sure that the progress that we have already achieved is sustainable and long-term,” said Lindner.
“Families everywhere deserve this.”
You can help our community succeed.