Our Ninth Annual National Housing Symposium successfully brought together a rich panorama of perspectives across the affordable housing industry. Laura Green Zeilinger, the Executive Director for the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), gave a keynote presentation that affirmed and galvanized the dialogue occurring among our panelists and attendees: the successes of affordable housing depend on collaboration.

Ms. Zeilinger emphasized interdependency – how chronic homelessness, Veterans Affairs, the Affordable Care Act, and federal funding initiatives are as much interrelated societal issues as they are affordable housing issues. From her own experiences with USICH, she described how the complex problem of homelessness (like the need for affordable housing) is fruitfully addressed when various key actors and sectors recognize and work towards a common goal. Ms. Zeilinger offered many valuable insights throughout her presentation:

• HUD and Veterans Affairs establishing interagency missions to successfully decrease homelessness among Veterans
• The priority to create targeted affordable housing opportunities for those experiencing chronic homelessness
• How the costs of healthcare individually and nationally decrease with the availability of housing options and the life-stability they offer
• Affordable housing initiatives are economically sound endeavors on community and federal levels

We truly appreciate Ms. Zeilinger’s perspectives as we look towards the horizon of affordable housing and beyond. Her whole speech is available.