Key Questions in Homelessness Prevention: Insights from a Research Convening

What pressing questions should researchers address to advance homelessness prevention scholarship and practice?

This publication summarizes promising research questions for advancing the homelessness prevention field identified during the GPL’s  Homelessness Prevention Research Convening. The event was held at the Harvard Kennedy School on May 12–13, 2026, and gathered 39 participants, mostly professors and researchers based at academic institutions.

Participants saw the greatest need for additional research in five interconnected areas:

• Improving targeting in homelessness prevention programs
• Deepening understanding of pathways into homelessness
• Clarifying the relationship between eviction and homelessness
• Identifying approaches to support households living in doubled-up situations
• Assessing the impacts of different types of interventions

The publication aims to help researchers identify high-priority questions and guide funders toward research investments that are likely to improve prevention efforts. This publication is not intended as a comprehensive research agenda, but we hope the conversations held at the convening will help move the field forward.

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