The Next Step, Not One Size Fits All: How Rapid Resolutions Creates Faster Paths to Stability
When someone experiences homelessness, the right solution is not always a long-term housing program. Sometimes a person needs help replacing an ID, reconnecting with family, finding an affordable shared home or overcoming another immediate barrier.
That idea guided CFTH Presents: Building Better Pathways — Creating Faster Routes to Stability. The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (CFTH) hosted the discussion with leaders who oversee and carry out Rapid Resolutions across The Way Home, the Houston region’s homeless response system.
Click here to watch the full recording.
What Rapid Resolutions Means
Rapid Resolutions helps people move from homelessness toward stable housing as quickly as possible. The approach starts with a simple question: What would help this person move forward today?
The answer will be different for each person. Staff take time to understand someone’s strengths, relationships, choices and immediate barriers. They then work with the person to identify a realistic next step.
“People are not defined by the crisis they are experiencing. They have strengths, relationships, choices and ideas about what might work for them,” said James Gonzalez, vice president of systems integration at CFTH.
This approach differs from traditional permanent housing programs. Many of those programs have strict rules about who qualifies and how providers make referrals. They remain essential, especially for people who need long-term rental assistance and support.
But not every person needs the same level of help. Rapid Resolutions gives providers another way to respond.
Starting With What Someone Needs Today
A path toward stability can begin by removing one immediate barrier.
During the discussion, panelists described helping people get identification, receive mail, enter recovery services, reconnect with family or cover transportation and moving costs.
“It’s not about what we want for them. It’s about what they want,” said Heather Clark, manager of diversion programs at The Beacon.
This person-centered approach gives people a voice in deciding what comes next. It also asks staff to look beyond a list of programs and understand what is keeping someone from resolving a housing crisis right now.
Different People Need Different Paths
The panel shared examples that showed how much those paths can vary.
One young adult came to Houston for a job that did not work out. Staff learned that his strongest support system was back home. They helped him reconnect with his family and provided a bus ticket so he could return safely.
In another case, a mother with three children lost her job and experienced homelessness for the first time. She kept looking for work while staying in a shelter. With help from Rapid Resolutions, she found housing that she could afford. She later connected with continued case management and completed a professional certification.
The two situations required different responses. In both cases, staff listened, identified available resources and built a plan around the person’s needs.
Looking Beyond Traditional Housing Options
Shared housing has also become an important part of this work.
For some people, sharing a home offers an affordable and supportive next step while they save money or increase their income. Other people may benefit from a home that provides meals, transportation or medication reminders.
Kenneth Eakins, director of housing and navigation services at The Salvation Army, explained that shared housing may not be someone’s final destination. It can still provide the stability needed to keep moving forward.
“This is a journey. Shared housing creates an opportunity for the next step,” Eakins said.
Shared housing will not work for everyone. The goal is not to promote one option for every person. The goal is to expand the available choices and connect each person with the support that best fits their needs.
Why Flexibility and Partnership Matter
Local private funding supports Rapid Resolutions. That funding gives providers more freedom to address barriers that many traditional funding sources will not cover.
For example, providers may use flexible funds to purchase a bus ticket, replace a document, pay a moving expense or provide a safe place to stay while staff work through a more complex problem.
Funding alone cannot make the approach work. Rapid Resolutions depends on strong relationships among shelters, outreach teams, health care providers, recovery services, landlords, law enforcement and other community partners.
Melissa McAlister of Houston Recovery Center described how staff work with health care and recovery partners to remove barriers to treatment. Clark explained how staff contact community organizations to find employment, financial education and other resources that people may need after they move into housing.
“Rapid Resolution is nothing without collaboration and partnership,” Eakins said.
Early Reach and Responsible Growth
During the discussion, McAlister reported that Houston Recovery Center had served 937 people through the program during the previous year. The number offers an early look at the pilot’s reach. The examples shared by the panel also show the wide range of barriers that staff help people overcome.
CFTH and its partners are taking a careful approach to growth. Rapid Resolutions still has limited capacity and specific referral paths. People cannot yet enter the program by calling a public phone number.
Current access points include participating shelters, outreach teams, law enforcement and other parts of the coordinated homeless response system.
As the pilot continues, CFTH and its partners are learning where the approach works, which partnerships it needs and how it could reach more people. This measured process helps protect limited resources while building evidence to guide future investment.
A Mindset Shift Across the System
The evening’s larger lesson went beyond one funding source, program or housing option. Rapid Resolutions asks providers to think differently about what happens when someone seeks help.
Instead of assuming that everyone must wait for an opening in a traditional housing program, staff explore what they can resolve now. Instead of deciding what success should look like, they ask what the person wants to accomplish. Instead of expecting one organization to meet every need, partners connect people with those best prepared to help.
The approach may also help preserve limited long-term housing resources for people who need them most.
For Houston residents, Rapid Resolutions offers a clearer view of how the local homeless response system works. For service providers, funders and public leaders, the pilot provides early evidence of what local expertise, flexible funding and individual choice can accomplish together.
“There is a pathway for all,” Eakins said.
Watch the Full Conversation
Watch CFTH Presents: Building Better Pathways — Creating Faster Routes to Stability to hear the full discussion about Rapid Resolutions, shared housing, collaboration and the work still ahead.
Watch the CFTH Presents recording on YouTube.
About the Discussion
This article draws on an August 2026 CFTH Presents discussion with leaders who oversee, coordinate and carry out Rapid Resolutions and related services across Houston’s homeless response system.
James Gonzalez is vice president of systems integration at CFTH. He leads programs and partnerships that connect the homeless response system with other community systems. Gonzalez introduced Rapid Resolutions and moderated the discussion.
Quana Smith is director of adjacent systems at CFTH. She leads work that connects The Way Home with other systems serving many of the same people. Those connections help create more paths out of homelessness.
Melissa McAlister is the Sobering Center HROT HI services manager at Houston Recovery Center. She brings more than 20 years of experience in health care and community services. Her work connects outreach, health care and recovery partners.
Kenneth Eakins is director of housing and navigation services at The Salvation Army. He has spent more than a decade working in Houston’s homeless response system, including street outreach, navigation and program operations.
Heather Clark is manager of diversion programs at The Beacon. She oversees services and partnerships that help people explore housing options, address immediate barriers and move toward long-term stability.
