At the Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance (MHSA), we believe that ending homelessness requires transforming the way Massachusetts addresses it. Homelessness is a public health crisis, as well as an economic one, and it is the result of system failures, as people struggling with housing affordability, medical and behavioral health conditions and other challenges fall through the cracks in the systems that are meant to serve them. Too often, these individuals are forced to rely on expensive emergency room and hospital visits, the corrections system, emergency shelters and the streets to provide them with a place to stay.