Case Study: US Department of Veterans Affairs achieves secure cross-team collaboration to help end veterans’ homelessness with Slack

The VA collaborates with Built for Zero to end veterans’ homelessness

The US Department of Veterans Affairs partnered with Built for Zero to help end veterans’ homelessness, a challenge affecting tens of thousands of people nationwide. As in-person collaboration became difficult during the pandemic, the VA needed a secure way to work with external community partners while still meeting strict security requirements. Slack helped connect the VA with Built for Zero and local organizations in a shared, channel-based workspace.

Using Slack Connect, the teams created the Learning Network to share updates, resources, and best practices across seven major cities. Slack made cross-team communication faster and more organized, replacing siloed email chains with threads and channels that supported ongoing problem-solving. As a result, the partnership has helped 12 communities reach functional zero for veteran homelessness, with Slack enabling secure collaboration that supports measurable progress toward ending homelessness.

US Department of Veterans Affairs

Reagan Harvey

Project Manager