Public servants responsible for housing the homeless should consider the bigger picture. This means looking at a range of physical, psychological and relational needs, but it also means protecting and nurturing protective factors where they already exist. Being housed shouldn’t come at the expense of all the other good things in a person’s life that breed resilience and positive long-term outcomes. We want to see those who are vulnerable placed in supportive neighbourhoods, not isolated houses that merely tick the box. The government needs to rehumanise housing.