Strategic Initiative: Ending Chronic Homelessness

People who are chronically homeless have been on the streets or in shelter for at least 12 months and have a disability. The longer people are homeless, the more complex their needs become: they develop chronic medical conditions that don’t get treated, their mental health deteriorates and substance use increases, and they often experience severe trauma because they don’t have a safe place to live. Additionally, their public costs are high because they use emergency medical services and are frequently incarcerated, often for misdemeanors related to living outside.

Housing First

We proudly use the best practice Housing First model to end homelessness. Housing First means that everyone has a human right to live inside. It means we move people out of homelessness and into homes as quickly as possible. Then we wrap around the services they need to stay there. We house everyone, regardless of illness, disability, addictions, behaviors, gender, religion, or any other characteristic.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness explains that Housing First is a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing people experiencing homelessness with permanent housing as quickly as possible – and then providing voluntary supportive services as needed. This approach prioritizes client choice in both housing selection and in service participation.

Housing First programs share critical elements:

• A focus on helping individuals and families access and sustain permanent rental housing as quickly as possible
• A variety of services delivered to promote housing stability and individual well-being on an as-needed and entirely voluntary basis
• A standard lease agreement to housing – as opposed to mandated therapy or services compliance.

While all Housing First programs share these elements, program models vary significantly depending upon the population served. For people who have experienced chronic homelessness, long-term services and support may be needed.

For most people experiencing homelessness, however, such long-term services are not necessary. The vast majority of homeless individuals and families fall into homelessness after a housing or personal crisis. For these households, the Housing First approach provides them with short-term assistance to find permanent housing quickly and without conditions. In turn, such households often require only brief, if any, support or assistance to achieve housing stability and individual well-being.