Housing First Approach

Title: Understanding the Housing First Approach to Combat Homelessness

Definition: The Housing First Approach is an evidence-based approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, without preconditions such as sobriety or employment, based on the belief that housing is a basic human right.

Description: The Housing First Approach is an innovative strategy designed to serve individuals and families who are chronically homeless by providing them with housing as quickly as possible. This approach emphasizes the importance of ensuring stable housing without precondition demands, thereby creating a platform for individuals to improve their lives. Believing that housing is a primary need and a basic human right, it offers immediate access to permanent housing without mandating readiness orprogram participation.

Objectives:
- Provide immediate access to permanent housing without preconditions
- Promote recovery, wellbeing, and community integration
- Decrease homelessness rate by addressing it at its root cause
- Reduce the use of emergency services

Mechanisms:
- Offering permanent housing solutions without prerequisites for sobriety or employment
- Integrating supportive services at the individual's discretion
- Utilizing a harm-reduction approach to address issues such as substance abuse
- Promoting client choice and self-determination in housing and supportive services

Benefits:
- Decreases rates of homelessness
- Improves housing stability
- Enhances physical and mental health outcomes
- Reduces use of crisis services like emergency departments, hospitals, and jails

Challenges:
- Securing adequate permanent housing where demand exceeds supply
- Delivering necessary supportive services over the long term
- Meeting the diverse needs of all individuals experiencing homelessness
- Sustaining the program amid varying public funding levels

Examples:
1. The Pathways to Housing program in New York City was the first to implement the Housing First Approach, achieving a 90% retention rate.
2. Finland used the Housing First Approach nationwide, leading to a significant decline in long-term homelessness.
3. Utah successfully implemented a state-wide Housing First program, reducing chronic homelessness by over 90%.

Further Reading:
1. Housing First Approach - National Alliance to End Homelessness: https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/
2. The Housing First Checklist: A Practical Tool for Assessing Housing First in Practice: https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/3892/housing-first-checklist-a-practical-tool-for-assessing-housing-first-in-practice/