Housing First Programs Improve Individual And Community Health

What You Need To Know

• Housing is one of the social determinants of health.

• Research has shown that supportive housing with wrap around services greatly improves the chances of someone staying stably housed, reduces the likelihood of incarceration or stays in homeless shelters and psychiatric hospitals, reduces the likelihood of going to the emergency room or needing to stay in the hospital, improves people’s health, and improves the chances of recovering from a substance use disorder.*

• The Housing First model prioritizes providing permanent housing for people who are experiencing homelessness without any additional requirements on the part of the resident. Wrap-around services are available to residents that include services such as case management, behavioral health services, and other health and social services. None of these services are mandatory to receive housing.   

• Homeless people are forced to use their drugs in public, and smoking crack in public – in contrast to privately at home – is linked to an increased risk of overdose or transmission of HIV, HCV and other infectious diseases (Voon et al. 2016).

• The opioid crisis in urban environments cannot be solved without addressing the housing crisis and transportation deficiencies faced by the poor, the underprivileged or those living at the fringes of society. *

Programs To Know

• Pathways to Housing PA

• National Alliance to End Homelessness

• National Low Income Housing Coalition

• National AIDS Housing Coalition

• SAMHSA’s Housing and Homeless Resource Center

• Milwaukee's Housing First Program Stands Out, But Much More Is Needed

Where to Go for More Information

• Issue Brief: The Role of Housing in Ending the HIV Epidemic

• HUD Reiterates Role of Housing as a Social Determinant of Health and Critical to Advance Health Equity

• Overdose and Homelessness—Why We Need to Talk About Housing

• Social Determinants of Health | Public Health Gateway | CDC

• Housing First Fact Sheet - National Alliance to End Homelessness

• The Truth About Housing First - National Alliance to End Homelessness

• What America Believes About Homelessness - Invisible People

• Housing People Who Use Drugs (PWUDs) Webinar Series | NASTAD

• From Homelessness to Housing: Challenges and Opportunities of Housing Transitions

• Housing First Programs Lead to Net Economic Benefits | The Community Guide

• Unlocking the Full Potential of the Housing First Approach

• Supportive Housing Helps Vulnerable People Live and Thrive in the Community

• Social Housing For All: A Vision For Thriving Communities, Renter Power, and Racial Justice

• VA’s Implementation of Housing First Over the Years - VA Homeless Programs

  
  

Research

• A 2011 study showed that housing first clients were significantly less likely to drop out of services, in comparison to treatment first clients. They were also far less likely to (problematically) use substances, even though in housing first they were not required to stop using drugs as they were in the treatment first approach (Padgett et al. 2011).

• Having stable housing has also been found to help reduce drug consumption in Canada. A study found that 74% of the participants of housing first programmes said their use had decreased since they moved into housing; 33% had quit using drugs completely, and 41% had decreased their use (Toronto Shelter 2007)

• Finally, studies have shown that having a stable house can encourage people to choose less harmful routes of drug administration. In a study among young methamphetamine injectors in Canada, housing was found to be an important factor in facilitating cessation of injection (Boyd et al. 2017). 

• Similarly, studies in the US and India found a stable housing situation to be associated with decreased drug injection (Steensma et al. 2005; Shah et al. 2006; Mehta et al. 2011).

• The Opioid Epidemic: a Crisis Disproportionately Impacting Black Americans and Urban Communities

• Drug use, homelessness and health: responding to the opioid overdose crisis with housing and harm reduction services

• The Evidence Behind Approaches that Drive an End to Homelessness - United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

• Housing First: A Review of the Evidence | HUD USER

• Choice Matters: Housing Models that May Promote Recovery for Individuals and Families Facing Opioid Use Disorder

• Blacks And Hispanics Are Less Likely Than Whites To Complete Addiction Treatment, Largely Due To Socioeconomic Factors

• California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (ucsf.edu)

• Permanent Supportive Housing With Housing First: Findings From a Community Guide Systematic Economic Review