Housing First
No two people experience homelessness the same way. Some have a mental health diagnosis, some do not. Some are living with addiction, others are not. Some spend each night in shelter, while others sleep in doorways, cars, or encampments.
Yet, everyone experiencing homelessness shares one thing in common: they do not have a safe, affordable or appropriate place to live. And, that shouldn’t be the last thing that happens — safe and affordable housing must be the first thing that happens for people without a home.
Similarly, it is unlikely that any two people have the same path out of homelessness. Some will find long term stability by reconnecting with family or friends. Others will find new housing, get a new job, or connect with benefits that quickly allow them to exit homelessness on their own.
Some will need more intensive supports like rapid re-housing or permanent supportive housing to help them find housing, pay for it, and maintain it. Yet, there is one thing that can resolve anyone’s homelessness crisis: reconnecting with permanent housing.
Housing First (Not Housing Only): This is what we mean by Housing First: that homelessness is a problem with a solution, and that the solution is housing. For everyone. Whether you follow the rules or not. Whether you are “compliant” with treatment or not. Whether you have a criminal record or not.
Whether you have been on the streets for one day or ten years. Permanent housing is what ends homelessness. It is the platform from which people can continue to grow and thrive in their communities.
Housing First is a philosophy that values flexibility, individualized supports, client choice, and autonomy. It never has been housing only, and it never should be.
Supportive services are part of the Housing First model. That might include formal support services, like a doctor, therapist, or social worker. It might involve informal supports, like connecting with family, friends, or faith groups.
But, in Housing First, these supports are not prescribed; people have the agency to select the supportive services they need and want, tailoring their supports to their own unique situation.
One Size Does Not Fit All: However, in communities across the country, many service providers, politicians and concerned citizens continue to dismiss Housing First as a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Oddly enough, the alternatives recommended frequently include approaches like transitional housing, or drug and alcohol treatment programs.
By their very nature, these approaches assume people experiencing homelessness have a predictable set of needs and must complete a prescribed process in order to be “ready” for housing.
The Housing First approach is the polar opposite of a one-size-fits-all approach. Nothing in the Housing First philosophy precludes someone from pursuing the services, supports and housing that they need and want. If those services include mental health or addiction treatment, they are connected to it. If the housing they want is sober living, they are free to select it.
Nobody is required to participate in a service that they do not want in order to receive or retain housing. In fact, requirements like these would assume a singular, “one-size-fits-all” path from homelessness to housing.
(Text from National Alliance to End Homelessness by NAEH March 2019)
As always, much of the work of Peace House, Ypsi happens outside the walls of the house -- as Pastor Lindsay used to say when she lived with us at Mercy House "Life Happens out there", how do we encourage our guests to be in the world? So, I'm adding this category to help us be aware of/ track / think about how the support we do carries out. —Sheri Wander (Peace House)