Housing is the Key

Promote housing-based solutions with access to appropriate services that are integrated into our communities, as the primary investment for ending homelessness.

THE EVIDENCE

Numerous studies exist that clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of supportive housing. Supportive housing results in both cost savings and reduced re-occurrence of homelessness.

Below are examples of three of the most widely cited of these studies. A full list of research on cost savings and effectiveness of housing first is available here.

Journal of the American Medical Association study of 1811 Eastlake (2009)

Downtown Emergency Service Center’s 1811 Eastlake project in Seattle, Washington provides permanent supportive housing for chronic single inebriates. Indicators of success include:

• At the end of its first year of operation, costs per individual declined from $86,062 to $13,440 (comparing year prior to entry and year in program).
• Cost savings were realized both within health and social services.
• A substantial decrease in participant's drinking
• An average cost savings of 53% per month per person in health and social services compared to the control group (Larimer, et al., 2009)

Home and Healthy for Good (June 2009 Progress Report)

In Boston, Massachusetts a 2009 evaluation of a housing first pilot project commissioned by the state legislature showed substantial cost savings to the taxpayer and improved outcomes for the program participants. Results included:

• Medicaid costs decreased from $26,124 annually to $8,499 per person.
• 84% of the 388 participants remained in permanent housing at the time of the evaluation (an average of 1.9 years housed). (Home & Healthy for Good, 2009)

The New York/New York Agreement Cost Study: The Impact of Supportive Housing on Services Use for Homeless Mentally Ill Individuals (2001)

In 2001, three researchers from the University of Pennsylvania conducted the seminal study on housing first’s impact on cost and homelessness reduction among mentally ill homeless individuals in New York City. The study found that:

• On average the chronically homeless were using $40,449 of publicly funded services over the course of a year.
• Placement in housing reduced the use of publicly funded services by an average of $12,145 per year.
• The reduction in service use paid for 95% of the costs of building, operating and providing services in supportive housing, and 90% of the costs of all types of service-enriched housing in New York City. (Culhane, et al., 2001)

For additional examples of housing programs that are providing a solution for chronic and family homelessness, please see the list of 2007 Maxwell Awards of Excellence winners and honorable mentions.