Select resources from the field that highlight research, statistics, and best practices for addressing homelessness and providing housing and supports to vulnerable people with disabilities.

Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR). The Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) is a report to the U.S. Congress on the extent and nature of homelessness in America. The report is prepared by HUD and provides nationwide estimates of homelessness, including information about the demographic characteristics of homeless persons, service use patterns, and the capacity to house homeless persons. The report is based primarily on Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) data about persons who experience homelessness during a 12-month period.

Blueprint for Change: Ending Chronic Homelessness for Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses and/or Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders This report offers practical advice for planning, organizing, and sustaining comprehensive services designed to end homelessness among people with mental illnesses and/or co-occurring substance use disorders. It is divided into four sections which reflect the actions steps states and communities can take to prevent or end homelessness and includes specific strategies for creating integrated systems of care, financing housing and services, using evidence-based and promising practices, and measuring outcomes. (2003)

Denver Housing First Collaborative: Cost-Benefit Analysis and Program Outcomes Report The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless created the Denver Housing First Collaborative (DHFC) to provide comprehensive housing and supportive services to chronically homeless individuals with disabilities. The program uses a "Housing First' strategy combined with Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) services, providing integrated health, mental health, substance treatment and support services. The goals of the DHFC are to increase the residential stability and overall health status of chronically homeless individuals while reducing the utilization and costs of emergency services being provided to chronically homeless persons. Evaluation findings from the DHFC show an overall reduction in emergency services costs for a sample group served, as well as overall improvement in the health status and housing stability of program participants. (2006)

 

Developing the "Support" in Supportive Housing This guide offers practical information for the design and delivery of supportive services to people who have been homeless and/or have special needs or disabilities in permanent housing. It addresses core housing tenancy and service delivery issues with an emphasis on maintaining housing stability, quality of life, choice, and independence. Special topics addressed include employment, mental health, HIV/AIDS and substance use issues, as well as community building and handling crisis and conflict. (2003)

 

Homelessness Counts: Changes in Homelessness from 2005 to 2007 This report, published by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, analyzes changes in homelessness between 2005 and 2007. Features of this report include: maps and tables of changes in homelessness among specific subpopulations (e.g., chronic, family, unsheltered) at the national, state and local level; identification of states and communities with the highest and lowest levels of homelessness and the largest changes; an interactive map with state profiles of homelessness characteristics, changes from 2005 to 2007, and economic indicators associated with homelessness; and info on methodologies, data limitations, and other relevant topics. (2009)

 

Homelessness Resource Exchange (HRE). HUD’s one-stop shop for information and resources for providers who are assisting persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Housing Vouchers Are Critical for Ending Family Homelessness This paper summarizes the research findings on the causes of homelessness and the effectiveness of programs addressing family homelessness. The role that housing vouchers have in preventing families from becoming homeless and in helping families exit homelessness is examined, as are the implications of these findings for policymakers at all levels of government. (2008)

 

Impact of Supportive Housing on Surrounding Neighborhoods: Evidence from New York City This report released by NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Studies provides useful evidence to counter NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) opposition to supportive housing development by highlighting the positive impact supportive housing can have on neighboring property values over time. (2008)

 

Out of Reach 2011 Published annually by the National low Income Housing Coalition, this report provides data for every state, metropolitan area and county in the country on how much a household must earn to afford a modest market-rate rental home. For each jurisdiction, the report calculates the amount of money a household must earn in order to afford a rental unit of a range of sizes (0, 1, 2, 3, & 4 bedrooms) at the area's Fair Market Rent (FMR), based on the generally accepted affordability standard of paying no more than 30% of income for housing costs. The report also provides local wage and income data for comparison purposes. (2011)

 

Permanent Supportive Housing Evidence-Based Practices. One of a series of Evidence-Based Practices Toolkits developed by SAMHSA to focused on helping mental health authorities, agency administrators, and Permanent Supportive Housing program leaders think through and develop the structure of Permanent Supportive Housing programs. (2010)

Public Service Reductions Associated with Placement of Homeless Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Supportive Housing This article assesses the impact of public investment in supportive housing for homeless persons with severe mental disabilities. The study examined service use before and after entry into New York/New York (NY/NY) Housing, a large program in New York City that created thousands of units of supportive housing. Results found reductions in shelter use, hospitalizations, length of hospital stay, and time incarcerated after program entry. Placement in supportive housing was associated with reductions in service use of $16,282 per housing unit per year. (See www.csh.org/html/NYNYSummary.pdf for a further summary of this study) (2002)

 

Strategies for Preventing Homelessness This HUD-funded study identified and documented effective community-wide homelessness prevention strategies in six communities. The study identified a number of elements that could contribute to homelessness prevention, as well as promising prevention activities that can be used alone or in combination as part of a comprehensive community-wide strategy. Promising prevention activities include permanent supportive housing, especially when combined with effective discharge from institutions, mediation in Housing Courts, cash assistance for rent or mortgage arrears, and rapid exit from shelter. (2005)

 

Strategies for Reducing Chronic Street Homelessness This HUD-funded report examines seven communities (Birmingham, AL; Boston; Columbus, OH; Los Angeles; Philadelphia; San Diego; and Seattle) that made progress in reducing their chronic street homeless population. While only three of the seven sites developed a true community-wide paradigm, each had noteworthy strategies to reduce chronic street homelessness and shared common elements that impacted progress. This report describes these communities and their common elements of success, and offers practical suggestions for other communities. (2004)

 

The 2007 Disability Status Report: United States The Annual Disability Status Reports provide policy makers, disability advocates, reporters, and the public with a summary of the most recent demographic and economic statistics on the non-institutionalized U.S. population with disabilities. They contain information on the population size and disability prevalence for various demographic subpopulations, as well as statistics related to employment, earnings, and household income. Comparisons are made to people without disabilities and across disability types. Disability Status Reports and other statistics are available for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico at www.disabilitystatistics.org. (2007)

 

The Applicability of Housing First Models to Homeless Persons with Serious Mental Illness This report presents findings from a HUD-funded exploratory study of the Housing First approach to providing permanent supportive housing to homeless adults with mental illnesses and/or co-occurring substance use disorders. Three Housing First programs - Downtown Emergency Services Center in Seattle, WA; Pathways to Housing in New York City; and Reaching Out and Engaging to Achieve Consumer Health in San Diego, CA - were examined. The report acknowledges that HUD's priority of addressing chronic homelessness and providing permanent housing are furthered by Housing First programs. Participants in the Housing First programs studied experienced substantial housing stability. (2007)

 

The Shifting Gears Initiative 2004-2007: Summary of Evaluation Results & Three Case Studies Shifting Gears was a multi-year initiative that supported Bay Area homeless family providers in shifting away from "managing" homelessness toward programs and strategies aimed at ending homelessness. The housing-based strategies employed include: rapidly placing families in permanent housing; providing financial assistance for move-in costs and/or rent until families can become more self-sufficient; providing home-based case management to families and connecting them to other needed services; preventing at-risk families from becoming homeless; and increasing the supply of supportive and affordable housing through advocacy and/or housing development.

 

Toward Understanding Homelessness: The 2007 National Symposium on Homelessness Research This report includes 12 papers from invited authors on the latest findings from homeless research and the implications for policy and practice. Topics include consumer integration and self-determination, housing models, homeless families and children, chronic homelessness, homeless youth, incarceration and homelessness, employment and income supports, and accountability and cost-effectiveness. The papers were presented and discussed at a symposium of researchers, policy experts, practitioners, and consumers held in March 2007. The papers reflect a review of the 10 years of research since HUD and HHS jointly published Practical Lessons: The 1998 National Symposium on Homelessness Research which reviewed what was learned in the first decade since passage of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act provided the first targeted federal funds to address homelessness. (2007)