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Housing First is regarded as one of the most important innovations in homelessness service design to date.
Housing First is regarded as one of the most important innovations in homelessness service design to date. There is now an overwhelming international evidence base showing that, with close fidelity to the Housing First principles, rapid re-housing with ongoing wrap-around support can effectively reduce homelessness while improving health, psychosocial and wellbeing outcomes.
Housing First services have proven effective with people experiencing long-term or repeated homelessness who may have experienced severe and multiple disadvantage.
Since the initial launch of the Pathways Housing First program in 1992, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), among other intergovernmental agencies, recognise Housing First as a proven method of ending all types of homelessness. To this end, many governments have embraced Housing First as an effective, affordable and evidence-based solution to ending homelessness, and have incorporated the model into their national homelessness strategies. For an example see Ireland’s Housing First National Implementation Plan 2018-2021 and the 2015 Finnish Homelessness Strategy.
Housing First programs have demonstrated high housing sustainment rates of 80-90 per cent can be achieved and maintained over long periods.
Given the client-focused nature of Housing First, the evidence base shows that immediate access to permanent housing with wrap-around support…
Housing First can deliver considerable cost benefits, while simultaneously achieving positive outcomes and ending homelessness for many individuals.
