Supportive housing has become an essential component in programs to end homelessness. At the same time, it seems that we still have a lot to learn about what supportive housing is and how it works. The articles linked to this post discuss supportive housing that is offered in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In the U.S., supportive housing is a component on a continuum of services which are intended to end homelessness. Other components include emergency shelters, street outreach, tiny houses, and sanctioned encampments and parking spaces. Within the continuums, supportive housing is framed as a permanent solution, where residents are not expected to move on. Rents are kept low and supports of some kind assist residents to keep their housing.
The article from Los Angeles investigates the experiences of Black people in supportive housing. Compared with non-Black people, Black people are less likely to move in to supportive housing, even though they are far more likely to experience homelessness. Those who do move to supportive housing are more likely to become homeless again than non-black clients.
The researchers interviewed service providers and Black people who are living in, or have lived in, supportive housing. The authors identify several aspects of supportive housing programs that could be modified to improve results for Black people.
The article from San Francisco reports on an innovation made by one supportive housing provider: two clients share their home. In this innovation, clients select their housemate. The provider also commits to supporting both clients if the sharing doesn’t work out. This includes facilitating a move(s) to a different home(s).
Clients who have chosen this innovation report lower levels of loneliness and isolation. With the high cost of housing in San Francisco, sharing also means the agency can support more clients.
These two articles explore important aspects of designing or managing a supportive housing program. They aren’t exhaustive by any means, but they may be of interest to program managers, policy makers and decision makers. The research approach in the first article will be useful for researchers who are investigating Black experience and/or supportive housing programs in other jurisdictions.
The Los Angeles study is published by the California Policy Lab: Inequity in the Permanent Supportive Housing System in Los Angeles: Scale, Scope and Reasons for Black Residents’ Returns to Homelessness
You can read more about the home sharing innovation in San Francisco in Shelterforce: Shared Housing Tackles Loneliness in Homeless Services
