During the 2021 legislative debate over House Bill 347, Homeless Services Amendments, several members of the public and the Legislature made it clear that Housing First as a data-driven model is misunderstood in Utah.
The Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness would like to help Utahns better understand what Housing First really is and why it is a proven method for rendering homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.
We begin with some basics. Housing First is based on the proven methodology that providing stabilizing supports for individuals experiencing homelessness is much more effective than punishing individuals for being poor or for suffering from a drug addiction or mental illness. Housing First addresses the reality that it is very difficult to obtain a good-paying job or treatment for an addiction or mental health issue when an individual is not sure where they will sleep or if they will be safe from night to night.
Put simply, Housing First is a model for moving people off the streets and into self-sufficiency by providing a dignified intervention that is proven to increase stability and open a path to independence.
The Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness recognizes that this is a very emotionally charged issue. We also recognize that if the goal is to end homelessness in our communities, we need to address the myriad reasons and barriers to stable housing. Among them, the lack of deeply affordable housing, low wages, the criminalization of behaviors associated with homelessness, limited supportive housing, just to name a few. We must move beyond anger and punishment, and toward the implementation of interventions that are proven to reduce homelessness, including Housing First.
The Housing First model works to provide stable housing options for individuals experiencing homelessness. That is the beginning, not the end, as some suggested during the session. Nor does it accept just any housing as sufficient. To succeed, Housing First requires multiple housing options to best fit the needs of the person being housed.
For some, that will be a sober living facility where residents support each other’s path to sobriety by prohibiting addictive substances in the complex. For others, it will be a permanent supportive housing solution where wrap around services are readily and always available. And yes, for some individuals it could be any place with four walls, a roof, functioning HVAC and water. What a person needs to achieve self-sufficiency will vary, so a successful Housing First program in any community must have ample housing resources to help each individual succeed in their path out of homelessness and poverty.
What is critical to the success of Housing First is not only an ample supply of appropriate housing, but also a bevy of wrap-around services, such as case management and health care, targeted to the needs of people who are struggling.
We know how effective this model is from our local experience. In 2020, 96% of people who entered into permanent supportive housing two years prior retained their housing. Similarly, over 80% of those who received rapid rehousing support, such as rental assistance, were also able to maintain their housing two years later.
Our hope is the new Homeless Services Officer, in conjunction with a newly reconstituted Utah Homelessness Council, will be able to move past the myths and misinformation about Housing First and start to build the statewide stream of resources and support for best practices needed to render homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.
Jean Hill is government liaison for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.
Rob Wesemann | National Alliance on Mental Health Utah
Jean Hill and Rob Wesemann are co-chairs of the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness
