The role and meaning of interim housing in housing first programs for people experiencing homelessness and mental illness.

Abstract

The housing first (HF) model for individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness differs by design from traditional models that require consumers to achieve "housing readiness" by meeting program or treatment prerequisites in transitional housing settings prior to permanent housing placement. Given a growing body of evidence for its favorable outcomes and cost effectiveness, HF is increasingly seen as an alternative to and argument against these traditional programs. As such, it is important that the elements and implementation challenges of the HF model be clearly understood and articulated. This qualitative study explored a largely unexamined aspect of the HF model-the need for and meaning of temporary residential settings (interim housing), a place to stay while waiting to secure permanent housing-using interviews and focus groups with service providers and consumers who experienced interim housing during implementation of HF in a large urban center. Although interim housing may not be necessary for all programs implementing the model, our study revealed numerous reasons and demands for safe, flexible interim housing options, and illustrated how they influence the effectiveness of consumer recovery, continuous service engagement, and housing stability.

Implementing Housing First Across Sites and Over Time: Later Fidelity and Implementation Evaluation of a Pan‐Canadian Multi‐site Housing First Program for Homeless People with Mental Illness

“…Some of the sites experimented with single-site or interim housing alternatives for these participants after they had been evicted several times from independent housing (Zerger et al 2014). Also, previous qualitative research has found that staff who persevere in connecting with consumers, are kind, and provide one-to-one support that promotes service engagement (Padgett et al 2008a;Stanhope 2012;Stanhope et al 2009).…”

The Lived Experience of Establishing a Home After a Period of Homelessness

“…Eleven qualitative studies were found related to homelessness and establishing a home. The eleven qualitative studies employed two phenomenology (Burlingham et al, 2010;Raphael-Greenfield & Gutman, 2015), two grounded theory (Chen & Ogden, 2012;Fisher et al, 2014), three descriptive (Henwood et al, 2013;Mayberry et al, 2014;Polvere et al, 2013), two exploratory (Patterson et al, 2015;Zerger et al, 2014), one case study (Ogden, 2014), and one Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR): Photovoice (Peterson et al, 2012).…”

“…Among the qualitative studies, the majority of the studies were conducted in the U. S., while 27% were conducted in Canada (Patterson et al, 2015;Polvere et al, 2013;Zerger et al, 2014) and one in England (Raphael-Greenfield & Gutman, 2015). Various disciplines were represented in the studies including psychology/psychiatry, social work, Department of Human and Organizational Development, health sciences, communications, occupational therapy, and medicine/public health.…”

“…Several studies included persons experiencing homelessness with serious mental illness (SMI) including substance use disorder or schizophrenia (Appel, Tsemberis, Joseph, Stefancic, & Lambert-Wacey, 2012;Burlingham et al, 2010;Gilmer, Katz, Stefancic, Palinkas, 2013;Gilmer et al, 2014;Meschede, 2010;Ogden, 2014;Patterson, Moniruzzaman, & Somers, 2014;Raphael-Greenfield & Gutman, 2015;Zerger et al, 2014). Both civilians and veterans with mental illness comprised the sample in studies about housing stability (Edens et al, 2011;McGuire, Rosenheck, & Kasprow, 2011;O'Connell, Kasprow, & Rosenheck, 2010;O'Connell, Kasprow, & Rosenheck, 2012;Tsai, Reddy, & Rosenheck, 2014).…”

“…Several housing programs, grounded in the Housing First (HF) model, were found for various populations. For instance, the At Home/Chez Soi project was designed for the chronically homeless (Polvere et al, 2013;Veldhuizen et al, 2015;Zerger et al, 2014), while the HUD-VASH program provided housing and other support services specifically for homeless veterans (O'Connell et al, 2010(O'Connell et al, , 2012. Two HF models for families existed.…”