What are the health, social and economic benefits of providing public housing and support to formerly homeless people?

Abstract

AHURI is a national independent research network with an expert not-for-profit research management company, AHURI Limited, at its centre. AHURI has a public good mission to deliver high quality research that influences policy development to improve the housing and urban environments of all Australians. Through active engagement, AHURI's work informs the policies and practices of governments and the housing and urban development industries, and stimulates debate in the broader Australian community. AHURI undertakes evidence-based policy development on a range of issues, including: housing and labour markets, urban growth and renewal, planning and infrastructure development, housing supply and affordability, homelessness, economic productivity, and social cohesion and wellbeing. We would like to extend special thanks to the Data Linkage Branch of the Western Australian Department of Health and the Western Australian Housing Authority for their support and assistance with respect to the linkage of health and housing data and the implementation of the public housing Tenant Survey. We also wish to thank Jessica Smith, Georgina Carson and Daniel Sutton for their excellent research assistance on the study. DISCLAIMER The opinions in this report reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of AHURI Limited, its Board or its funding organisations. No responsibility is accepted by AHURI Limited, its Board or funders for the accuracy or omission of any statement, opinion, advice or information in this publication. AHURI JOURNAL AHURI Final Report journal series is a refereed series presenting the results of original research to a diverse readership of policy-makers, researchers and practitioners. PEER REVIEW STATEMENT An objective assessment of reports published in the AHURI journal series by carefully selected experts in the field ensures that material published is of the highest quality.

Homeless health care: meeting the challenges of providing primary care

“…The emergency department (ED) is frequently used by homeless people for issues that could be better and more efficiently addressed in a primary health care setting or by social services 18 . In many EDs across Australia, people who are homeless are among the most frequent presenters, unplanned admissions are high, and length of stay is longer 19 . ‐ 21 This is a preventable cost to the health system; in the first 8 months of 2017 alone, around 30% (900) of our Homeless Healthcare clients accounted for 3135 presentations to Royal Perth Hospital ED, equating to an estimated cost of $2.4 million (based on an average presentation cost of $765) 22…”

Social housing as infrastructure: rationale, prioritisation and investment pathway

“…'What are the health, social and economic benefits of providing public housing and support to formerly homeless people?' (Wood, Flatau et al 2016) Linked data sets from WA health and social services departments, assessing different frequencies of health service usage. Estimated health-related savings of $4,486 per person per year in social housing.…”

“…The avoided costs approach to benefit estimation is a financial appraisal method that estimates a budget outcome as a result of housing provision, based on a comparison of the cost of provision with savings through avoiding costs associated with the frequency of use of other services. Research indicates that social housing is likely to provide a net benefit to whole-ofgovernment budgets (Parsell, Petersen et al 2016;Witte 2017;Wood, Flatau et al 2016), and signals to treasuries and other agencies the fiscal savings that provision of housing may achieve for other portfolios. Therefore, this approach aligns with government objectives of 'living within their means', as discussed in Chapter 2.…”

Supporting vulnerable households to achieve their housing goals: the role of impact investment

“…In terms of homelessness, the provision of housing through Housing First (Groton 2013; Busch-Geertsema 2013; Sillanpaa 2013; Van Leerdam 2013; Pleace 2015) and related programs to expand housing options for homeless people have proved successful in achieving better than expected tenancy sustainability rates. Such programs have been shown to reduce government health costs and thereby provide a financial investible return (Salit, Kuhn et al 1998;Kushel, Perry et al 2002;Culhane, Metraux et al 2002;Corporation for Supportive Housing 2004;Perlman and Parvensky 2006;Social Policy Research Centre 2007;Flatau, Zaretzky et al 2008;Hwang, Weaver et al 2011;Flatau, Conroy et al 2012;Zaretzky, Flatau et al 2013;Conroy, Bower et al 2014, Fuehrlein, Cowell et al 2015Wood, Flatau et al 2016;Parsell, Petersen et al 2016).…”