What is housing first and does it work? When someone is experiencing homelessness they’re often struggling to find work, struggling with finances, and possibly substance abuse and mental health. There are a number of reasons individuals fall into homelessness but a promising solution is with a housing-first approach. Housing first is a practice of prioritizing housing as the first step toward rehabilitation back into society. Data has shown successful future employment and physical and mental health are greatly improved by initially having a home. This approach is already showing signs of success. Although it was five years ago, Utah tackled their chronic homelessness problem reducing it by 91% by using a housing-first approach. The Road Home, a non-profit organization in Utah, was the first in the state. Financed mainly through government grants and private donations, the organization has shown that the housing-first approach has been successful, not just for the immediate individual and families suffering from homelessness, but also due to less economic burden on the community. By utilizing a housing-first approach communities will have less stress on emergency services, hospitals, jails, and shelters. In addition, according to The National Alliance to End Homelessness, the annual costs of giving initial housing has been shown to actually reduce the overall costs for communities since emergency services will not be used as frequently. More information on these statistics is in the link below. More information on these statistics is in the link here:
NPR article about The Road Home Salt Lake City, Utah
https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first:
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