Housing First: Ending Homelessness

Dear Colleagues,

Since first being implemented in the US and gaining traction in government programs, as well as community campaigns, the Housing First approach to ending homelessness has been adopted at scale in Canada, in the At Home/Chez Soi project, in Australia, France, Finland, and many other countries. The Housing First approach is based on the principle of a rapid transition to housing with support on entry, regardless of a ‘readiness for housing’. Such an approach is contrasted with a so-called ‘staircase’ approach, in which program participants achieve housing readiness before entry into permanent housing. Earlier versions of the model sought access to ‘ordinary’ scattered site private rental housing but typically under head-leasing arrangements. Various housing and tenancy type programs have since been utilised, including the use of congregate housing and social housing options.

Reflecting in part its origins in programs for those experiencing chronic homelessness with serious medical and mental health conditions, the Housing First approach has been examined in depth in the health and medical sciences. In the present Special Issue of Social Sciences, we seek to examine the Housing First approach through a broad social sciences lens. Original empirical, theoretical, historical and critical policy contributions using a broad range of methodological approaches are sought from across the social science disciplines addressing the following questions and themes:

• Genus Housing First? Do variations in the way Housing First approaches have been implemented in various countries mean that it is not possible to speak of a single Housing First model but of various models? What makes a program a Housing First program? Do variations in the type of housing provided under a Housing First program matter (e.g., scattered site vs congregate housing, private rental housing vs social housing)? Do levels and type of support on entry to housing matter?
• Impact evaluation: Do Housing First models achieve improved social and economic outcomes for participants (e.g., in social isolation, employment, quality of life, justice)? What factors influence the extent to which improved social and economic outcomes are achieved and sustained?
• Economics: What is the overall cost-effectiveness of Housing First models relative to standard models of care?
• Journeys and stories: What are the lived experiences and journeys of those who are housed through a Housing First program?
• Policy: Has a focus on Housing First approaches in various countries had unintended consequences for homelessness policy, for example, by focusing too much attention on a single housing-led solution to homelessness in a single context (i.e., chronic rough sleeping homelessness with significant health-related issues). Has too little attention been paid to early intervention and prevention policies because of a Housing First focus?

Prof. Paul Flatau
Guest Editor

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