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Overview of Housing First in Europe

Overview of Housing First in Europe. Suzanne Fitzpatrick, 9 th May 2014. Origins of Housing First. First developed in New York, by ‘Pathways to Housing’, for chronically homeless people with severe mental health problems

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Overview of Housing First in Europe

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  1. Overview of Housing First in Europe Suzanne Fitzpatrick, 9th May 2014

  2. Origins of Housing First • First developed in New York, by ‘Pathways to Housing’, for chronically homeless people with severe mental health problems • Bypasses linear model/transitional accomm; places street homeless directly into independent tenancies with support • ‘Housing first’cf.‘treatment first’ (or ‘employment first’) philosophy • Strong evidence base from US, especially on tenancy sustainment • Controversial initially; now widely endorsed

  3. HF in European Context • Rapid expansion of HF pilots/programmes • Endorsed by FEANTSA • Promoted by EU - Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion (2010) • Jury of European Consensus Conference on Homelessness (2010) called for: - shift away from use of transitional models - towards increased access to permanent housing (with support)

  4. ‘Housing First Europe’ Study • Funded by European Commission • 2 year project (2011- 2013) involving: a) research; b) mutual learning • Examined HF implementation and effectiveness in: • Test sites: Amsterdam (Netherlands), Budapest (Hungary), Copenhagen (Denmark), Lisbon (Portugal), Glasgow (UK) • Peer sites: Dublin (Ireland), Ghent (Belgium), Gothenburg (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), Vienna (Austria)

  5. Robustness of Evidence Base • The case for HF – and de-institutionalising homeless people – is now compelling • We do not have ‘gold standard’ randomised control trial evidence in Europe, but the sheer consistency and  'weight' of evidence from HFE (and other studies) is utterly convincing • Most homeless people, even with very complex support needs, can sustain ordinary housing if given the right support • There will always be a need for other approaches for a minority, but there is an increasing view that the default should be HF (or housing-led)

  6. Scattered-Site Housing is Best • HFE adds to large body of evidence that scattered-site housing is: a) what most homeless people want; and b) what works best for most homeless people • The negative impacts and institutionalising tendencies of congregate settings are now well evidenced, e.g. hostel closure evaluations, problems with Common Ground in Australia, etc. • There will, of course, be a need for (usually small) group settings for a minority of homeless people, but the evidence indicates that the default should be scattered-site

  7. Going Forward • Basic case for HF, using scattered-site housing, is now made. But there are important areas which would benefit from future development/research: • long-term sustainability • cost-effectiveness • Assertive Community Treatment – when required/useful • resolving neighbour disputes • whether HF or transitional model most appropriate for young people

  8. HFE Study www.socialstyrelsen.dk/housingfirsteurope

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