Housing and Services for Homeless Persons
Demonstration in FY 2011
In the 2011 budget, HUD has requested $85 million for the new Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration, a two-part initiative that aims to more fully engage mainstream housing, health, and human service programs in order to prevent future homelessness and reduce the number of currently homeless families and individuals.
Specifically, the demonstration requests $85 million from HUD’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to be combined with services provided through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Medicaid, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program within HHS. Housing coupled with services is a model proven to end homelessness for many individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. The demonstration has the potential to promote the type of cross-agency partnerships that will greatly improve homelessness assistance. The initiative would have two parts:
First, the initiative will fund supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals. In collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), if funded by congress, HUD will provide up to 4,000 Housing Choice Vouchers to public housing agencies to be used in conjunction with Medicaid-covered supportive services and $16 million in grants from SAMHSA. This proven model, known as permanent supportive housing, combines permanent housing with services, such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, health care, child care, transportation, case management, and employment.
Similar programs are reducing homelessness, improving health, reducing incarceration, and reducing the need for publicly funded services. In addition, these programs have proven to be more cost effective than allowing people to remain homeless. An analysis of seven cost studies comparing service utilization pre- and post-housing found that permanent supportive housing resulted in cost savings in several categories—$3,270 in Medicaid, $1,402 in Emergency Rooms, $4,966 in Behavioral Health, and $5,366 in Substance Abuse Detoxification services.
Second, the initiative will target families with children that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. If funded, up to 6,000 Housing Choice Vouchers will be made available through a collaborative HUD-HHS-Department of Education competition focusing on communities with high concentrations of homeless families and well-coordinated community-based plans.
Housing assistance and supports to help homeless or at-risk families with children avoid homelessness, improve their children’s education outcomes, and achieve their highest possible level of self-sufficiency. Applicants will have to show how the housing assistance will be integrated with the TANF program, as well as child care, child welfare, health care, employment training, education for homeless children and youth assistance, substance abuse treatment, and other critical services.
A substantial amount of research has demonstrated the effectiveness of housing vouchers as a tool to prevent and end homelessness for families. For example, a randomized study of the use of housing vouchers by families eligible for welfare found that voucher assistance resulted in a 74 percent reduction in the incidence of homelessness.
Click here to review a PDF prepared by HUD on the Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration.
