Reckoning with Homelessness As a Grand Challenge: Expanding the Reach of Evidence-Based Approaches

In this proposed roundtable, the co-leaders of the Grand Challenge to End Homelessness (GCEH) join prominent researchers to discuss ways of ensuring that the GCEH encompasses evidence-based practices with diverse populations. Leading EBPs in homelessness will be featured, including Housing First (HF), Critical Time Intervention (CTI) and Individual Placement and Support (IPS). All have strong foundations in social work research and practice and are undergoing rapid expansion to accommodate new populations and needs among homeless persons.

Members of the panel will provide a brief overview of their work, linking it to the scaling-up required of the GCEH. Each EBP will be described as contributing to the GCEH. HF has an emphasis on ending homelessness by providing immediate access to permanent housing and support services. It has been scaled-up nationally in the U.S. and Canada and is currently being implemented in cities across Western Europe. HF principles have also been invoked in shifting the traditional approach to greater consumer choice, harm reduction and housing permanency. Recent innovative implementations of HF include its use with homeless families, transition-aged youth, and as part of a ‘health home’ initiative. HF for veterans under the HUD-VASH program has shown robust positive outcomes in housing stability. Its implementation has extended to rapid re-housing approaches designed to achieve rapid stabilization in housing and link individuals with mainstream health care and other services through the provision of time-limited, flexible forms of assistance.

CTI is a time-limited care coordination model designed to prevent homelessness and foster recovery among vulnerable populations during periods of transition. Originally developed and tested to deliver support following the transition from shelter to housing, it has been extended to other high-risk transitions including the period following discharge from psychiatric hospitals and substance abuse treatment programs as well as release from jails and prisons. The CTI model is currently being adapted to support the expansion of rapid re-housing models with homeless individuals and families.  

IPS focuses on assisting individuals with serious mental illness and other life challenges in obtaining and maintaining competitive employment through customized and long-term supports. It has recently been extended to services for homeless young adults (ages 18-24) by helping them transition from precarious or illegal employment to stable, competitive employment. In conjunction with other support services including mental health treatment, IPS shows promise in helping youths obtain and maintain competitive employment, access case-management and clinical services, and ultimately exit homelessness.

Panelists will address challenges of fidelity in implementation as these interventions expand to new populations and new settings and when combined with other EBPs. Taken together, these approaches show promise as a robust evidence-based infrastructure for the GCEH.