What Happens after Supportive Housing?: Recipient Views of the Benefits and Challenges of Leaving Supportive Housing through a Moving on Initiative

Background and Purpose:  Permanent supportive housing (PSH), a combination of housing and supportive services, is an evidence-based practice used to end homelessness for individuals who experience barriers to housing stability. Given the shortage in PSH supply relative to demand, “Moving On” initiatives (MOI) are now being piloted as a way to increase access to PSH by assisting residents who no longer need the embedded services with the move into mainstream housing. Because MOIs are a relatively recent innovation in homeless services, few studies have examined recipient experiences in these initiatives and little is known about individuals’ post-PSH outcomes, including whether these individuals end up reentering the homeless service system and why. This qualitative study begins to fill this gap in the literature by exploring consumers’ post-PSH experiences and their views regarding the benefits and challenges of leaving supportive housing through a MOI.

Methods: This qualitative study is part of a larger longitudinal study that follows 125 MOI recipients over two years as they transition from PSH to mainstream housing. A purposive sample of 50 residents who entered the MOI across five PSH agencies were recruited to participate in an interview prior to their exit from services. Of the 47 pre-move participants, 32 chose to move on from the PSH programs and all 32 were outreached for a follow-up interview three to ten months post-move. This resulted in a total of twenty-three in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify common challenges and benefits to moving on from PSH.

Results: Participants reported having 1) a greater sense of freedom and independence and this was one of the greatest benefits to leaving PSH; 2) But with this new freedom came new independent living challenges, including new financial challenges; 3) Participants described Moving On as opening up potential opportunities for increased social and community integration but this varied across the sample. Some reported experiencing loneliness and isolation without the company of service providers and other residents. Others cautiously increased engagement with friends, family, and the community post-move but still experienced challenges at the individual- and system-level to integration; 4) Many reported housing quality and neighborhood safety challenges that were the same, if not worse, than in PSH; 5) and while participants viewed the MOI as a potential way to “exit the system” they found that moving on from PSH was a step up, but not out of the system - it resulted in freedom from case management, but continued dependence on housing assistance, entitlements and other forms of support.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings highlight MOI recipients’ desire for increased freedom and self-sufficiency in/from PSH but also suggest that existing PSH services may be insufficient in preparing recipients for some of the challenges associated with increased independence from services, including structural challenges that PSH cannot mitigate. Because PSH has traditionally been considered a “permanent” supportive intervention, preparatory supports for the transition to independent living have not been a part of the service package but could help improve outcomes for those exiting PSH.