Housing First Model
“Housing First” is a research-based solution to ending homelessness that prioritizes the unconditional provision of housing to individuals experiencing homelessness. It is based on the belief that people require food, shelter, and safety before they can begin on the path to personal stability.
Housing First is widely considered a best practice in ending homelessness, and the movement continues to gain traction nationwide. Growing evidence shows that individuals housed through a Housing First model are more likely to remain housed permanently. In 2016, Former Governor Jerry Brown legally declared California a “Housing First” state, thereby requiring state housing/homelessness services agencies to incorporate elements of the Housing First model into their service offerings.
Any housing program like San Francisco SafeHouse that operates a Housing First model does not require an individual to be employed, enrolled in substance use counseling, or to be receiving any kind of supportive services before they are considered eligible for housing. At SFSH, we believe housing is a human right, and our first priority is to provide women, and their children, with safe, permanent housing above all else.
We use a Housing First model to house women through our Hope Center drop-in clinic, transitional house, and our new permanent supportive housing unit. Once housed, a SafeHouse client enjoys access to individualized support needed to work towards personal goals and reach stability, including individualized case management, access to individual and group therapy, rotating activities and classes as identified by the residents like yoga, gardening, acupuncture, domestic violence support groups, financial and practical support to work on educational or vocational goals, resident and staff outings and retreats an innovative Internship Program that offers job readiness training and often leads to a permanent position, assistance navigating programs like social security, SNAP benefits, etc., assistance in locating permanent housing after leaving SafeHouse and programs designed to assist with money management, savings and the cost of leaving transitional housing for permanent housing.
Women experiencing homelessness have not only unique healthcare and job-training needs, but many unique vulnerabilities, too, given the disproportionate rate at which they experience interpersonal violence in comparison to their male counterparts. By prioritizing housing and empowering women to choose and engage actively in services — two central components of the Housing First model — we can ensure that they are equipped with the tools they need to remain housed in an effective, trauma-informed way.