The Marin County Board of Supervisors has adopted the Housing First approach to homelessness. But what does Housing First mean?
While many factors affect a person’s ability to remain stably housed—employment, physical health, substance use—these factors are all more effectively addressed when a person is housed.
Traditionally, homeless programs have worked the opposite way: people had to prove they were “ready” for housing by addressing these factors before they were housed. This caused the process to slow, led to longer experiences in homelessness and even when clients completed all pre-conditions - housing was often not available.
Housing First recognizes that the best way for individuals to stay mentally healthy, physically well, and financially stable is to provide permanent housing first without preconditions. Projects that operate on the Housing First model house people more quickly than other models, and those people are more likely to remain stably housed. Housing First programs also cost less money due to reduced usage of emergency services such as jails, hospitals, and shelters.