If you asked Pathways to Housing DC outreach specialist Waldon Adams what ends homelessness, he’d have a very simple answer. Housing. That’s because it worked for him. For many years, Waldon experienced homelessness, losing jobs and places to stay while battling an addiction to alcohol and drugs. One day, he visited a support center on 14th Street NW and the staff there connected him with his own apartment — with no preconditions. Having his own home gave Waldon stability, and this led to other positive changes in his life. Today, Waldon works to help others like himself exit homelessness by connecting them with housing.
Waldon’s experience — and that of thousands of other people like him in DC — tells us that housing ends homelessness. But what should that housing look like? For many of our neighbors experiencing chronic homelessness, the answer is permanent supportive housing.
Over the course of a year, approximately 4,000 adults experience chronic homelessness in DC.
People experiencing chronic homelessness have been homeless for at least one year, or four times within three years, and they struggle with complex health challenges such as mental illness, addiction, physical disabilities, or other chronic conditions that make them highly vulnerable to becoming homeless. These challenges also create barriers that can make it difficult for them to maintain stable housing.
Permanent supportive housing (or PSH) is a tool to end chronic homelessness. It works by pairing housing with wrap around services to help people experiencing chronic homelessness obtain affordable housing and maintain it long-term. PSH services are voluntary, flexible, and individualized to help people achieve their personal goals, such as stabilizing and improving their health, gaining employment, re-connecting with family, and participating in the community.
The Partnership to End Homelessness seeks to advance data-driven and evidence-based practices — and we know from the evidence that permanent supportive housing works:
PSH improves long-term housing stability. Studies show that at least 75 percent of people in permanent supportive housing remain in housing for 18 months or longer. In DC, over 97 percent of people who exit the homeless services system to permanent supportive housing maintain their housing for at least six months.
PSH improves health and well-being. People experiencing chronic homelessness who receive housing combined with supportive services make fewer hospital and emergency room visits and can better access routine mental and physical health supports.
PSH is cost-effective. People experiencing chronic homelessness are frequent users of emergency services. Studies have shown that providing people with permanent supportive housing lowers public costs on average by nearly 50 percent by reducing use of shelters, hospitals, and jails.
DC has invested in ending chronic homelessness by funding comprehensive street outreach and case management services, creating an coordinated assessment and prioritization strategy to match individuals to permanent supportive housing, and increasing the supply of rental subsidy vouchers. The city has also worked to build strong private sector partnerships with affordable housing developers and property owners. DC incentivizes developers to provide units for permanent supportive housing by financing affordable housing projects and offering backup funding to property owners to cover any the costs of unpaid rent and unit damages.
DC’s strategy to end chronic homelessness in DC is working: since 2015, chronic homelessness has decreased by fifteen percent and 2,540 single adults experiencing chronic homelessness were moved into permanent supportive housing.
Despite this progress, we know that we need more permanent supportive housing in DC to meet the need. Join The Partnership to End Homelessness to increase the supply of Permanent Supportive Housing to #EndHomelessnessDC.
How You Can Help Create More Permanent Supportive Housing in DC
Partnership grantees such as Friendship Place, Miriam’s Kitchen, Pathways to Housing DC, and Open Arms Housing — are among many local organizations committed to providing high-quality permanent supportive housing in DC. By investing in The Partnership’s Grantmaking Fund you can support their crucial work while supporting our efforts to create a system that houses people more quickly and has the number of units we need to end homelessness in DC.
Participating in the Partnership’s Impact Investment can aid in bringing financial resources to assist in the fight to end homelessness and housing insecurity by increasing the production of deeply affordable and supportive housing.
Advocacy from the community is critical to ensuring that the city continues to invest in permanent supportive housing. Join the Partnership mailing list to be alerted to opportunities for action.