Architecture Commons^™

Rethinking Homelessness Prevention Among Persons With Serious Mental Illness, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Stephen Metraux, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

A Prevention-Centered Approach To Homelessness Assistance: A Paradigm Shift?, Dennis P. Culhane, Stephen Metraux, Thomas Byrne

Dennis P. Culhane

Prevention has long been cited as an important part of any strategy to end homelessness. Nonetheless, effective prevention initiatives have proven difficult to implement in practice. The lack of a prevention-oriented policy framework has resulted in responses to homelessness that focus primarily on assisting those who have already lost their housing and, consequently, to the institutionalization of homelessness. Recent Federal legislation, however, signals an emergent paradigm shift towards prevention-based approaches to homelessness. This paper explores the conceptual underpinnings of successful prevention initiatives and reviews practice-based evidence from several successful prevention-oriented approaches to homelessness in the United States and Europe. We …

Ending Family Homelessness In Massachusetts: A New Approach For The Emergency Assistance Program, Dennis P. Culhane, Thomas Byrne

Dennis P. Culhane

This paper explores the current opportunity for policy reform of the Emergency Assistance (EA) system in Massachusetts. Recent initiatives by the state are described that have provided a context for systems change. Some of the challenges posed by the current program are discussed, particularly the lack of cost containment, and the resulting fact that significant public resources are spent supporting long-term stays in shelters and motels, which are not good for families or children. After an exploration of funding and resource issues, the paper concludes by establishing the foundation for changing the current system into one that would be outcome …

Rearranging The Deck Chairs Or Reallocating The Lifeboats?: Homelessness Assistance And Its Alternatives, Dennis P. Culhane, Stephen Metraux

Dennis P. Culhane

Problem: At present, homelessness in the United States is primarily addressed by providing emergency and transitional shelter facilities. These programs do not directly address the causes of homelessness, and residents are exposed to victimization and trauma during stays. We need an alternative that is more humane, as well as more efficient and effective at achieving outcomes. Purpose: This article uses research on homelessness to devise alternative forms of emergency assistance that could reduce the prevalence and/or duration of episodes of homelessness and much of the need for emergency shelter. Methods: We review analyses of shelter utilization patterns to identify subgroups …

Help In Time: An Evaluation Of Philadelphia's Community-Based Homelessness Prevention Program, Yin-Ling I. Wong, Meg Koppel, Dennis P. Culhane, Stephen Metraux, David E. Eldridge, Amy Hillier, Helen R. Lee

Dennis P. Culhane

This report provides an evaluation of Philadelphia's neighborhood-based homelessness prevention initiative. Results indicate that nearly all households served do not become homeless. But it is unclear if households would have become homeless had they not been served. Recommendations are made for targeting prevention interventions to families requesting shelter.