Architecture Commons^™

Housing Chronically Homeless Veterans: Evaluating The Efficacy Of A Housing First Approach To Hud-Vash, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Lindsay L. Hill, Vincent Kane, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

The Age Structure Of Contemporary Homelessness: Evidence And Implications For Public Policy, Dennis P. Culhane, Stephen Metraux, Thomas Byrne, Magdi Steno, Jay Bainbridge

Dennis P. Culhane

The Aging Of Contemporary Homelessness, Dennis P. Culhane, Stephen Metraux, Thomas Byrne, Magdi Stino, Jay Bainbridge

Dennis P. Culhane

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

Dennis P. Culhane

The 2012 Point-In-Time Estimate Of Homelessness: Volume I Of The 2012 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Alvaro Cortes, Meghan Henry, Rj De La Cruz, Scott Brown, Jill Khadduri, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

On a single night in 2012 there were 633,782 homeless people in the United States, including 394,379 who were homeless as individuals and 239,403 people who were homeless in families.

The Unique And Combined Effects Of Homelessness And School Mobility On The Educational Outcomes Of Young Children, John W. Fantuzzo, Whitney A. Leboeuf, Chin-Chih Chen, Heather Rouse, Dennis P. Culhane

Heather Rouse

This study examined the unique and combined associations of homelessness and school mobility with educational well-being indicators, as well as the mediating effect of absenteeism, for an entire cohort of third-grade students in Philadelphia. Using integrated archival administrative data from the public school district and the municipal Office of Supportive Housing, multilevel linear models were estimated to test these associations while adjusting for nesting of students within schools. Findings demonstrated that homelessness had a unique association with problems in classroom engagement, school mobility was uniquely related to both academic achievement and problems in classroom engagement, and experiencing both homelessness and …

The Unique And Combined Effects Of Homelessness And School Mobility On The Educational Outcomes Of Young Children, John W. Fantuzzo, Whitney A. Leboeuf, Chin-Chih Chen, Heather Rouse, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

This study examined the unique and combined associations of homelessness and school mobility with educational well-being indicators, as well as the mediating effect of absenteeism, for an entire cohort of third-grade students in Philadelphia. Using integrated archival administrative data from the public school district and the municipal Office of Supportive Housing, multilevel linear models were estimated to test these associations while adjusting for nesting of students within schools. Findings demonstrated that homelessness had a unique association with problems in classroom engagement, school mobility was uniquely related to both academic achievement and problems in classroom engagement, and experiencing both homelessness and …

New Perspectives On Community-Level Determinants Of Homelessness, Thomas Byrne, Ellen Munley, Jamison D. Fargo, Anne Elizabeth Montgomery, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

Understanding the root causes of homelessness is important for developing effective solutions to the problem. This fact has not gone unnoticed by researchers, who have made numerous attempts to identify the underlying structural determinants of homelessness by modeling inter-community variation in the rate of homelessness as a function of community-level variables. Yet, prior studies in this area have a number of serious limitations, principally their reliance on methodologically flawed estimates of the size of the homeless population. The present study addresses this and other limitations by using newly available and more reliable estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and …

The 2011 Annual Homeless Assessment Report To Congress, Alvaro Cortes, Louise Rothschild, Rj De La Cruz, Meghan Henry, Claudia Solari, Jill Khadduri, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

Between 2007 and 2011, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released an annual report on the extent of homelessness in the United States—the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR). The report documents how many people are using shelter programs for homeless people, and how many people are in unsheltered locations that are often called “the streets.” The AHAR is delivered each year to the U.S. Congress, and its contents are used to inform Federal, State, and local policies to prevent and end homelessness. This 2011 AHAR presents the most recent national estimates of homelessness, focusing on people …

Prevalence And Risk Of Homelessness Among Us Veterans, Jamison Fargo, Stephen Metraux, Thomas Byrne, Ellen Munley, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Harlan Jones, George Sheldon, Vincent Kane, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

Introduction

Understanding the prevalence of and risk for homelessness among veterans is prerequisite to preventing and ending homelessness among this population. Homeless veterans are at higher risk for chronic disease; understanding the dynamics of homelessness among veterans can contribute to our understanding of their health needs.

Methods

We obtained data on demographic characteristics and veteran status for 130,554 homeless people from 7 jurisdictions that provide homelessness services, and for the population living in poverty and the general population from the American Community Survey for those same jurisdictions. We calculated prevalence of veterans in the homeless, poverty, and general populations, and …

Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report To The 2010 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report To Congress, Dennis P. Culhane, Jill Khadduri, Alvaro Cortes, Meghan Henry, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Thomas Byrne, Ellen Munley

Dennis P. Culhane

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are pleased to present Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. This second annual supplemental report is intended to provide policymakers, practitioners, and the general public with information about the extent and nature of veteran homelessness. The information provided in this report advances the federal effort to end homelessness among veterans in 5 years—as described in the 2010 Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness and the VA’s plan to end veteran homelessness—through the collection of timely data on veteran …

The Right To Housing: An Effective Means For Addressing Homelessness?, Thomas Byrne, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

A number of international human rights instruments and national constitutions establish a right to housing. In addition, a few countries, most notably England and France, have enacted legislation guaranteeing a legally enforceable right to housing. In this paper we provide an overview of the concept of a “right to housing,” and discuss its implications for efforts intended to reduce and end homelessness both in the European and American contexts.

Prevalence And Risk Of Homelessness Among Us Veterans: A Multisite Investigation, Jamison Fargo, Stephen Metraux, Thomas Byrne, Ellen Munley, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Harlan Jones, George Sheldon, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

This study analyzes HMIS and American Community Survey data from seven jurisdictions to assess the prevalence and relative risk for homelessness among veterans by race, sex, age and poverty status. Results show that among the homeless population, approximately 14% of adult males and 2% of adult females are veterans. For males, this proportion is about 30% greater than the proportion of Veterans in the general population, and twice as large as the proportion of veterans in the population living below the poverty threshold. Similarly among the female homeless population, veterans are overrepresented compared to the general population by a factor …

The Impact Of Shelter Use And Housing Placement On Mortality Hazard For Unaccompanied Adults And Adults In Family Households Entering New York City Shelters: 1990-2002, Stephen Metraux, Nicholas Eng, Jay Bainbridge, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

This study examines mortality among New York City (NYC) homeless shelter users, assessing the relationships between mortality hazard and time in shelter, patterns of homelessness, and subsequent housing exits for both adults in families and single adults. Administrative records from the NYC shelter system were matched with death records from the Social Security Administration for 160,525 persons. Crude mortality rates and life tables were calculated, and survival analyses were undertaken using these data. Life expectancy was 64.2 and 68.6 years for single adult males and single adult females, respectively, and among adults in families, life expectancy was 67.2 and 70.1 …

The 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report To Congress, Alvaro Cortes, Josh Leopold, Louise Rothschild, Larry Buron, Jill Khadduri, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

The 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) represents the sixth in a series of reports on homelessness in the U.S. It responds to a congressional directive that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provide an annual report to Congress on the extent and nature of homelessness. As in past years, the AHAR provides the results of local counts of people homeless on a single night in January, as well as estimates of the number, characteristics, and service patterns of all people who used residential programs for homeless people during the 2010 federal Fiscal Year (October 2009-September 2010). Also, …

Book Review: How To House The Homeless. Edited By Ingrid Gould Ellen And Brendan O'Flaherty. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2010, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

No abstract provided.

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 …

Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report To The 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report To Congress, Dennis P. Culhane, Jill Khadduri, Alvaro Cortes, Larry Buron, Joshua Leopold, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Ellen Munley, Thomas Byrne, John Kuhn

Dennis P. Culhane

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are pleased to present Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. This report is the result of ongoing collaboration between HUD and the VA to understand the extent and nature of homelessness among veterans in the United States. The information presented in this report is intended to inform public policymakers, local practitioners and the general public about veteran homelessness. It also advances the goals of the nation’s federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness (Opening Doors: Federal …

Homelessness And Housing Exclusion In Europe: Challenges And Opportunities For Research And Policy, Dennis P. Culhane, Thomas Byrne

Dennis P. Culhane

The European Parliament recently passed a Written Declaration “calling for an ambitious EU homelessness strategy and support to Member States in their efforts towards ending homelessness” (FEANTSA, December 21, 2010). The Written Declaration comes on the heels of a consensus conference on homelessness held in Brussels, in which researchers from the European Observatory (some featured in this volume) made the moral and empirical case for urgent and strategic action by all member countries of the EU. This leadership has proven to be critically influential as the European Commission moves forward with its antipoverty goals for 2020. This timely volume will …

Service Use And Costs For Persons Experiencing Chronic Homelessness In Philadelphia: A Population-Based Study, Stephen R. Poulin, Marcella Maguire, Stephen Metraux, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

Objective: This study is the first to examine the distribution of service utilization and costs with a population-based sample that experienced chronic homelessness in sheltered and unsheltered locations in a large U.S. city. Methods: This study used shelter and street outreach records from a large U.S. city to identify 2,703 persons who met federal criteria for chronic homelessness during a three-year period. Identifiers for these persons were matched to administrative records for psychiatric care, substance abuse treatment, and incarceration. Results: Twenty percent of the persons who incurred the highest costs for services ccounted for 60% of the total service costs …

To Fight Homelessness, Turn Project 50 Into Project 10,000, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

The pilot program that puts the 50 most chronically homeless into supportive housing is a success. L.A. should follow New York's lead and turn Project 50 into real policy.

5 Myths About America's Homeless, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

Last month, the Obama administration released a plan designed to end homelessness in 10 years. The goal reflects new optimism among academics and advocates that homelessness is not an intractable feature of urban life, as it has sometimes seemed, but a problem that can be solved. This belief is fueled by recent research debunking a number of long-standing myths about homelessness in America -- and showing that many of our old policies were unwittingly making the problem worse.

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 …

Ending Chronic Homelessness: Cost-Effective Opportunities For Interagency Collaboration, Dennis P. Culhane, Thomas Byrne

Dennis P. Culhane

Faced with a difficult economic climate with high levels of unemployment and widespread home foreclosures, the Administration of President Barack Obama has created a unique opportunity to rethink and redirect fundamental policies and practices ranging from health care to regulation of the financial industry. A similar opportunity exists to change Federal homeless assistance policies and programs.

Institutional Discharges And Subsequent Shelter Use Among Unaccompanied Adults In New York City, Stephen Metraux, Thomas Byrne, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

This study empirically examines the link between homelessness and discharges from other institutions. An administrative record match was undertaken to determine rates of discharge from institutional care for 9,247 unaccompanied adult shelter users in New York City. Cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis was then used to assess associations between different types of institutional discharges and the likelihood of persons subsequently experiencing extended shelter stays. Results show that 28% of the cohort was discharged from institutional care within the 90-day period preceding their initial shelter entry, with different types of institutional discharge associated with differences in subsequent patterns of …

Tackling Homelessness In Los Angeles' Skid Row: The Role Of Policing Strategies And The Spatial Deconcentration Of Homelessness, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

While recent research suggests that policing interventions can reduce crime through the spatial deconcentration of street homelessness in Skid Row, such efforts will not succeed on a sustained basis. The city and county need a more comprehensive plan that includes targeted housing development for people who are chronically homeless, along with the spatial deconcentration and repurposing of existing homeless programs.

Behavioral Health Services Use Among Heads Of Homeless And Housed Poor Families, Jung Min Park, Stephen Metraux, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

Objectives. This study compares the use of and cost for behavioral health services among heads of homeless and housed poor families. Methods. Medicaid records for 59,135 heads of families receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families benefits were matched with data from Philadelphia’s municipal shelter system. Propensity score matching was used to select a matched control group to those identified as having been homeless between 1997 and 2003. Behavioral health services utilization was then assessed based on Medicaid claims records. Results. Substantially higher levels of behavioral health services use and corresponding costs were found among heads of families with a history …

Using Adult Linkages Project Data For Determining Patterns And Costs Of Services Use By General Relief Recipients In Los Angeles County, Stephen Metraux, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

This study examines services use and related costs for two cohorts of General Relief (GR) recipients in Los Angeles County. The study is made possible by the creation of the Adult Linkages Project (ALP), a data warehouse containing data on the GR recipients that spans eight Los Angeles County departments. This integration of data sources and County departments enables a unique window into the comprehensive use of County services by GR recipients, and allows for the exploration of hidden costs that GR recipients incur to Los Angeles County. The identification of such services use patterns forms the basis for service …

The 2008 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report To Congress, Dennis P. Culhane, Jill Khadduri, Alvaro Cortes, Larry Buron

Dennis P. Culhane

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pleased to present the 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), the fourth in a series of reports on homelessness in the United States. The reports respond to a series of Congressional directives calling for the collection and analysis of data on homelessness. The 2008 AHAR breaks new ground by being the first report to provide year-to-year trend information on homelessness in the United States. The report provides the latest counts of homelessness nationwide—including counts of individuals, persons in families, and special population groups such as veterans and chronically homeless people. …

The History And Future Of Homeless Management Information Systems, Stephen R. Poulin, Stephen Metraux, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

This chapter reviews the history of the development of management information systems in the homelessness program area. Efforts begun in the 1980s and 1990s by individual cities are discussed, as are the Congressional initatives that led to the mandated implementation of such systems in the US. The use of these systems for the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to the US Congress is described, as are potential future uses of HMIS for research, policy and program planning.