HOUSING FIRST:

WHAT IS HOUSING FIRST?: Housing First is an approach prioritizing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness. It's intended as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals to improve their quality of life. It's guided by the belief people need basics like food and a place to live before addressing issues such as education, financial literacy, jobs and or treatment for substance use issues. Most of these programs are administered in the form of rental assistance starting with an organization making direct payments to a landlord and slowly changing it to a subsidy responsibility of the individual instead of the traditional shelter model. Its also started to become popular and a buzz word among many academics and advocates for ending homelessness. While many studies show great success for Housing First in the short term, many additional studies are still needed for long term implications.