Homelessness and Mental Health: Part 2. The Impact of Housing Interventions

April 2021

This second installment of a double collection on homelessness and mental health focuses on the impact of housing interventions for individuals experiencing homelessness. Homelessness disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including individuals with mental health conditions. This collection identifies evidence-based interventions that target homelessness and associated adverse outcomes. Articles examine Housing First, a recovery-oriented approach to housing that has been shown to improve quality of life and reduce service utilization for individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as combinations of Housing First paired with assertive community treatment (ACT) models for patients with serious mental illness. Additionally, the impact of supportive housing on mental health and social relationships, shared housing approaches, and factors associated with exiting housing are reviewed. Finally, the collection offers pieces that explore the importance of addressing the housing, mental health, and social needs of youths experiencing homelessness. Individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness face unprecedented challenges that warrant evidence-based interventions to advance both the care and health of our patients and communities.

Lilanthi Balasuriya, M.D.
Lisa B. Dixon, M.D., M.P.H.

Browse all Editor’s Choice collections

---

The Impacts of Housing First

Trajectories of Homeless Shelter Utilization in the At Home/Chez Soi Trial of Housing First
Cherry M. T. Chu, M.Sc., Erica E. M. Moodie, Ph.D., David L. Streiner, Ph.D., Eric A. Latimer, Ph.D.
2020, Volume 71, Issue 7, pp. 648–655

Also featured in the Homelessness and Mental Health: Part 1 collection.

Cost-Effectiveness of Housing First With Assertive Community Treatment: Results From the Canadian At Home/Chez Soi Trial
Eric A. Latimer, Ph.D., Daniel Rabouin, M.Sc., Zhirong Cao, M.Sc., Angela Ly, M.H.A., Guido Powell, M.Sc., Tim Aubry, Ph.D., Jino Distasio, Ph.D., Stephen W. Hwang, M.D., M.P.H., Julian M. Somers, Ph.D., Ahmed M. Bayoumi, M.D., M.Sc., Craig Mitton, Ph.D., Erica E. M. Moodie, Ph.D., Paula N. Goering, R.N., Ph.D.
2020, Volume 71, Issue 10, pp. 1020–1030


Effects of Housing First on Employment and Income of Homeless Individuals: Results of a Randomized Trial
Daniel Poremski, Ph.D., Vicky Stergiopoulos, M.D., Erika Braithwaite, M.Sc., Jino Distasio, Ph.D., Rosane Nisenbaum, Ph.D., Eric Latimer, Ph.D.
2016, Volume 67, Issue 6, pp. 603–609

Also featured in the Asking for Change: Homelessness and Mental Health collection.

Associations of Housing First Configuration and Crime and Social Connectedness Among Persons With Chronic Homelessness Histories
Elizabeth Whittaker, B.A., B.Bus.Man., Paul Robert Flatau, M.Ec., Ph.D., Wendy Swift, Ph.D., Timothy A. Dobbins, B.Math., Ph.D., Lucinda Burns, M.P.H., Ph.D.
2016, Volume 67, Issue 10, pp. 1091–1097

Also featured in the Asking for Change: Homelessness and Mental Health collection.

Fidelity to the Housing First Model and Variation in Health Service Use Within Permanent Supportive Housing
Todd P. Gilmer, Ph.D., Ana Stefancic, Ph.D., M.A., Benjamin F. Henwood, Ph.D., M.S.W., Susan L. Ettner, Ph.D.
2015, Volume 66, Issue 12, pp. 1283–1289

Editor Spotlight

Willingness of Housing First Participants to Consider Supported-Employment Services
Daniel Poremski, Ph.D., and Stephen W. Hwang, M.D., M.P.H.
2016, Volume 67, Issue 6, pp. 667–670

Editor Spotlight

Housing First Models With Assertive Community Treatment

One-Year Outcomes of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Housing First With ACT in Five Canadian Cities
Tim Aubry, M.A., Ph.D., Sam Tsemberis, Ph.D., Carol E. Adair M.Sc., Ph.D., Scott Veldhuizen, M.A., David Streiner, Ph.D., Eric Latimer, Ph.D., Jitender Sareen, M.D., Michelle Patterson, Ph.D., Kathleen McGarvey, M.D., Brianna Kopp, M.P.H., Catharine Hume, M.H.Sc., Paula Goering, R.N., Ph.D.
2015, Volume 66, Issue 5, pp. 463–469

Impacts of Housing on Mental Health Outcomes

Housing Programs for Homeless Individuals With Mental Illness: Effects on Housing and Mental Health Outcomes
Elizabeth A. Benston, M.S.W., L.S.W.
2015, Volume 66, Issue 8, pp. 806–816

Also featured in the Asking for Change: Homelessness and Mental Health collection.

Life Changes Among Homeless Persons With Mental Illness: A Longitudinal Study of Housing First and Usual Treatment
Geoffrey Nelson, Ph.D., Michelle Patterson, Ph.D., Maritt Kirst, Ph.D., Eric Macnaughton, Ph.D., Corinne A. Isaak, M.Sc., Danielle Nolin, Ph.D., Christopher McAll, Ph.D., Vicky Stergiopoulos, M.D., M.H.Sc., Greg Townley, Ph.D., Timothy MacLeod, M.A., Myra Piat, Ph.D., Paula N. Goering, R.N., Ph.D.
2015, Volume 66, Issue 6, pp. 592–597

Also featured in the Asking for Change: Homelessness and Mental Health collection.

Impact of Supported Housing on Social Relationships Among Homeless Veterans
Maria J. O’Connell, Ph.D., Wesley J. Kasprow, Ph.D., M.P.H., Robert A. Rosenheck, M.D.
2017, Volume 68, Issue 2, pp. 203–206

Shared Housing Approaches

Opening More Doors to End Homelessness Through a Shared Housing Approach
Molly Brown, Ph.D.
2016, Volume 67, Issue 10, p. 1161

Also featured in the Asking for Change: Homelessness and Mental Health collection.

Factors Associated With Exiting Supportive Housing

Factors Associated With Premature Exits From Supported Housing
Sonya Gabrielian, M.D., M.P.H., Alaina V. Burns, M.D., M.P.H., Nupur Nanda, B.A., Gerhard Hellemann, Ph.D., Vincent Kane, M.S.W., Alexander S. Young, M.D., M.S.H.S.
2016, Volume 67, Issue 1, pp. 86–93

Also featured in the Asking for Change: Homelessness and Mental Health collection.

Meeting the Housing, Mental Health, and Social Needs of Youths Experiencing Homelessness

Addressing Intersecting Social and Mental Health Needs Among Transition-Age Homeless Youths: A Review of the Literature
Dominika A. Winiarski, Ph.D., Angela C. Glover, B.A., Dawn T. Bounds, Ph.D., P.M.H.N.P.-B.C., Niranjan S. Karnik, M.D., Ph.D.
2021, Volume 72, Issue 3, pp. 317–324


The Unique Needs of Homeless Youths With Mental Illness: Baseline Findings From a Housing First Trial
Nicole Kozloff, M.D., Vicky Stergiopoulos, M.D., M.H.Sc., Carol E. Adair, M.Sc., Ph.D., Amy H. Cheung, M.D., M.S., Vachan Misir, M.Sc., Greg Townley, Ph.D., Jimmy Bourque, Ph.D., Michael Krausz, M.D., Ph.D., Paula Goering, R.N., Ph.D.
2016, Volume 67, Issue 10, pp. 1083–1090


Fidelity of a Strengths-Based Intervention Used by Dutch Shelters for Homeless Young Adults
Manon A. M. Krabbenborg, M.Sc., Sandra N. Boersma, Ph.D., Mariëlle D. Beijersbergen, Ph.D., Richard J. Goscha, Ph.D., Judith R. L. M. Wolf, Ph.D.
2015, Volume 66, Issue 5, pp. 470–476

Browse all Editor’s Choice collections

Related journal and news articles

Comments and feedback about Editor’s Choice: [email protected]