On 26 March 2026, the Housing First Europe Hub and the Canadian Housing Network hosted a webinar on Citywide Approaches to Housing First, bringing together experts from Europe and North America. The session explored how Housing First can be implemented at a citywide level and scaled across entire systems through collaboration, planning, and policy change.
Keynote participants:
- Sai Nair (presenter), Housing Inclusion Service Manager at Royal Borough of Greenwich, UK
- Mandy Chapman Semple (presenter), Co-Founder of Clutch Consulting Group & Houston’s first Special Assistant to the Mayor for Homeless Initiatives, Houston, Texas
- Sam Tsemberis (discussant), Founder of Housing First, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry at University of California, Los Angeles
The Q&A highlighted key challenges, including balancing fidelity to the Housing First model with local adaptation, and identifying practical ways to scale during a housing emergency. Participants discussed barriers such as access to supported housing, allocation policies, and gaps between official homelessness data and realities on the ground.
Speakers also reflected on the need to sustain progress over time, maintain Housing First as a targeted intervention for people with complex needs, and uphold core principles like choice in housing. Questions around methodology, temporary accommodation, and inclusion of groups such as irregular migrants pointed to ongoing system and policy constraints.
Watch the full recording of the webinar below: