Knowledge Development and Capacity Building
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Community of Practice

Housing First is the only evidence-based approach to addressing homelessness, with a deep research foundation that is embedded in the practice of Housing First across the world.

We combine this with capacity building to support the development of Housing First as a core, systemic response to homelessness, with a particular focus on communities of practice.

To support Housing First service workers and managers, the Housing First Europe Hub has developed an active community of practitioners of Housing First and Housing First for Youth.

If you would like to participate or learn more about our Communities of Practice, please email Samara Jones: samara.jones@housingfirsteurope.eu

Evaluations and Assessments

  • EVALUATION: Housing First Evaluation Framework – Template

    To support researchers and service providers seeking to assess Housing First services, the Research group of the Housing First Europe Hub has developed an Evaluation Framework template for Housing First programs in Europe. The framework proposes 2 different configurations:
    • Extended version: A version comprising different standardized and validated instruments per each area… Check it out here

  • EVALUATION: Findings from the 50 LIVES 50 HOMES Program – Zero Project, Perth, Australia

    The 50 Lives 50 Homes program (50 Lives), which commenced in late-2015 and was the first Housing First program in Western Australia (WA). It was a collaborative program that aimed to house and support 50 of the most vulnerable… Check it out here

  • EVALUATION: Housing First Scotland – Pathfinder

    Housing First Scotland’s Pathfinder programme, which ran from April 2019-March 2022, was independently evaluated by I-SPHERE in partnership with ICF this year. Some interesting findings from the evaluation include:
    • Tenancy sustainment rates of 88% at 12-months and 80% at 24-months overall – even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic
    • By demonstrating the efficacy of… Check it out here

  • EVALUATION: National Housing First Implementation Evaluation Findings Prepared for the National Housing First Implementation Committee

    “Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland is the Government’s plan for addressing housing needs and homelessness through the year 2030. For people experiencing homelessness, the plan specified: 1) a target of 1200 occupancies, which was later increased to 1319 (but… Check it out here

  • Limerick Youth Housing Project Evaluation Report

    The innovative project is a collaboration between Focus Ireland, Tusla and Limerick City and Council, with the aim of providing homes for vulnerable young people along with vital support to help them sustain their tenancies as they make the transition into adulthood. The independent evaluation was carried out by… Check it out here

  • Evaluatie Housing First

    An evaluation of HF4Y in The Netherlands (in Dutch). Check it out here

  • Findings from A Fidelity Assessment of a Housing First Programme in a Small Canadian City

    This paper presents the findings of a second fidelity assessment of a Housing First programme in a small Canadian city. The evaluation included two components: a) a fidelity assessment by an external team of experts; and b) key informant interviews and focus groups with programme staff to identify contributors… Check it out here

  • First Assessment of the Housing First Methodology in Spain: Solutions to Homelessness

    Hogar Sí and Provivienda have released the first evaluation of the Hábitat Housing First service in Spain, which adds to the growing body of international evidence that the Housing First model is an efficient and effective solution to help end homelessness. >… Check it out here

  • EVALUATION: Westminster VAWG Housing First Service Second Year Evaluation

    This evaluation highlights the key outcomes, challenges, and successes of the second year of the Westminster VAWG Housing First project. It covers the period of September 2020 – September 2021 and focuses on the experiences of the 20 women being supported as of the end of that period. Read or download… Check it out here

Research Digest

  • Housing First Europe Hub’s Research Digest

    Let us introduce the first ever Housing First Europe Hub’s Research Digest! You can now sit back and enjoy. The Hub’s Research Work Cluster will digest a selection of three to five papers on Housing First for you every four months. We want to showcase new and relevant research on… Check it out here

  • Housing First Research Digest Vol. 2

    This edition of the newsletter is curated by Francesca Albanese (Crisis) member of the HF Hub Europe Research Work Cluster. The focus of this edition of the research digest is on studies which look at the cost effectiveness and potential benefits of Housing First interventions. There are longstanding… Check it out here

  • Housing First Digest: Volume 3

    Welcome to the third volume of the Housing First Research Digest!

    This volume is organized by Nadyah Abdel Salam (Est Metropole Habitat), member of the Housing First Europe Hub research cluster, and focuses on the Housing First dissemination and appropriation processes as a model for intervention and as a philosophy for… Check it out here

  • Housing First Research Digest: Volume 4

    Welcome to the fourth volume of the Housing First Research Digest!

    This edition of the Housing First Research Digest is curated by Maja Flåto (Norwegian State Housing Bank), member of the Housing First Europe Hub Research Work Cluster. Two of the papers… Check it out here

  • Housing First Research Digest: Volume 5

    Welcome to the fifth volume of the Housing First Research Digest!

    This edition of the Housing First Research Digest is curated by Daniel Hoey (Focus Ireland), member of the Housing First Europe Hub Research Work Cluster. The focus of this edition of the research… Check it out here

  • Housing First Research Digest: Volume 6

     

    “Graduating from Housing First?” 

    A key principle of the Housing First model is time-unlimited support. For Tsemberis, support should only be withdrawn or discontinued when it is no longer required by the client, “at which point they may graduate”. (Check it out here

  • Housing First Research Digest: Volume 7

    “Housing First, Meaningful Activity, and Well-being”

    When individuals exit homelessness through Housing First (HF) programmes, individualised wraparound services are put into place to support them to maintain their tenancies and embark on journeys of recovery from physical health, mental… Check it out here

Articles & Publications

  • “Housing First” for Homeless Youth With Mental Illness

    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: “Housing First” has been shown to improve housing stability in homeless individuals with mental illness, but had not been empirically tested in homeless youth. We aimed to evaluate the effect of “Housing First” on housing stability in homeless youth aged 18 to 24 years participating in… Check it out here

  • 2019 Housing First in Europe: An Overview of Implementation, Strategy, and Fidelity

    This overview of the development of Housing First in 19 countries in Europe was designed to take a snapshot of how quickly Housing First is being adopted, the extent to which it is present in local, regional, and national strategies and homelessness programmes, as well as to provide a… Check it out here

  • A home but how to connect with others? A qualitative meta‐synthesis of experiences of people with mental illness living in supported housing

    This study looks into how living in supported housing facilitate social connections and participation from the viewpoints of people living with mental illness. The findings show that supported housing residents face challenges of protecting their privacy and being lonely when on their own. Individualised support approaches need to attend… Check it out here

  • A health and social cost too high

    This report represents the first analysis of the consolidated Registry Week data across Australia. The data provides the largest and richest collection of information on people experiencing homelessness in Australian capital and regional cities outside the Census and the national administrative data for homelessness services, the Specialist Homelessness Services… Check it out here

  • A Randomized Trial Examining Housing First in Congregate and Scattered Site Formats

    Abstract Objective No previous experimental trials have investigated Housing First (HF) in both scattered site (SHF) and congregate (CHF) formats. We hypothesized that CHF and SHF would be associated with a greater percentage of time stably housed as well as superior health and psy-chosocial outcomes over 24 months compared to treatment… Check it out here

  • Care et recovery : jusqu’où ne pas décider pour autrui ? L’exemple du programme « Un chez-soi d’abord » Care and recovery. Letting someone decide for him/ herself: To which extent? The “Housing-first program” in France

    Taking the example of the “Housing First Program” in France, the paper analyses the difficulties this form of care meets. Check it out here

  • Chronically Homeless People in Poland: Target Group of the ‘Housing First – Evidence based Advocacy’ Project

    This paper by Julia Wygnańska introduces the methodology and results of three studies conducted under the ‘Housing First – Evidence based Advocacy’ project implemented between 2014 and 2016 in Poland (EEA Grant). The aim of the studies was to assess the presence, scale and basic characteristics of the predefined target… Check it out here

  • Common ground, complementary approaches: adapting the Housing First model for domestic violence survivors

    This article describes the commonalities between the Housing First model and the tenets of domestic violence victim advocacy work and explores how Housing First can be adapted to effectively achieve safe and stable housing for DV survivors and their children. Preliminary evidence for the adapted model – termed Domestic… Check it out here

  • COVID-19 Resources: Homelessness & Housing First

    As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation unfolds there is a significant impact on homelessness service provision, as well as challenges specific to people experiencing homelessness that need to be sensitively considered and addressed in order to ensure that the most… Check it out here

  • Danger Zones and Stepping Stones: Phase Two A quantitative exploration of young people’s experience of temporary living

    This second phase of Dangers Zones and Stepping Stones by Depaul UK presents the findings of a quantitative survey involving 712 young people aged from 16 to 25 who were receiving help from homelessness organisations. Read more: DANGER-ZONES-REPORT Check it out here

  • Ending Homelessness Together: High Level Action Plan (Scotland)

    This new plan sets out how Scotland will reduce homelessness and work towards preventing homelessness with a focus on Housing First.   https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/publication/2018/11/ending-homelessness-together-high-level-action-plan/documents/00543359-pdf/00543359-pdf/govscot%3Adocument   Read more from a blog by from Jon Sparkes:   http://www.scottishhousingnews.com/25112/blog-ending-homelessness-together-in-the-scottish-parliament/ Check it out here

  • Everybody in – How to end homelessness in Great Britain

    This plan by Crisis outlines the evidence-based solutions that can end homelessness in Great Britain, built round the belief that everyone should have –and is ready for – a safe, stable place to live. It contains solutions for the long term, rather than to suit current political favour, building… Check it out here

  • Final reports and contributions from the final Housing First Europe conference in Amsterdam, June 2013

    Housing First Europe – Final report Check it out here

  • Guidelines on Housing Support during COVID19 Crisis – Habitat Housing First

    Due to this situation of lockdown for the sake of public health in Spain, and taking into account the profile of our Housing First clients–people who formerly experienced homelessness, a COVID-19 high risk group-, the Housing First’s services portfolio has been… Check it out here

  • Gendering Women’s Homelessness

    Abstract
    The importance of developing gender-sensitive policy responses to women’s
    homelessness has emerged in recent literature on homelessness. To achieve
    this, policy responses must recognise the diverse and complex needs of all
    homeless women, including those accompanied or unaccompanied by their
    children. This paper reviews some of the key literature on homelessness to
    ascertain the… Check it out here

  • Housing First and Social Integration: A Realistic Aim?

    Housing First is now dominating discussions about how best to respond to homelessness among people with high and complex needs throughout the EU and in several countries within the OECD. Whilst recognised internationally as an effective model in addressing homelessness, little attention has been given as to whether Housing… Check it out here

  • Housing First Europe Final Report

    http://www.habitat.hu/files/FinalReportHousingFirstEurope.pdf This  final report of the Housing First Europe (HFE) project will provide an overview of HFE, explain the Housing First approach and current debates about it, and present the projects which have participated in HFE as well as some other Housing First projects implemented in Europe which were not… Check it out here

  • Housing First Feasibility Study for Liverpool City Region

    The study aimed to test the feasibility of implementing Housing First at scale within the Liverpool City Region. Link to summary of study Check it out here

  • HOUSING FIRST Housing-led solutions to rough sleeping and homelessness

    Check it out here

  • First examination of varying health outcomes of the chronically homeless according to Housing First configuration

    Objective: To determine whether two Housing First configurations (scattered site versus congregated site ) are associated with different health-related outcomes. Methods: This ecological study employed a longitudinal, quantitative design to compare the outcomes from 63 individuals (SS: n=37; CS: n=26) in Sydney, Australia, over 12 months. Results: Both configurations showed similar improvements… Check it out here

  • Housing First in Denmark: An Analysis of the Coverage Rate among Homeless People and Types of Shelter Users

    This paper analyses the coverage rate of Housing First in the overall population of homeless people in Denmark. Results show that in the municipalities that were part of the program only one in twenty homeless people were enrolled in the program. Moreover, following Kuhn and Culhane’s (1998) typology of… Check it out here

  • Housing First in Canada: Supporting Communities to End Homelessness

    Check it out here

  • Housing First Programs can end Street Homelessness

    Abstract: Evidence continues to pile up from the United States, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia that Housing First Programs can end homelessness for people who have been chronically homeless. These programs are not new to Australia. However, they have not been widely funded and where they do… Check it out here