MANAGING & GROWING HOUSING FIRST

Implementing Housing First is just the beginning — scaling up and managing programmes effectively requires strong partnerships, sustainable funding, and ongoing support for both teams and participants. Whether you are a private landlord, a social or public housing provider, or an organisation delivering Housing First, your role in this transformative process is critical.
Providing good-quality housing to vulnerable people not only improves their quality of life but also greatly increases their chances of long-term recovery from homelessness.
This section offers practical guidance, tools, and resources to help organisations strengthen and expand their Housing First programmes. From securing housing and funding to supporting staff well-being, evaluating projects, building strong teams, and understanding what works through evaluation, you’ll find documents, links, and connections to make Housing First work at scale.
Evaluation is a central part of Housing First, ensuring that services are effective, impactful, and sustainable. Strong evidence has been key to the model’s success, helping to influence policy and secure long-term funding. Across Europe, evaluations have consistently shown that Housing First works in diverse welfare and housing systems, with positive results reported in many countries.
By measuring outcomes systematically, services can track performance, identify areas for improvement, and strengthen support for tenants. High-quality evaluations not only help sustain and expand Housing First programmes but also provide valuable insights for governments, charities, and service providers, reinforcing Housing First as a proven and cost-effective approach to ending homelessness.
Find out more here.
Publications
Unlocking housing for Housing First
Homelessness continues to be an acute problem for almost all countries in Europe, but there is new political eagerness to tackle this problem, including from the European Union with…
Find out more hereA guide to using EU funds for Housing First
The EU Funds can help drive investment in Housing First, and Housing First and housing-led approaches can be a lever to reducing, ending and preventing homelessness. Co-developed with FEANTSA,…
Find out more hereAn Introduction to Housing First – Landlords…
Designed for landlords and housing providers interested in supporting and engaging with the Housing First approach, this introductory guide offers insight and answers some frequently asked questions about what…
Find out more hereWebinars
Recruitment & Well-Being
Recruitment in Housing First
In this webinar, Antii Martikainen, Alppikatu Housing Unit Manager at The Salvation Army (FI), Gary Neil from Rock Trust (UK), and Liz Littler from Turning Point Scotland (UK) discuss recruitment in…
Checkout the recording hereRecruitment and Well-being in Housing First teams
On 27th September, from 11:00 – 13:00 CEST, 12:00 – 14:00 EEST, 10:00 – 11:00 BST join Rachel Marshall, St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity on a discussion about Recruitment and Well-being…
Checkout the recording hereHousing First Worker Well-Being: Challenges and Im…
The Canadian Housing First Network, the Provincial System Support Program, and the Housing First Europe Hub will host the International Housing First Webinar Series. The presenters will discuss the following…
Checkout the recording hereCoping with Stress, Grief and Loss while deliverin…
Laura Young from Focus Ireland and Emma Wilkinson from Rock Trust discuss strategies and tools for coping with stress and grief as a Housing First practitioner, as well as…
Checkout the recording hereHousing & Programme Sustainability
Erasmus+: Exploring exits from Housing First
WEBINAR Erasmus+: Exploring exits from Housing First Different research and evaluations on the implementation of the HF methodology in Europe show high housing retention rates among service users. However,…
Checkout the recording hereComparing models of permanent housing: Scattered s…
Join this webinar to learn about research and practices comparing scattered site Housing First and congregate supportive housing approaches. You will hear from experts and practitioners in Canada, United…
Checkout the recording hereUsing the EU structural funds to Finance Housing F…
On 9th June 2022, the Hub held a roundtable discussion on how to use the European Structural Funds to finance Housing First projects and services. We heard from experts in…
Checkout the recording hereNew Alliances and Ambition for Housing First in Ci…
Martine Chanal, Policy Officer for Strategy and Innovation at the Housing Department of Grand Lyon La Métropole (Lyon Metropolitan Authority), Manuel Hennin, Project Manager for Housing and Accommodation at…
Checkout the recording herePeer Support & Recovery in Housing First
Managing Substance Use Concerns in Housing First S…
WEBINAR: Managing Substance Use Concerns in Housing First Settings On the 28th of January, the Evidence Exchange Network at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Canadian Housing…
Checkout the recording hereOverdose Prevention and Recovery Support in Housin…
On the 19th of March, the Evidence Exchange Network at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Canadian Housing First Network, and the Housing First Europe Hub hosted…
Checkout the recording herePeer work in Housing First
Liz Littler, Service Manager at the Housing First Consortium Glasgow, Allison Symonds, Social Worker and Peer Aid at Un Chez Soi d’Abord and Riikka Tuomi, Peer Support Worker and…
Checkout the recording hereResearch and Other Resources
publication
Managing Transitions in Housing First services
Developed following Homeless Link’s research into Reducing, changing or ending Housing First support last year, this new guidance on Managing Transitions in Housing First services is led by Homeless Link, with…
Find out more herepublication
Living conditions and quality of life – Unaf…
Eurofound published a report on the topic of ‘Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe’. The report covers the significant issue of unaffordable housing in the EU, which leads to…
Find out more hereresource
Understanding the ‘How’ in Housing First: Part 1 &…
After more than a decade of working to help people experiencing homelessness in the Netherlands, I’ve been thinking about what sets Housing First apart from an experience perspective. Aside…
Find out more hereresource
Housing First, but what comes second? A qualitativ…
Abstract Single-site Housing First (HF) is associated with reduced publicly funded service utilization and costs and alcohol-related harm for chronically homeless individuals with severe alcohol problems. Many residents, however,…
Find out more hereresource
What Happens After the Demonstration Phase?: The S…
This research examined the sustainability of Canada’s At Home/Chez Soi Housing First (HF) programmes for homeless persons with mental illness 2 years after the end of the demonstration phase…
Find out more hereresource
Working together to secure the future of Housing F…
As Housing First continues to gain traction as a key part of the solution to end homelessness, we must think about scale-up and development at a national level. Homeless…
Find out more hereresource
Lessons from 10 years of Housing First – Nic…
After 10 years of Housing First in Scotland and the UK, we felt that this was the right time to celebrate our success, share what has gone well and…
Find out more hereresource
Understanding the ‘How’ in Housing First: Part 2 &…
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about just how important the frontline worker (FLW) role is when it comes to successful delivery of Housing First. More specifically, what are…
Find out more here