This week, we’re proud to participate in Supportive Housing Week – an awareness initiative from our partners at Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH). Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing information about supportive housing in Virginia, as well as some upcoming opportunities to get involved.
But First – What is Supportive Housing?
Supportive housing combines affordable housing with best-practice services for individuals or families who face many complex medical, mental health, and/or substance use issues. Supportive housing residents have access to a variety of services, such as intensive case management, health care, workforce development programs, child welfare services, etc.
What Are the Outcomes of Supportive Housing?
Supportive housing has been shown to improve housing stability – along with helping people achieve better outcomes in health and well-being, employment, education, and other areas of their lives.
1. Supportive housing keeps tenants stably housed.
Affordable rents + supportive services = a winning combination for keeping people in safe, stable housing. Supportive housing is highly beneficial for individuals exiting homelessness and/or institutional settings (e.g., jails, hospitals), who may face additional barriers to finding and maintaining housing. These benefits are often true in the long run – in fact, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) reports that nearly 92% of residents remained stably housed one year after entering their Permanent Supportive Housing program.
2. Supportive housing is associated with better physical and mental health outcomes.
Supportive housing is associated with lower rates of emergency department visits, as residents have the opportunity to address chronic, complex physical and mental health conditions proactively. For people experiencing addiction, supportive housing is also linked to reductions in active substance use.
3. Supportive housing offers residents a chance to find a sense of community.
Supportive housing also offers residents a chance to form and maintain social connections in their community of choice rather than a restrictive institutional setting, which is often where folks may find themselves when supportive housing is not available In addition, through services like case management, residents are connected with local resources.
4. Supportive housing can help people find and maintain employment – which improves economic stability.
Residents of supportive housing may have access to workforce development opportunities, such as career counseling or job training programs. In turn, many supportive housing residents experience improved financial well-being as their incomes improve.
5. Supportive housing can improve childhood well-being and educational outcomes.
Supportive housing isn’t just for individuals – it’s for families, too. In fact, it’s an important tool for keeping families together, as a lack of safe, stable housing is a common contributing factor among youth who are placed within the foster care system. Supportive housing has also been associated with increased attendance rates among school-aged children.
6. Supportive housing also offers a number of community benefits.
Supportive housing offers a more affordable, sustainable, and compassionate alternative to costly hospital or jail stays. It reduces the financial burden on public systems and has been shown to reduce rates of recidivism among people returning from incarceration. Supportive housing is a proactive, cost-effective measure – allowing communities to prevent issues, rather than just responding to them repeatedly.
Curious to Learn More?
Check out the State of Supportive Housing Report from VHA and CSH, published in 2022. This report is updated every five years – so stay tuned for an announcement soon!