Supportive Housing Helps Vulnerable People Live and Thrive in the Community

Everyone needs safe, decent, stable housing. For some of the most vulnerable people in America — people with mental illness, chronic health conditions, histories of trauma, and other struggles — a home helps them to get adequate treatment and start on the path toward recovery. But some conditions make it difficult for people to maintain a stable home without additional help. Supportive housing, a highly effective strategy that combines affordable housing with intensive coordinated services, can provide that needed assistance. Living without stable housing can drastically worsen health. Homelessness can exacerbate mental illness, make ending substance abuse difficult, and prevent chronic physical health conditions from being addressed. People with these and other health issues often end up in crisis situations while living on the streets, and emergency rooms may be the only health care they are able to access. Although affordable housing is part of the solution, some people may need their housing coupled with supportive services to maintain it. For instance, service providers can help people with mental illness pay their rent on time and understand the rights and responsibilities outlined in a lease, or can make sure people with chronic illnesses manage their diet and medicine properly, which can keep them out of hospitals or nursing homes. A broad body of research shows that supportive housing effectively helps people with disabilities maintain stable housing. People in supportive housing use costly systems like emergency health services less frequently and are less likely to be incarcerated. Supportive housing also can aid people with disabilities in getting better health care and help seniors trying to stay in the community as they age and families trying to keep their children out of foster care. Policymakers, administrators, and health providers are increasingly aware that a lack of stable housing can interfere with health goals, and that linking health care with affordable housing can produce better outcomes for some people than providing them separately. Yet there is not nearly enough supportive housing to meet the need.