Evidence Calls “Housing First” Homelessness Strategy into Question

Last month, the Biden administration unveiled a new federal plan to address homelessness, with the goal of reducing homelessness 25 percent by 2025. The plan’s foundation rests on an approach known as Housing First, a philosophy for addressing the issue of homelessness that emphasizes the need for permanent housing before tackling other issues, such as mental health problems or substance use disorder.[1] Proponents of this method advocate providing the homeless with housing whether or not they have a job or overcome other obstacles to stability. Once the need for housing is addressed, advocates argue, the formerly homeless will be able to tackle underlying problems, find a job, and begin to stabilize their lives.The Biden administration’s Housing First strategy is not new. In fact, several states have implemented policies that are based on Housing First principles. Utah is a prominent example, as the state began implementing Housing First policies in 2005, with the goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2015.[2] Other states and cities have followed suit, including California, Seattle, and Denver, and so have some countries, such as Canada and Finland.