Family Homelessness

CCEH has begun work to explore new models for ending family homelessness in a special project over the next few years. Recently published research has established that a high number of families experiencing homelessness demonstrate relatively low service needs as compared to their single adult counterparts.1 For them, the issue is often simple economics and the critical lack of affordable housing.

Prevention and rapid re-housing models which provide one-time cash assistance or short term subsidies for families facing homelessness have shown great promise around the country as a potentially high impact, relatively low cost complement to permanent supportive housing strategies which have been so successful in reducing long term homelessness. Under the guidance of Dr. Dennis Culhane of the University of Pennsylvania , the leading U.S. scholar in the area of homelessness, CCEH will assist communities as they implement the pilots. Using the Homeless Management Information System, CCEH will collect data on the pilots and, with Dr. Culhane, evaluate their effectiveness and work with State officials to replicate their success statewide.

CCEH has convened an interagency advisory group including representatives from DSS, DCF, DECD, CT Legal Assistance, and service providers to craft a major policy initiative in time for the 2009 Legislative Session. Already, CCEH is coordinating the Beyond Shelter program in 12 CT communities and has, working with the Department of Social Services, expanded its scope to align it with best practices relating to the rapid re-housing model. It stands ready to become the backbone to CT's rapid re-housing initiative. A confluence of opportunity with two additional new state programs (Counselors in Shelters and Children in Shelters funds available as part of the 2007 biennial budget) will also support and advance work in this area and CCEH is working with DSS to assure those funds drive toward systems change as well.

CCEH's new strategies to solve family homelessness in Connecticut

Ending Family Homelessness in Connecticut

CT one of 12 States in HUD Family Homelessness Evaluation

Connecticut has been selected as a site for a HUD-sponsored national study to evaluate the Effects of Housing and Services Interventions on Families, reportedly the largest study ever conducted on homelessness in the U.S. Participants in the study will include service providers in New Haven, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Westport and Stamford, and the New Haven and Bridgeport Housing Authorities. CCEH is working with Dennis Culhane of the University of Pennsylvania, and Abt Associates. CCEH worked not only to secure the cooperation of shelter and transitional housing providers, Public Housing Authorities and DSS, but successfully advocated for the 50 housing vouchers targeted to the homeless for this study.

The study will compare several combinations of housing assistance and services in a multi-site experiment, to determine which interventions work best to promote housing stability, family preservation, well-being, and self-sufficiency. The evaluation will use an experimental research design, with eligible families who volunteer to be included in the study assigned at random to one of the designated housing and services interventions. Nationally, the study will aim to enroll 3,000 families and follow them for at least 18 months to measure outcomes and determine the effects of the interventions. Families who seek assistance from an emergency shelter and remain in the shelter for at least seven days will be invited to enroll in the study. The types of housing and services interventions will include:

1. Permanent housing subsidies without supportive services;
2. Project-Based Transitional Housing, featuring temporary housing assistance offered for up to 24 months in transitional housing facilities combined with supportive services;
3. Community-Based Rapid Re-housing, rental assistance for 2 to 6 months in conventional, private-market housing, with limited, housing-focused services; and
4. Usual Care, (the services people would access on their own from shelter) and may include short-term shallow rental subsidies funded through HPRP with or without supportive services.

¹Testing a typology of Family Homelessness Based on Patterns of Public Shelter Utilization in Four U.S. Jurisdictions: Implications for Policy and Program Planning, Dennis P. Culhane, Stephen Metraux, Jung Min Park, Maryanne Schretzman, and Jesse Valente, 2007