Housing First Program
Permanent Supportive Housing
Housing First quickly connects chronically homeless, disabled adults to permanent housing without preconditions like sobriety or participation in services beforehand. Supportive services help residents stay housed and avoid future homelessness, focusing on stability rather than treatment prerequisites.
This approach sees housing as a basic human right and a cornerstone for recovery and community integration. By offering safe, stable homes, FFNP helps vulnerable individuals rebuild their lives and access resources to improve their health and well-being.
In 2006, Friends for Neighborhood Progress, Inc. (FFNP) launched a Housing First Program using funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Based on a national model by Pathways for Housing and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the program uses HUD and other grants to provide subsidized permanent supportive housing for those most in need—chronically homeless, disabled individuals and families living on the streets or in shelters. FFNP staff and partner agencies offer a range of services, including case management, outreach, health care, food assistance, transportation, and more.
Research shows that Housing First improves long-term housing stability for people facing chronic homelessness while reducing costs by minimizing hospitalizations and institutional care. These programs benefit vulnerable groups, such as veterans and those with substance abuse issues, mental health challenges, domestic violence histories, or chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS, leading to reduced drug use, better health, and less reliance on emergency services.
Need for Permanent Supportive Housing
The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) most recent published Point-in-Time Survey for both sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations was conducted in January 2021. A total of 225 persons (adults and children) who were homeless completed the point-in-time survey; this was a decrease from the 299 persons who were surveyed in 2020. However, chronic homelessness increased in Maryland with a total of 1,337 persons who were chronically homeless identified statewide. According to DHCD, this represented a 30% increase in chronic homelessness as compared to 2018 figures. An “unsheltered count” was not conducted in 2020, but 50 persons (17% of the survey respondents) reported being unsheltered (living on the streets) during the 2019 PIT count. Providing permanent supportive housing through Housing First programs modeled on the low-barrier program established by Pathways to Housing in New York clearly remains the most successful program for helping people to move directly from the streets and woods into stable, safe, and sanitary housing enriched with case management and other services.
Criteria for Admission to the Housing First Program
The criteria for admission to the FFNP Housing First Permanent Supportive Housing Program are: 1) be chronically homeless in accordance with the HUD definition of chronic homelessness; and 2) be disabled with one or more physical or mental health disabling conditions that are evaluated and certified by a medical or mental health clinician. The overarching goal of the FFNP Housing First Permanent Supportive Housing Program is to keep people in their housing, provide case management and other services, and prevent recidivistic episodes of homelessness.