The Case for Housing First in the European Union: A Critical Evaluation of Concerns about Effectiveness

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Case for Housing First in the European Union

T2 - A Critical Evaluation of Concerns about Effectiveness

AU - Pleace, Nicholas

AU - Bretherton, Joanne

PY - 2013/12/1

Y1 - 2013/12/1

N2 - Housing First is now central to strategic responses to homelessnessacross much of the North of the European Union and is also being pilotedin other member states. Concerns exist that a lack of ‘fidelity’, i.e. model driftaway from the original New York Pathways to Housing approach may underminethe effectiveness of European ‘Housing First’ services. There are also someconcerns that Housing First is being ‘sold’ to policymakers via a selective useof evidence that makes it appear more effective than is actually the case. Thisarticle suggests a typology of Housing First services as a framework withinwhich to test concerns about fidelity and the strength of the evidence base.The article concludes that services that follow the broad operational principlesof a Housing First approach are highly effective in a range of national contexts.While there are some gaps in evidence, particularly in relation to single-sitemodels of Housing First, very high fidelity to the original Pathways to Housingapproach does not appear to be necessary to end chronic homelessness athigh rates. Equally, while there are some other limitations in the evidence basefor Housing First that should be addressed, centred on what happens tochronically homeless people following re-housing, research and policyattention should also focus on the potential of the Housing First philosophy tosignificantly reduce chronic homelessness across the European Union.

AB - Housing First is now central to strategic responses to homelessnessacross much of the North of the European Union and is also being pilotedin other member states. Concerns exist that a lack of ‘fidelity’, i.e. model driftaway from the original New York Pathways to Housing approach may underminethe effectiveness of European ‘Housing First’ services. There are also someconcerns that Housing First is being ‘sold’ to policymakers via a selective useof evidence that makes it appear more effective than is actually the case. Thisarticle suggests a typology of Housing First services as a framework withinwhich to test concerns about fidelity and the strength of the evidence base.The article concludes that services that follow the broad operational principlesof a Housing First approach are highly effective in a range of national contexts.While there are some gaps in evidence, particularly in relation to single-sitemodels of Housing First, very high fidelity to the original Pathways to Housingapproach does not appear to be necessary to end chronic homelessness athigh rates. Equally, while there are some other limitations in the evidence basefor Housing First that should be addressed, centred on what happens tochronically homeless people following re-housing, research and policyattention should also focus on the potential of the Housing First philosophy tosignificantly reduce chronic homelessness across the European Union.

KW - Homelessness

KW - Housing First

M3 - Article

SN - 2030-2762

VL - 7

SP - 21

EP - 43

JO - European Journal of Homelessness

JF - European Journal of Homelessness

IS - 2

ER -