Policy Advocacy
Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition: Critical Steps for Reducing Chronic and High Need Homelessness in Massachusetts
Background:
Massachusetts has a history of strong leadership and innovative partnerships aimed at addressing chronic homelessness. The primary strategy has been to develop a robust supply of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) (1), which is a proven effective approach for improving housing stability for people with disabilities and other complex health challenges. (2) Stable homes offer the foundation necessary for people to engage with services, improve their health, reconnect with family and friends, and return to school and work. Getting people into housing as quickly as possible and then providing services as needed (an approach called Housing First) has been widely embraced (3) and demonstrated to be effective and cost efficient. Ending chronic homelessness not only saves lives, but also saves public funds. (4) When people with disabilities are connected to permanent, affordable housing with support services, system costs are decreased by up to 70 percent. (5)
Previous administrations have recognized the importance of using PSH as a best practice to keep our most vulnerable populations housed. Initially established in 2007 under Governor Patrick, the Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness was convened again by Governor Baker in 2015 to create new housing strategies and interventions to address homelessness among all populations in the state. Significant investments have been made. In 2014, the ICHH met one of its goals early by creating 1,000 units of PSH over 12 months. Thousands of PSH units now exist in MA. (6) Unfortunately, only a fraction of these units turnover and become available to households experiencing chronic homelessness on an annual basis. Additional successes to build on in Massachusetts include the Massachusetts Alliance for Supportive Housing (MASH) Pay for Success (PFS) program (social innovation financing initiative to address long-term homelessness), the creation of the Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund (HPSTF), and Medicaid coverage for pre-tenancy and tenancy support services, among several others.
In 2021, United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), and the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA) launched a Supportive Housing Pipeline Coalition. The goal of the Coalition is to convene key leaders and stakeholders across all relevant systems and sectors to develop and advance a unified agenda for creating the permanent supportive housing (PSH) needed to address chronic and high need homelessness in MA. While progress has been made, homelessness remains an alarming humanitarian and public health crisis. Far too many individuals and families with children are still experiencing chronic and high need homelessness. Many with disabling conditions and chronic health conditions are unable to access the housing they need until they become chronically homeless – all at a tremendous, and avoidable cost to their health, the future of the children, and the state. According to data from the statewide Rehousing Data collaborative (RDC), in the first quarter of 2022, there were 3,464 people in households experiencing chronic homelessness in MA. 3,029 were individuals, and 132 were children in families.
The crisis at "Mass and Cass” in Boston is a microcosm of the compounding issues facing the state. It highlights the importance of tackling high need homelessness with urgency and focus as the acute crisis that it is. The City rapidly assisted more than more than 360 people with permanent housing and low-threshold housing and shelter sites – more long-term housing solutions are required for sustainable change, and more communities need to be a part of the solution.
The ICHH can be revamped as the state’s coordinating and financing council to oversee efforts to address homelessness. With the support of a neutral backbone organization, the ICHH can partner with more diverse leadership and community representation to meet the major goal of housing 4,000 individuals and families experiencing chronic and high need homelessness, and set a path to end all homelessness in MA. The ICHH can oversee and manage the following policy initiatives:
Launch a statewide effort to house all individuals and families experiencing chronic and high need homelessness in MA:
Stably house 4,000 households (7) experiencing chronic and high need homelessness with PSH across the state by January 2027 as a major step toward ending chronic and high need homelessness.
Focus and coordinate efforts across the state, local, and federal levels to dramatically reduce homelessness among the most complex and vulnerable people in the homeless system.
Commit to fully implementing a Housing First model, which treats individuals and families with the respect and dignity they deserve by getting them into housing quickly, while simultaneously offering support services for other issues such as behavioral health needs and unemployment.
Coordinate state funding streams to increase Supportive Housing development:
Establish a supportive housing initiative to finance PSH units for chronic and high-need populations experiencing homelessness that integrates supportive services, operating, and capital funding into one coordinated funding process through a collaboration between all relevant state funding agencies.
Create a public/private flexible fund to braid existing resources and address funding gaps. This fund will be responsive to specific project needs, not limited by the local, state and federal requirements.
Target more state-funded affordable housing as Supportive Housing units for chronic and high need households in the homeless system:
Include priorities and/or set-asides to incentivize the production of PSH units needed to meet the 4,000 household target for nearly all state rental housing production programs including the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the quasi-public housing agency programs. The resources can also be paired with existing affordable housing units to create PSH units by adding needed services or subsidies.
Prioritize referrals for state funded PSH from the homeless system.
References
Supportive Housing pairs affordable housing that is safe, secure, and permanent, and supportive services that are flexible, voluntary services to increase housing stability and improve wellbeing.
Hereinafter, the term “chronic and high need” is intended to encompass individuals, families, and young adults who are experiencing chronic and/or other long-term homelessness and have disabling conditions such as mental illness, substance use disorder, HIV/AIDS, and/or other comorbid chronic health conditions.
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
https://cshorg.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CSH-Lit-Review-All-Papers.pdf
Connecticut Supportive Housing Demonstration Project Program Evaluation Report 2002
2021 HUD Housing Inventory Chart (HIC)
Based on the state’s homelessness data from the Rehousing Data Collective