What is Supportive Housing?
Supportive housing – permanent, affordable housing linked to services – provides low-income, disabled and formerly homeless people the help and support they need to stay housed and live more independent, healthy and fulfilling lives. Supportive housing is the single most effective, and most cost-efficient, way to reduce homelessness. It strengthens communities and helps integrate people with disabilities and other special needs into the life of their neighborhoods.
Supportive housing and cost
Study after study attest to the cost effectiveness of supportive housing. Not only is it significantly less expensive than the institutional alternatives that homeless and disabled people often cycle through – including shelters, institutions and hospitals – it ends tenants’ dependence on emergency services for healthcare and treatment.
Supportive housing and communities
Because supportive housing is, first and foremost, housing, it blends seamlessly into neighborhoods. Because providers often build on blighted blocks or rehabilitate unsightly buildings, supportive housing often paves the way for neighborhood renewal. Because supportive housing provides services to tenants and often features front-desk security, supportive housing often leads to improved community safety and lower crime rates. Supportive housing is run by locally based nonprofits that must be accountable and responsive to their communities to stay in operation. For these reasons, studies show that supportive housing often increases property values.
Supportive housing and tenants
Because supportive housing is designed to meet tenants’ needs, the people who live there thrive. Dozens of studies attest to the positive impacts of supportive housing: residents stay housed, get healthy and reconnect to the community.
