WHAT IS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING?

Frequently asked questions about supportive housing.

What is supportive housing?

Supportive housing is permanent affordable housing linked to a range of support services that enable residents to live independently and work toward realizing their full potential.

What does it look like?

Supportive housing looks like every other type of housing, because it IS: tenants have leases and are responsible for meeting the terms of those leases. Supportive housing is built to blend seamlessly with the buildings around it. It is important for both the tenants and neighbors that supportive housing fit the neighborhood.

Who lives there?

Supportive housing can help people with psychiatric disabilities, people with histories of addiction, seniors, families, young people aging out of foster care, people living with HIV and AIDS and people who have been homeless to live independently in the community. Many supportive housing complexes in New York City also provide up to 40% of their apartments for low-income residents of the neighborhood.

What kinds of services are available in supportive housing?

The range of services offered is flexible and depends on the needs of the residents. They can include mental and medical health care, vocational and employment services, child care, independent living skills training and substance abuse counseling.

What is the impact on the community?

Supportive housing is often either the nicest building on the block or totally invisible. In the 90s when nonprofits rehabilitated welfare hotels into supportive housing, the newly refurbished buildings often ‘anchored’ their blocks, making way for neighborhood redevelopment. Typically, developers build on blighted lots or renew blighted buildings. Studies of the impact of supportive housing on surrounding communities indicate that supportive housing has a neutral or positive impact on neighborhood property values.

How successful is supportive housing?

Supportive housing is the most successful solution to homelessness. National studies indicate that it is the most effective approach to helping people very vulnerable people successfully reconnect to the community.

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING: Description and history

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING IS THE PROVEN SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS. During the 1980s and 1990s, supportive housing evolved from a tiny, New York City-based initiative into a national nonprofit movement. Combining permanent low-income housing with social, medical, and employment services, supportive housing is the most cost-effective and sensible approach to addressing the diverse needs of homeless populations across the United States.

Non-profit sponsoring organizations throughout New York State currently provide more than 34,000 units of supportive housing in projects ranging from eight-unit houses in Jamestown to large single room occupancy (SRO) apartment buildings in midtown Manhattan. Some supportive housing projects are reserved for a particular population, such as the elderly or veterans. Others provide homes to a broad range of individuals, including the formerly homeless, low-income working single adults, and families. Supportive housing is especially effective for persons with mental or physical disabilities, recovering addicts, and persons living with AIDS. Tenants have access to a range of social and employment services, either on-site or through community referrals. Services include case management, medical care, benefits counseling, employment training and job placement.

Supportive housing works. It works because rent-paying tenants are given the support they need to rebuild their lives and live independently. At the same time, local neighborhoods benefit from stable, affordable housing. The combination of permanent housing and support services puts an end to homelessness by helping individuals address the underlying causes of their circumstances.