Ending Homelessness?

The Housing First model is an increasingly popular approach to housing homeless Canadians. Many studies have examined the benefits of Housing First, arguing that it is more effective than traditional methods of addressing homelessness. Far less attention has been paid to the challenges involved in operating Housing First programs, particularly in the Canadian context. This paper attempts to fill this research gap. To do this it discusses the limitations of the Housing First model, examining the difficulties associated with providing Housing First programs to participants with unique needs, as well as problems the Housing First model faces when operating in rural communities and areas experiencing a shortage of affordable and/or social housing. It contends that to understand the strengths and limitations of Housing First more high quality research needs to take place. Further, it argues that to be effective Housing First programs need to adapt to the unique circumstances that they operate in, and need to be a part of a wider, comprehensive homelessness strategy. Read full report above.