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    Targeted prevention helps stop homelessness before it starts    
      
     Date:   
         July 13, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Notre Dame   
     Summary:   
         Homelessness has become an increasingly worrisome crisis in our   
         nation over the past several years, but a new study shows that   
         efforts to prevent homelessness work. Researchers found that   
         individuals and families offered emergency financial assistance   
         were 81 percent less likely to become homeless within six months   
         and 73 percent less likely within 12 months. Furthermore, their   
         estimates suggest that the benefits to homelessness prevention   
         exceed the costs as communities get $2.47 back in benefits per   
         net dollar spent on emergency financial assistance.   
      
      
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   Homelessness has become an increasingly worrisome crisis in our nation   
   over the past several years, but a new study from the University of   
   Notre Dame shows that efforts to prevent homelessness work.   
      
   The issue has reached such proportions in California, for example, that   
   mayors of several major cities have declared a state of emergency on   
   homelessness. In response, leaders in California have invested billions   
   in homelessness programs, including some that target prevention.   
      
   Prevention efforts, however, have led to questions -- even from   
   organizations committed to addressing homelessness -- as to whether such   
   programs are effective, due to the difficulty of targeting assistance to   
   those with the greatest risk of becoming homeless. To test the impact   
   of providing financial assistance to those susceptible to losing their   
   housing, researchers at Notre Dame conducted a randomized controlled   
   trial to evaluate the effect of emergency financial assistance (EFA) on   
   families receiving support through the Santa Clara County Homelessness   
   Prevention System, which is co-led by Destination: Home, a nonprofit   
   organization dedicated to ending homelessness in Silicon Valley.   
      
   David Phillips, a research professor in the Wilson Sheehan Lab for   
   Economic Opportunities (LEO) within Notre Dame's economics department,   
   and James Sullivan, a professor of economics and co-founder of LEO,   
   found that people offered EFA were 81 percent less likely to become   
   homeless within six months of enrollment and 73 percent less likely   
   within 12 months, as reported in their study recently published by The   
   Review of Economics and Statistics.   
      
   The study evaluated individuals and families at imminent risk of   
   being evicted or becoming homeless who were allocated EFA between July   
   2019 and December 2020, with the average household receiving nearly   
   $2,000. Recipients were chosen from among a larger group of people   
   eligible for the program based on their vulnerability to homelessness   
   and on a randomized system set up by LEO and Destination: Home. This   
   temporary financial assistance helped pay rent, utilities or other   
   housing-related expenses on their behalf.   
      
   A common approach to fighting homelessness is to provide shelter to those   
   who are already homeless, but the researchers argued that once a family   
   or individual becomes homeless, they face even more difficulties -- such   
   as finding permanent housing, basic necessities and health care. They are   
   also more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system and   
   experience frequent hospital visits. LEO's study found that a preventive   
   approach focusing directly on helping those who are on the brink of   
   homelessness can also be effective.   
      
   "Our estimates suggest that the benefits to homelessness prevention   
   exceed the costs," the researchers said. They estimated that communities   
   get $2.47 back in benefits per net dollar spent on emergency financial   
   assistance.   
      
   "Policymakers at all levels are struggling to make really hard decisions   
   about how to allocate scarce resources to address this pervasive problem,"   
   Sullivan said. "But this study shows that you can actually target the   
   intervention to those at risk, which moves the needle on homelessness   
   enough to justify making the investment."  Phillips added that while   
   homelessness prevention programs are not a panacea to other problems often   
   associated with the most visible forms of homelessness - - such as health   
   and substance abuse issues -- it is still an effective way to help people.   
      
   "Every person who ends up homeless is a little different from the next,   
   and the reasons they're there are different, but it's the kind of help   
   they need at the moment they need it, before everything falls apart,"   
   Phillips said.   
      
   One of LEO's main tenets is to take a rigorous approach to fighting   
   poverty by helping service providers apply scientific evaluation methods   
   to better understand and share effective poverty interventions. Said   
   Sullivan, "A big part of LEO's mission is to create evidence that helps   
   improve the lives of those most vulnerable. Because we have far greater   
   needs than we have resources to address them, we have a real incentive to   
   allocate those resources to the programs that are most effective. This   
   evidence helps shape the decisions of those on the front lines fighting   
   homelessness and poverty."  Jennifer Loving, chief executive officer of   
   Destination: Home, said the LEO study has implications both locally and   
   nationally. "This could inspire other jurisdictions to stand up their   
   own homelessness prevention systems, using this research as a model or   
   starting point for how to do that on their own -- as well as justification   
   to policymakers for funding," Loving said.   
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. David C. Phillips, James X. Sullivan. Do Homelessness Prevention   
      Programs   
         Prevent Homelessness? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled   
         Trial. Review of Economics and Statistics, 2023; 1 DOI:   
         10.1162/rest_a_01344   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230713141223.htm   
      
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