Supportive housing can help people with psychiatric disabilities, people with histories of addiction, formerly homeless people, frail seniors, families, young people aging out of foster care, individuals leaving correctional facilities, and people living with HIV/AIDS to live independently with dignity in the community. Tenants of supportive housing often face two or more of these categories of challenges. For these populations, permanent supportive housing is a highly effective intervention. Research indicates that • More than 80% of residents stay housed for at least one year • Incarceration rates are reduced by 50% • Emergency room visits decrease by 50% • Emergency detoxification services decrease by 85%, and • There is a 50% increase in earned income.

Although permanent supportive housing is a resource-intensive intervention, the high public costs of homelessness mean that it costs essentially the same amount of money to house someone in stable, supportive housing as it does to leave that person homeless and stuck in the revolving door of high-cost crisis care and emergency housing. Cost studies demonstrate that we can either waste money prolonging people’s homelessness or spend those dollars on a long-term solution that produces positive results for people and their communities.

For more information please see the full City of Austin Permanent Supportive Housing Strategy.