An article in Housing Policy Debate, “The Impact of Homeless Prevention on Residential Instability: Evidence from the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program,” found that the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) is associated with short-term reductions in homelessness among students and their families. Targeting families at-risk of homelessness or recently homeless with financial assistance and housing stabilization services can be a cost-effective strategy to reduce homelessness and the negative effects of housing instability. The community-level impacts of HPRP on homelessness, however, appeared to fade away after the conclusion of the program, casting doubt on whether HPRP can help families achieve longer-term housing stability.
Traditionally, homeless assistance programs and policies in the U.S. have focused on providing services like emergency shelters or transitional housing to those who are already homeless. In recent years, newer programs emphasize homelessness prevention by targeting assistance to those who experience housing instability and are at imminent risk of homelessness. In 2009, Congress allocated $1.5 billion to HUD’s HPRP to provide short-term financial services to families and individuals recently homeless or at risk of homelessness. The goal was to prevent or shorten their episode of homelessness or housing instability and to reduce the negative social and health outcomes associated with homelessness. HPRP provided short-term financial assistance, such as rental assistance, security deposit and utility payments, legal assistance, help with moving costs, and housing relocation and stabilization services including case management and housing-search assistance.
The authors evaluated the effects of HPRP on housing instability and homelessness among children and their families. They examined data from 5,136 school districts in urban and rural areas across 26 states. Three quarters of individuals served by HPRP were at risk of becoming homeless and the remaining quarter were already homeless. Districts with HPRP funds were associated with reductions in the percentage of homeless students, especially when closer to an HPRP provider. In counties with HPRP, the rate of homelessness among students decreased by 8% to 12%. On average, HPRP prevented housing instability or homelessness by 8 to 13 students per school district. As expected, increases in the unemployment rate, poverty rate, or cost of rent are associated with a higher rates of homelessness.
The authors did not, however, find a significant difference between districts that received HPRP services and those that did not when comparing homelessness rates in the years before HPRP implementation and homelessness rates a year after the end of HPRP. This suggests that HPRP was effective at preventing homelessness during the time of the intervention, but possibly ineffective at permanently moving families who experience housing instability or homelessness to stable housing. Further research is required to differentiate the effects of housing relocation and stabilization services when compared to financial assistance and to test whether other methods of homelessness prevention services are better equipped to deter homelessness and housing instability in the year following the conclusion of services.
“The Impact of Homeless Prevention on Residential Instability: Evidence from the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program,” is available at: https://bit.ly/2CtqT8J