Risk for experiencing homelessness increases when individuals have problems with finding and securing accessible, affordable housing and accessing voluntary community services. People with disabilities are more likely to experience homelessness, and researchers project the number of older people who are homeless will continue to rise.
The health, well-being, and functioning of people with disabilities and older adults is closely linked to having a safe, stable place to call home where they receive or access optional services that address social, behavioral health, and physical needs.
Partnerships among homelessness assistance agencies, the disability and aging networks, and the housing sector can help reduce risk and swiftly transition people who are experiencing homelessness into more stable housing and increase their access to voluntary services.
- New (or Recently Modified) Programs
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The links below provide information about some new or recently modified programs that are addressing homelessness. By learning about these programs, state, tribal, and local leaders can begin to identify opportunities to collaborate with other sectors to prevent homelessness and help people become stably housed with access to voluntary services
- COVID-19 and Homelessness: website with guidance, information, education and training, tools for homeless services systems and relief funding provided by the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan
- COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Identifying Sources of Operating Funds to support Affordable and Permanent Supportive Housing Projects -HUD Exchange: brief that helps communities locate potential sources of operating subsidies for supportive and deeply affordable housing projects
- COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Maximizing Federal Resources to House America: brief that helps communities on using each resource for its best purpose and having on a coordinated and strategic approach
- Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV): website with a variety of information and technical assistance on EHVs
- Emerging Housing Voucher (EHV): A How-to Guide for Public Housing Agencies: guide with an overview of EHV operating requirements, considerations for public housing agencies in program design, and best practices in program implementation
- HOME-American Rescue Plan Program (HOME-ARP): information about the expansion of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to assist individuals or households who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, and other vulnerable populations, by providing housing, rental assistance, supportive services, and non-congregate shelter to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability
- House America: website about this federal initiative that invites state, local, and tribal nation leaders, into a national partnership to utilize the historic investments provided through the American Rescuer Plan to address the crisis of homelessness
- Making the Most of the American Rescue Plan: A Guide to the Funding that Impacts People Experiencing Homelessness: guide with a snapshot of key provisions in the American Rescue Plan that can be used to help people who are currently or at risk of experiencing homelessness
- Core Knowledge and Solutions for Homelessness
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The links below provide information about evidence-based practices and strategies for addressing homelessness for people with disabilities and older adults. Some build core knowledge about this topic, and others have programs and best practices to prevent and address homelessness. State, tribal, and local leaders can use this information to identify opportunities to collaborate with other sectors.
To support action on enhancing access to services, also visit our collections of tools and model practices and partnerships.
- 19 Strategies for Communities to Address Encampments Humanely and Effectively: guidance to help public leaders and community partners in cities, counties, states, and federal agencies develop and implement humane and effective responses to encampments on public land using All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
- AAAs Support Housing Stability and Prevent Homelessness of Older Adults: set of five homelessness prevention case examples featuring area agency on aging (AAA) programs and partnerships to provide homelessness prevention assistance and housing-related supports for older adults and people with disabilities
- Addressing Homelessness Among Older Adults: report with overviews of the population of older adults at risk of or experiencing homelessness, services and supports available, challenges in accessing available assistance, innovative practices, and potential policy options
- All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness: federal plan to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025 that is built around a foundation of equity, provides a set of strategies and actions to fix the systems to prevent and end homelessness, and seeks to reduce housing instability among older adults and people with disabilities by increasing access to home and community-based services and housing that is affordable, accessible, and integrated
- ALL INside: As a part of ALL In, ALL INside addresses unsheltered homelessness via federal-state-local partnerships to strengthen and accelerate local efforts to get unsheltered people into homes in six places: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix Metro, Seattle, and the State of California
- Best Practices for Addressing and Managing Alcohol Use Disorder in People Experiencing Homelessness: In August 2024, Providers Clinical Support System hosted a webinar aimed at healthcare providers to better understand how social determinants of health, including as poverty, unstable housing, and limited access to care, influence alcohol use and AUD in this demographic.
- Coordinating Systems of Care to Provide a Comprehensive Behavioral Health Crisis Response to Individuals Experiencing Homelessness: brief with strategies to enhance crisis care by promoting stronger coordination between behavioral health crisis response systems and homelessness systems
- Federal Health and Social Service Programs that Support People Experiencing Homelessness: tool to help state and local leaders identify and access federal non-emergency health and social service programs so they can use multiple streams of funding for holistic supportive services that meet the short- and long- term needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness
- Fulfilling the Dream: Aligning State Efforts to Implement Olmstead and End Chronic Homelessness: brief encouraging states to coordinate efforts to implement the Olmstead community integration mandate and end chronic homelessness by using seven key strategies
- Getting It Done: The American Rescue Plan Way: brief with examples of community-driven partnerships to maximize the impact of EHVs to prevent and end homelessness
- Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHI): website on this funding program to help communities expand and strengthen treatment and recovery support services for individual experiencing homelessness who have substance use disorders or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders
- Homeless System Overview: webinar recording with an introduction to the role of Continuums of Care (CoCs) in planning and coordinating the homeless systems in communities
- Homelessness: A Guide for Public Transportation (pre-publication version): report with transit agencies’ programs and partnerships to respond to homelessness
- Homelessness and Housing: website with evaluation, research, and demonstration reports on homelessness and housing
- Homelessness in America: Focus on Chronic Homelessness Among People with Disabilities: brief with data and research on people with disabilities who experience chronic homelessness
- How PHAs Can Assist People Experiencing Homelessness: guidebook that outlines strategies and approaches for public housing agencies role in reducing homelessness in their communities through their Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Public Housing programs
- HUD Homeless Assistance Programs and Permanent Supportive Housing: The webinar covers: The basics of HUD’s homeless assistance programs; How aging advocates can refer clients for assistance and participate in improving their community’s homeless response system; and The importance of permanent supportive housing for older adults and people with disabilities at risk of or experiencing homelessness. View the webinar slides and chapter summary
- Permanent Supportive Housing Evidence-Based Practices: toolkit on essential components for housing with access to voluntary services and programs for people living with mental illness
- A Primer on Using Medicaid for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness and Tenants in Permanent Supportive Housing: “how-to” guide on the various ways that Medicaid can cover services for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, particularly in permanent supportive housing
- Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH): website about this federal funding source for services for people with serious mental illnesses who are at risk for (or are) experiencing homelessness
- Serving Unsheltered People with Severe Service Needs: outlines the ways in which individuals with severe service needs require health services for successful community living and several models for service delivery
- To Solve Homelessness, We Must Increase the Supply of Housing: blog post that summarizes recent HUD developments including emergency housing vouchers, HOME-ARP permanent supportive housing, and House America, as well as the administration's priorities to decrease homelessness
- Streamlining Actions to Help Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) Address Homelessness: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) letter describing regulatory flexibilities that PHAs can use to address homelessness
- Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness (TIEH): website on this discretionary funding program to help communities expand access to mental and substance use disorders treatment for people experiencing homelessness who have a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders