Services needed and received when moving on from permanent supportive housing

ABSTRACT

Moving On initiatives present opportunities for stable individuals to move from permanent supportive housing (PSH) into mainstream affordable housing. However, there is a dearth of research on how best to support individuals during this critical transition. This mixed-methods study examines transitional and aftercare services needed and received by individuals moving on through an MOI. Descriptive statistics quantified frequency of services needed and received as reported by movers (n = 43) in a post-move survey. Movers (n = 25) also completed pre- and post-move qualitative interviews regarding the transition and thematic analysis was used to elucidate how and why various supports were helpful to movers. During the pre-move transition, housing navigation and help obtaining financial assistance were the most frequently needed services. Movers relied on informal family and peer support to supplement provider assistance in these areas. Case manager visits were the most frequently needed aftercare service and financial assistance was the greatest unmet post-move need. In both periods, formal peer support was an identified service gap. This MOI generally met the self-identified needs of movers. However, MOIs may benefit from better targeting and more robust services specific to housing discrimination, tenants’ rights, formal peer support, and financial assistance.

KEYWORDS:

• Homeless
• permanent supportive housing
• transition
• moving on
• mixed methods

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Oak Foundation for this support and thank the study participants who generously shared their stories.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, [ET]. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Oak Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Emmy Tiderington

Emmy Tiderington, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work and Associate Faculty at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her research focuses on the implementation and effectiveness of supportive housing and other forms of homeless services as a means to end homelessness and improve recovery outcomes for service recipients.

Jordan M. Goodwin

Jordan M. Goodwin, MSW, MDiv is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her research interests include housing and homelessness, maternal substance use, mental health interventions, health disparities, trauma, and the integration of behavioral health.

Laurent Reyes

Laurent Reyes, MSW, is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Research Scholar who is currently researching how community programs meet the needs of diverse aging populations.

Daniel Herman

Daniel Herman, PhD, is a leading scholar in the area of homelessness and its nexus with mental illness. In 2012, he joined the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College as Professor and Associate Dean for Scholarship and Research. Prior to this, he spent over a decade as a researcher and faculty member at Columbia University’'s Mailman School of Public Health and New York State Psychiatric Institute where he also served as the Director of Social Work Research.