Alternatives to Shelter in Ending Family Homelessness: The Master Leasing of Apartments as Short-Term Housing in the Skid Row Families Demonstration Project

Beyond Shelter is currently conducting a demonstration project focused on ending the homelessness of 300 families with children in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood, a 50 square block area that is home to the largest concentration of homeless persons in the United States.

In partnership with the L.A. County Departments of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Public Social Services (DPSS), Mental Health (DMH), Health Services (DHS), Public Health (DPH), and the Chief Executive Office (CEO), Beyond Shelter is relocating homeless families out of the dangerous confines of Skid Row into short-term housing, primarily motels and apartments the agency is leasing as emergency shelter, and then into permanent housing with their own lease agreements.

After a few weeks in motels, many families are relocated to scattered-site apartments, which Beyond Shelter fully furnishes and master leases for use as emergency shelter. Families remain in the units until a permanent housing subsidy has been processed and a suitable apartment has been located, or the family opts to remain in the original apartment (“transition-in-place”). During the year-long lease period, one apartment may serve as temporary housing for multiple families, with each successive family replacing the previous family who has moved into permanent housing.

The Demonstration Project is intended to illustrate the social and economic benefits of coordinating services and systems in innovative ways to assist high risk families to exit homelessness. The use of master-leased apartments as short-term housing/emergency shelter is one such innovation being promoted as a family-friendly and cost effective alternative to conventional homeless programs.

Click here to view the Alternatives to Shelter Policy Brief. (This brief can also be requested via email at institute@beyondshelter.org).

Seaver Institute – Longitudinal Study of “Housing First” Program Participants
Funded by the Seaver Institute

In November 2004, Beyond Shelter completed the first longitudinal study of the long-term impact of a “Housing First” Program in the United States. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the longer-term outcomes for 200 homeless families who participated in Beyond Shelter’s “Housing First” Program from 1997 to 2001. The study evaluated 63 of the original 97 families who participated in the Pew Study (evaluating the program’s short-term effectiveness in 2001) and 137 families who participated in the program from 1997 to 1999. A defined set of client outcome indicators was analyzed, including residential tenure, family stability, social functioning, income, employment status and health of the household.

After two years of formal evaluation, study findings have demonstrated that the program methodology is successful in promoting long-term stabilization for homeless families, including families with multiple problems. These results, once disseminated, will help guide the continued development of the “Housing First” Program methodology nationwide. Furthermore, this study has engendered interest in developing specialized research, based upon its results, on a variety of target populations, including: emancipated youths, single parents ages 18-24, chronically homeless families, families with a history of domestic violence or substance abuse, and families who have reached their five-year TANF time limits. Research was conducted through a research team from Beyond Shelter’s Institute for Research, Training and Technical Assistance and the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work.

Click here to view the Seaver Policy Brief.
 

Neighborhood-Based Services Coordination 
Demonstration Project
Funded by The California Endowment

In February 2004, Beyond Shelter completed the second and final year of its grant agreement with The California Endowment – the implementation of the Neighborhood-Based Services Coordination Pilot Project at Broadway Village I. A component of the Broadway South Neighborhood Revitalization Project, the purpose of the grant was to pilot a model for providing service information, referrals and comprehensive case management to residents of the neighborhood surrounding Broadway Village I. The project was based on Beyond Shelter's Neighborhood-Based Services Coordination initiative, in which scarce community resources are maximized through the building and strengthening of partnerships with local service providers. Through case management support and the coordination of social services, the project aimed to help residents improve their health and well-being, reduce the barriers associated with poverty, increase their participation in the decision-making process and ultimately enhance the quality of their lives. Information gained from the tracking and evaluation components of this project will help to both enrich and inform the agency’s development and dissemination of the basic model.
 

Pew Partnership Initiative – Wanted: Solutions for America
Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts

Beyond Shelter’s “Housing First” Program for Homeless Families was identified by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change as one of 19 sites nationwide to participate in a two-year evaluation initiative, Wanted: Solutions for America (2000-2001). This was a national evaluation effort to document and disseminate successful strategies for building stronger communities. Participation in this study enabled Beyond Shelter to document the impact of the “Housing First” program methodology on the lives of 97 high-risk homeless families, six months after being placed in permanent housing. The  research clearly indicated that homeless families were able to reintegrate back into a community and develop stable living patterns, when supportive services were provided for at least six months after the move into permanent housing. Research was conducted by the University of Southern California, in conjunction with the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University. 

Click here to read the Pew Partnership Evaluation about the research.
 

This $1.2 million, 30-month project from 1998-2001 provided job placement and retention services to over 200 hard-to-employ, primarily single females, who had been long-term recipients of Temporary Aid to Needy Families. The project focused on stabilizing participants in permanent housing as an essential supporting factor for their employment. Case managers provided one year of case management services subsequent to each participant's employment to ensure their long-term job retention. 

All of the participants in the program faced major barriers to employment, such as lack of education, poor work histories or recovery from drug and/or alcohol addictions. Over 90 percent of participants were minority, single female heads of household. The program utilized Beyond Shelter's team approach methodology, which involves a collaboration between a case manager and an employment counselor. Case managers addressed the needs of the family as a whole, while employment counselors worked exclusively on employment-related issues.  

At the project's end, Beyond Shelter had exceeded its goal, serving 265 participants, with 206 successfully completing the program. Of those, 102 were placed in unsubsidized employment and 86 in subsidized employment. The research center at the University of Southern California, School of Social Work served as project evaluator.

For more information, see the Welfare to Work Demonstration Project Program.
 

Moving to Opportunity Demonstration Project
Funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

This five-city (Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore and Los Angeles ) demonstration project was conducted in 1995-1996 in collaboration with the Housing Authority of Los Angeles and was designed to help families move from public housing projects to low-poverty census tracks neighborhoods. It involved the provision of long-term case management to help families transition to social and economic self-sufficiency.

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