Feasibility Study of Housing First Project in Aveiro

Abstract

The non-profit organisation Florinhas do Vouga support homeless people by providing them with basic necessities such as food, as well as helping them address long term issues, such as mental health problems. This aid is usually provided whilst a homeless person is on the street or in some form temporary accommodation. The Housing First approach is to, instead, first provide a homeless person with their own home, and then, in this more stable setting, provide further support. The social benefits of giving homeless people the opportunity to live in a house are clear. To the individual it brings stability and makes it much easier to find a job, and access other forms of provision, such as healthcare and drug rehabilitation programs. To society at large it reduces the number of people living on the street, potentially increasing tourism and economic productivity in a city’s commercial centre.

The problem is to compare the costs incurred by both the Usual (U) and Housing First (HF) models and determine whether Housing First is a financially viable alternative. The housing status of each homeless person is modelled (for example if they are on the street or in a shelter) and this is used to calculate the costs of each approach. In the simplest model, the state of each person is assumed to be constant with time. The changing state of the homeless population is then modelled (for example how many homeless people are on the streets as opposed to in temporary accommodation or a house at any one time). This is done using a Markov chain approach, and also by direct simulations which incorporate more complex constraints on the state of the homeless population. The different mathematical models provide evidence that the financial costs of Housing First are less than those of the Usual model, especially in the long term (a 36 month period). Recommendations for further work are also given.