Housing First, Consumer Choice, and Harm Reduction for Homeless Individuals With a Dual Diagnosis
Sam Tsemberis, PhD,
Leyla Gulcur, PhD and
Maria Nakae, BA
The authors are with Pathways to Housing, Inc, New York, NY.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Sam Tsemberis, Pathways to Housing, 55 West 125th St, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10027 (e-mail: tsemberis{at}pathwaystohousing.org).
Objectives. We examined the longitudinal effects of a HousingFirst program for homeless, mentally ill individualson those individuals consumer choice, housing stability,substance use, treatment utilization, and psychiatric symptoms.
Methods. Two hundred twenty-five participants were randomlyassigned to receive housing contingent on treatment and sobriety(control) or to receive immediate housing without treatmentprerequisites (experimental). Interviews were conducted every6 months for 24 months.
Results. The experimental group obtained housing earlier, remainedstably housed, and reported higher perceived choice. Utilizationof substance abuse treatment was significantly higher for thecontrol group, but no differences were found in substance useor psychiatric symptoms.
Conclusions. Participants in the Housing First program wereable to obtain and maintain independent housing without compromisingpsychiatric or substance abuse symptoms.
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