A Preliminary Study of Service Use across Colocated Providers

This Urban Institute report presents a preliminary set of findings on the effects of colocation of human services organizations in Washington, DC. The report illustrates initial lessons for service usage and the benefits received by participants of human services programs from multiple organizations housed at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC). (Thirty million dollars in programs and services in human services programs at THEARC are coordinated by Building Bridges Across the River and served more than 100,000 people in 2017.) Initial report findings noted that the organizations at THEARC, which provide education, recreational, health care, workforce development, and other services, share similar goals. The intentional colocation produced notable positive effects on the health and well-being of the adults and children who utilized these organizations’ offerings.