This United States Interagency Council on Homelessness issue brief reviews the relationship between housing costs and housing stability; more affordable housing options reduce the likelihood of families becoming homeless, and help homeless families exit homelessness more quickly. The issue brief also notes recent reports identifying housing affordability and stability challenges and efforts the Council has made to address them.

This Chapin Hall report reviews the implementation of a “housing first” approach that addresses the needs of families in the child welfare system. The case study of supportive housing in Connecticut was a demonstration project, funded by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Researchers used a randomized controlled trial to identify the impact of supportive housing on child and family outcomes to include family reunification, as well as removal from and placement into foster care.

This Corporation for Supportive Housing policy brief is the first in a series, offering guidance on how to build and enhance collaboration between affordable housing and substance abuse treatment providers. The brief is in response to the SUPPORT Act of 2018 (Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities) which created additional opportunities for treatment services expansion, overdose prevention, and training for addiction treatment counselors.

This Urban Institute report examines a case study of the Chicago Housing Authority’s (CHA’s) work requirement, which has been in existence for 10 years. The study covers the CHA staff and resident perceptions of the work requirement’s implementation and outcomes.

This Russell Sage Foundation research journal article identifies changes in the spatial distribution of returning citizens in greater Chicago. While traditional reintegration among ex-offenders typically occurs within urban communities, this article also identifies changes in the spatial makeup of metropolitan regions, such as demolition of public housing and greater poverty in suburbs. These changes dispel the conventional wisdom for the reintegration of formerly incarcerated persons using 16 years of prisoner release data.

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness will convene a webinar on April 3, 2019 at 12 noon ET to discuss the agency’s strategic planning tool to ensure access to affordable housing for persons with housing barriers. This webinar will also discuss the findings of an earlier report that outlined 9 action steps that integrate affordable housing options with approaches to end homelessness.

This section from an Urban Institute report describes a social impact bond, issued in Denver, Colorado in February 2016, to fund a supportive housing program for 250 persons most frequently involved in the criminal justice system. The section presents participants’ first-hand accounts as well as challenges of utilizing the housing lease-up process to stem homelessness or returns to jail for this transitional population.

This U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness report provides a set of 9 action steps and a list of recommended resources pertaining to each action step that community groups can use to integrate affordable housing with approaches to end homelessness. These steps reflect a strategic approach that: aligns efforts; sets goals; encourages messaging to build awareness; promotes development; leverages federal, state, and local funding; integrates health and housing resources; and ensures access to affordable housing for persons with housing barriers.

This Urban Institute research brief offers a set of demographic data and definitions that addresses misconceptions about the reach of U.S. safety net programs. In particular, the analysis distinguishes between “means tested” and universally received benefit programs and those supports that are received monthly compared to those received annually. Programs outlined and reviewed in this report are SNAP; Supplemental Security Income; TANF cash assistance; public or subsidized housing; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and the Child Care and Development Fund.