HFU Resources

The Housing First model was initially introduced in New York City in 1992 and has amassed 30 years of evidence to its effectiveness. After years of clinical and operational experience, a 2007 peer-reviewed study ushered Housing First into SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs. Multiple research studies have concluded that the model produces a consistent, significant, and positive impact on its target population, and that there are few to no negative effects. The evidence that supports this is made up of a wide range of studies conducted by an array of investigators in different cities.
Researching and disseminating our service model is core to our mission. We know that Housing First works. The goal of Housing First University is to reach as many as people in other communities as possible to provide this information and support successes comparable to what we’ve been able to achieve at Pathways to Housing PA.
Homelessness & Housing First
Pathways' Facts on Homelessness
State of Homelessness: 2022 Edition - National Alliance to End Homelessness
Housing First in Permanent Supportive Housing Brief - HUD Exchange
Federal Health and Social Service Programs That Support People Experiencing Homelessness
HFU Tip Sheets
The Five Key Principles of Housing First
Five things I wish I knew before starting a Housing First program
Pathways to Housing - Housing First Fidelity Principles
Housing First Model vs. Traditional Housing Models
HFU Faculty Publications
In the Media
2023
- Housing First training Strengthens Community's Response to Homelessness and Improves Outcomes (Building Bridges Blog)
- Pandemic Era Telehealth Innovations in the Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Felds: Practice-informed Findings and Recommendations (National Council for Mental Wellbeing; Kristina Scalia-Jackson, contributor)
- I'm facing housing insecurity, now what? (Mental Health America)
- Everyone Is Housing Ready: The Housing First Philosophy (United Way Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley)
- For Her First Bill of Session, Congresswoman Dean Reintroduces the Homelessness and Behavioral Health Care Coordination Act. (House of Representatives)
2022
- Why "Housing First" works. (The Philadelphia Citizen)
- If Housing Is a Health Care Issue, Should Medicaid Pay the Rent? (New York Times)
- S.F. spent millions to shelter homeless in hotels. These are the disastrous results (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Webinar: Methamphetamine and the Transition to Housing (SAMHSA's Homeless & Housing Resource Center)
- International Interviews in Supportive Housing Work (Fapil – Paris, France)
- Grantee Spotlight: Building Trust to Reduce Risk for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder (Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts)
- A Place We Call Home: A Conversation on The Legacy of Home in a Changing City (Philly CAM)
- The Keys to Low-Threshold Housing (RIZE Massachusetts Foundation, National Harm Reduction Coalition)
- Healing Hands - From Homelessness to Housing: Challenges and Opportunities of Housing Transitions (National Health Care for the Homeless Council Clinician's Network)
2021
- Collaborative Healthcare (Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education)
- LBGTQ+ History Month: In Conversation with Andrew Spiers (Clarifi)
- Member Spotlight – Christine Simiriglia (Women in Housing and Finance Pennsylvania)
- National conversation: ‘Housing First’ approach can meet the demands of homeless union (Generocity)
- Career Advice For Social Work Students (The Best Schools)
2020
- The Role of Social Workers During COVID-19 (Social Work Guide)
- Ending Homelessness Through Housing First with Andrew Spiers (Conjuring Up Courage)
- Philly should create a jails-to-housing pipeline to mitigate impact of coronavirus (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Heroes Of The Addiction Crisis: How Kate Gleason-Bachman & Pathways to Housing Are Using The ‘Housing First Model’ To Address Addiction (Authority Magazine)
- Heroes of The Homeless Crisis: How Christine Simiriglia of Pathways to Housing PA is Helping To Support Some Of The Most Vulnerable People In Our Communities (Authority Magazine)
- Alternative Jobs to Pursue With a Social Work Degree (Social Work Guide)
2019
- Housing As Harm Reduction (Narcotica)
- Council of Economic Advisers' proposed solutions to homelessness will actively harm people (Generocity)
2018
- Voices of Supportive Housing - Matt Tice, Clinical Director, Pathways to Housing PA (Corporation for Supportive Housing)
- Amid Pa. opioid disaster, lacking ID still a barrier to treatment (WHYY)
2017
- Pathways to Housing PA: Using Landlord Engagement and Flexible Services to Assist Individuals at the Intersection of the Opioid Crisis & Homelessness (USICH)
- Bold moves during dangerous times: celebrating the work of Matt Tice (Circle of Hope)
- Housing comes first at Philly program for homeless heroin users (WHYY)
Research
2021
2020
- Retention of Patients With Multiple Vulnerabilities in a Federally Qualified Health Center Buprenorphine Program: Pennsylvania, 2017-2018
- Housing First for People with Opioid Use disorder (OUD) and engagement
- Medication Adherence in a Housing First Model
- Investigating Chronic Illness in Pathways to Housing Clients
- Health Outcomes in Pathways to Housing Clients
2019
- Feasibility Pilot Outcomes of a Mammography Decision Support and Navigation Intervention for Women With Serious Mental Illness Living in Supportive Housing Settings
- Reaching for a Healthier Lifestyle: A Photovoice Investigation of Healthy Living in People with Serious Mental Illness
2018
Additional Research
- Pathways Rural Housing First Program (2016)
- Service use before and after the provision of Housing First for chronically homeless individuals with severe alcohol use (2015)
- Using Concept Mapping to Explore Barriers and Facilitators to Breast Cancer Screening in Formerly Homeless Women with Serious Mental Illness (2015)
- Introducing Housing First in a Rural Service System: A Multi-stakeholder Perspective (2014)
- Perceptions of Health Intervene in the Relationship Between Psychiatric Symptoms and Quality of Life for Individuals in Supportive Housing (2013)
- Activating People to Address Their Health Care Needs: Learning from People with Lived Experience of Chronic Illnesses (2013)
- Addressing Chronic Disease within Supportive Housing Programs (2013)
- Health Care Integration for Formerly Homeless People With Serious Mental Illness (2013)
- A Primary Care - Public Health Partnership Addressing Homelessness, Serious Mental Illness, and Health Disparities (2013)
- A Qualitative Analysis of Case Managers' Use of Harm Reduction in Practice (2013)
- Implementing Housing First in Rural Areas: Pathways Vermont (2013)
- Community Based Partnerships for Improving Chronic Disease Management (2012)
- Housing Stability and Recovery Among Chronically Homeless Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders in Washington, DC (2012)
- The ties that bind: Using ethnographic methods to understand service engagement (2012)
- Creating a Medical Home for Homeless Persons with Serious Mental Illness (2011)
- Evaluation of Pathways to Housing PA (2011)
- Transforming Assertive Community Treatment Into an Integrated Care System (2011)
- Moving From Street to Home: Health Status of Entrants to a Housing First Program (2010)