Chronic Homelessness Initiative Evaluation
Inflow into Chronic Homelessness
Inflow into homelessness and chronic homelessness continues to be a significant concern across the Los Angeles region. The 2019 Point-in-Time count data showed that more than half of unsheltered adults, approximately 20,000 people, were experiencing homelessness for the first time, and it will be important to ensure that they do not develop chronic patterns of homelessness.67 The community is investing in strategies that meet the needs of individuals falling into both homelessness and chronic homelessness such as scaling up outreach to link people to services and housing resources, providing restrooms and mobile showers for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, and creating additional interim housing for people to transition off the streets, including people for whom permanent supportive housing is the appropriate placement but is not yet available.
Reducing inflow into chronic homelessness means focusing on:
- Preventing homelessness for people who are likely to have long periods of homelessness because they have significant barriers to housing—for example, people with severe mental illness, criminal justice system involvement, substance use disorders, or more than one of these conditions; and,
- Helping people to exit homelessness more quickly after they have first experienced being homeless by targeting resources to people’s level of need so they do not become chronically homeless.
Many of the efforts to reduce inflow into chronic homelessness focus on engaging people who are staying on the streets, connecting them to emergency shelter or bridge housing, and providing health and hygiene services. People who experience extended periods of unsheltered homelessness often experience trauma and victimization as well as unhealthy living conditions. These factors can make it difficult to manage chronic health conditions and worsen symptoms of mental health and substance use disorders68, which will make it more difficult to for them get and keep housing and increase the risk that their homelessness will become chronic.
In 2018, community partners and researchers continued efforts to understand inflow into homelessness and chronic homelessness and the driving factors. However, there are still many unknowns about how to target efforts to prevent homelessness effectively and efficiently and about the factors that predict or influence which people are most likely to experience chronic homelessness. As researchers, governmental agencies, and community organizations continue to work to learn more about inflow, the community continues to invest in new programs and expand existing programs across systems of care that intersect with the homeless service system, including criminal justice and workforce development, as well as the healthcare system.
2018 Inflow into Chronic Homelessness Progress
Goal: Implement policies and funding commitments to prevent people from becoming homeless and chronically homeless.*2018 Status: The community has created new pilot programs and expanded existing programs to try to reduce the inflow into homelessness and chronic homelessness. However, more research is needed to understand the driving factors behind homelessness and chronic homelessness and what the community’s leaders, policymakers, and practitioners can do to prevent it.*Not articulated in the Foundation five-year strategy; not expected to be fully achieved within the Phase II timeframe.
NEEDS ATTENTIONUnderstanding Inflow into Chronic Homelessness(click here)2017 Inflow into Chronic Homelessness Progress
Inflow into homeless and chronic homelessness continues to be a significant concern in Los Angeles County. While chronic homelessness across the County decreased by 18 percent between January 2017 and January 2018, LAHSA reports an increase in people who are experiencing homelessness for the first time.33 Significant investments have been made to create more housing opportunities and provide wrap-around supportive services for people experiencing homelessness, but until these efforts are actualized on-the-ground across the County the risk of people who are newly homeless becoming chronically homeless grows.
New investments have been made in research and efforts to understand the inflow into homelessness and chronic homeless. Programs that have been piloted over the past five years are now being scaled up with private and public dollars. During 2017, Los Angeles community leaders increased efforts to engage individuals experiencing homelessness and assess their needs in order to link them to available resources. Outreach and engagement across the County has grown rapidly. As a result, both City and County officials are working on efforts to expand emergency shelters, bridge housing, and interim housing to help transition individuals from the streets while they wait for PSH.
Many of these community responses have been created in response to acute crises – such as a Hepatitis A outbreak in late 2017. Current pilot programs, outreach efforts, and sanitation programs are a start in addressing the critical needs of the unsheltered population but are not yet significant enough to ensure basic human health, safety, and dignity at the scale needed in Los Angeles. Additionally, as the City works quickly to expand access to interim housing and emergency shelter, there is a risk that focus could be diverted from permanent housing solutions.
For more information about the activities that occurred in 2017, visit the 2018 Annual Report.
2016 Inflow into Chronic Homelessness Progress
The impact of additional people becoming chronically homeless has a huge impact on the pace of ending chronic homelessness. In Phase I (2011 – 2015), the focus of the Initiative was to prioritize individuals experiencing chronic homelessness for PSH and, where possible, move people out of homelessness quickly and efficiently, to prevent their homelessness from becoming chronic. But the rising inflow into chronic homelessness makes clear that preventing people from staying on the streets for long periods of time is also critical. Inflow into chronic homelessness is different from inflow into homelessness overall, and there is little research or best practices in targeting resources to individuals most likely to fall into chronic homelessness.
In 2016, several pilot projects across the County designed to serve vulnerable populations at risk of homelessness or chronic homelessness continued. In particular, projects focused on the criminal justice reentry population. Additionally, the City and County plans made early investments in increased funding for coordinated outreach and rapid re-housing to help people end episodes of homelessness more quickly. During Phase II (2016 – 2020), the Foundation has set a goal only to understand the issue and potential solutions more fully at this stage.
For more information about the activities that occurred in 2016, visit the 2017 Annual Report.
