Promising Practices for Solving Homelessness and Increasing Affordable Housing in California

Promising practices  are that those that have the potential to effectively address issues of concern in a community. Promising practices usually, though not always, seem to have worked elsewhere. They are  judged by standards that make sense for a specific community and a given issue like homelessness. Examples of these include:

• Coordinated entry system, which prevents homelessness or addresses the immediate crisis of homelessness, then connects families to the most appropriate level and type of assistance based on their strengths and needs. It includes an assessment that identifies and scores a household’s needs and makes prioritization decisions based upon factors that include length of time homeless and the severity of service needs.
• Bridge housing, temporary housing in which there are no preconditions such as sobriety. This is in contrast to shelters and transitional housing programs that have “housing-ready models” in which residents must address various issues (e.g., substance abuse) that led to their episode(s) of homelessness prior to entering permanent housing. In bridge housing, treatment and compliance are not required in exchange for help with obtaining permanent housing. Residents work with housing navigators to move into permanent housing as quickly as possible and receive home-based supportive services including substance abuse services if agreed upon and needed.