How to Address Homelessness: Reflections from Research

• Date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716221995158
• Published date: 01 January 2021
• Subject Matter: Conclusion

995158ANN
The Annals Of The American AcademyHow To Address Homelessness
research-article2021
this commentary considers policy implications of
research in this volume and elsewhere, and we empha-
size the benefits of policy approaches that move
“upstream,” to the prevention of homelessness. policies
that address the structural causes of homelessness,
described by numerous articles in this ANNALS vol-
ume, are the furthest upstream and may be the most
important in eradicating homelessness, and policies
aimed at prevention are next. We point out that effec-
How to Address tive prevention requires targeting those most at risk,
and we call for creative use of data and better coordina-
Homelessness: tion with institutions and systems that may be able to
identify the antecedents to homelessness. We note that
currently, the homelessness shelter system is strained,
Reflections
so we argue for a radical rethinking of its role, with a
shift of resources to efforts further upstream. the exist-
from Research ing racial disparities in both pathways to and incidence
of homelessness bring urgency to making more than
marginal policy changes.
Keywords: homelessness; housing; racial disparities;
prevention
By
KAtHeRINe M. O’RegAN,
Homelessness is a traumatic event for
INgRID gOuLD eLLeN,
individuals and families who experience
and
it. It can lead to disruption in relationships,
SOpHIe HOuSe
health, work, and education. According to the
u.S. Department of Housing and urban
Development’s (HuD’s) Annual point in time
Count, nearly 570,000 people had no place to
sleep on January 23, 2020 (HuD 2020). While
homelessness touches all regions and demo-
graphic groups, not all people bear equal risks:
research shows that people of color are dispro-
portionately at risk of both eviction and home-
lessness (Desmond and gershenson 2016).
Katherine M. O’Regan is a professor of public policy
and planning at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate
School of Public Service and a faculty director of NYU’s
Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. She
is has written extensively on affordable housing policy
and issues of segregation and neighborhood change.
Correspondence: katherine.oregan@nyu.edu
DOI: 10.1177/0002716221995158
322 ANNALS,
AAPSS, 693, January 2021

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HOW tO ADDReSS HOMeLeSSNeSS
323
Black people compose 40 percent of those who experience homelessness in the
united States, despite accounting for just 13 percent of the overall population
(Olivet et al., this volume).
Building a just and equitable society requires developing policies that help to
prevent households from becoming homeless and shorten their spells if they do.
While there is no single policy that will eliminate homelessness, existing research,
including the articles in this volume of The ANNALS, suggests that there are
many useful steps that governments can take to address homelessness.
public health experts often distinguish between “upstream,” or preventive,
services and “downstream” reactive and emergency services. this framework is
useful for homelessness as well, as the range of articles in this volume illustrate.
the high cost of delivering emergency shelter and other downstream services
suggests the benefits of intervening upstream when we can, before an episode of
homelessness even begins. Research points to promising prevention strategies at
that stage that help households remain in their homes (evans, Sullivan, and
Wallskog 2016; goodman, Messeri, and O’Flaherty 2016; Rolston, geyer, and
Locke 2013). But because upstream measures will not be able to prevent all
spells of homelessness, research also shows us which downstream services are
most effective, equitable, and efficient.
throughout the discussion that follows, we identify places where the research
in this volume has given policy-makers opportunities to move upstream, as well
as ways to improve the delivery and targeting of both upstream and downstream
services. Specifically, we offer brief comments on four categories of policy
responses, which align with the stages of a trajectory of homelessness: addressing
root causes, preventing homelessness, providing services, and facilitating sus-
tained exits from homelessness. We end with a discussion of racial disparities.
Root Causes
the articles in this volume make a vital contribution by emphasizing the struc-
tural or macro causes of homelessness. these structural factors suggest that
broader efforts to address housing affordability, low incomes, and income ine-
quality may be the most effective policies for preventing homelessness.
Aubry et al. (this volume) add to the body of evidence illustrating the impor-
tance of housing affordability for preventing homelessness. If homelessness is at
root a housing affordability problem, then providing more affordable housing
would seem to be the most direct way to address it. policy responses, however, have
tended historically to focus on homelessness as a function of individual (micro)
Ingrid Gould Ellen is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at NYU’s
Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a faculty director at the NYU
Furman Center. She has published books and numerous articles on housing policy, community
development, and residential segregation.
Sophie House is a legal fellow at NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy,
where her research spans issues of homelessness, housing instability, and fair housing.

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tHe ANNALS OF tHe AMeRICAN ACADeMY
social and behavioral challenges (such as mental illness or substance use), or simply
of poverty. Service provision in local governments often reflects this understanding,
siloing behavioral services and emergency shelter provision away from depart-
ments that make decisions affecting housing affordability and quality.
Mounting research illustrates the effectiveness of the Housing First Model,
and Lachaud et al. (this volume) add further support for this. Rog et al. (this vol-
ume) help to isolate and contrast the value of services versus housing. In their
study of supportive housing, they find that social services, including mental health
and substance use outpatient services, fail to affect the stability of housing out-
comes, though services provide other important benefits to residents of supportive
housing. this is consistent with research from the Family Options Study, which
showed that priority access to long-term housing subsidies reduced homelessness,
but transitional housing with services had little effect (gubits et al. 2018).
In short, the homelessness sector should be concerned not just with providing
services to those currently or at immediate risk of homelessness but also with
addressing conditions that hinder the development of affordable housing, the
willingness of neighborhood residents and leaders to support that housing, and
its accessibility to people who are or are at risk of becoming homeless.
the articles in this volume also point to the importance of low incomes in
contributing to...