In June 2013, CSH released its fourth annual State of the Industry Survey. This survey is designed to take a pulse of the supportive housing industry and help us better understand the challenges, opportunities, trends and issues that our partners in the field are facing in the current climate. The survey included questions covering topics about the future prospects for the industry, targeting supportive housing to new populations, funding issues, organizational capacity, training needs, the level of political will to maintain or increase supportive housing development, and CSH’s value to the local community.
We had nearly 300 people complete the survey. Seventy three percent of the respondents were from non-profit agencies, and about one-fifth (22%) represented local, state or federal government agencies. Respondents also included representatives from public housing authorities, for profit businesses and foundations. There was wide participation from many different sectors – most prominently housing and community development, mental health and social services, but also workforce development, veterans services, youth services, public health, services for the aging and criminal justice.
This year’s survey uncovered the following trends:
- Political support and optimism about the future of supportive housing remains high.
- Supportive housing is integrated into a wide variety of systems, but more work needs to be done to expand our footprint.
- Funding for supportive housing remained relatively stable in 2013 although funding sources are shifting.
- Innovation in supportive housing continues to grow.
- Awareness among industry members of important policy changes surrounding the Olmstead decision and Medicaid is relatively weak.
- Industry members report a variety of different technical assistance and training needs, particularly around improving support services and reporting systems.
- Industry members continue to report a strong focus on the most vulnerable homeless populations.
