Archives: Resources

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) continues to be one of the greatest public health challenges in our communities. Recent data shows a national 2.8% increase in overdose deaths between August 2022 and August 2023.1  The White House has recently released the Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose  to add to our country’s evolving response. The complexity of the issue means that addressing the overdose crisis requires a multi-pronged strategy that includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are at the front lines of these efforts, serving over 3.3 million patients with substance use disorder in 2022.2 

As of February 2022, 48 states have accepted settlement for various lawsuits brought against pharmaceutical opioid distributors and one manufacturer in response to the national opioid and overdose crisis. Commonly referred to as the “Opioid Settlement funds”, approximately $26 billion have been distributed to states and local governments to support a range of activities addressing the root causes and impact of the opioid crisis. Beyond the Approved Uses Guidance, there is wide latitude for how to use these funds. The national Opioid Settlement Tracker is a resource that can help Health Centers and Primary Care Associations determine the process for how these funds are allocated and any pathways to influence that process. Housing creation, including supportive housing and recovery housing are cited in the national settlement agreement as potential approved uses. This analysis will focus on how and where funds are being leveraged to support housing access and other services that benefit health center patients. 

To better understand operational challenges and how supportive housing providers view them, CSH recently conducted a survey and received more than 500 responses from 44 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The survey responses make it clear that collectively we must act quickly to strengthen the supportive housing field. This report walks through the challenges that were elevated by respondents and concludes with ideas about solutions.

Due to limited resources, fewer community connections, and more exposure to the elements, people experiencing unsheltered homelessness have a heightened risk of injury and severe health issues. This is especially true during times of disaster and public emergency. As many communities learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, meaningful outreach and linkage to care for unsheltered individuals is vital for public health. This national webinar highlighted emerging practices in reaching unsheltered populations, with a focus on the importance of peer specialists with lived expertise. Attendees learned and discussed relevant strategies for health and housing-focused outreach to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

This publication aims to increase the recognition of housing as an evidence based, multifunctional intervention for people with HIV experiencing homelessness. Housing is a strategic and powerful driver for improving clinical outcome measures on a client, clinic, and systems level. This publication will elevate key findings in research, best practices, and community strategies where housing as an intervention for HIV linkage to care has been realized and implemented.

Readers of this publication will gain an understanding of the critical importance that housing has in relation to linkage and retention in HIV care, insights into patient-centered approaches for assessing and addressing housing needs, and explore challenges, barriers, and strategies at both patient and community levels to address housing instability in the context of HIV care. 

Medical Respite Care (MRC), also known as Recuperative Care, is acute and post-acute care for people experiencing homelessness who are not ill enough to remain in a hospital but are too ill to recover on the streets. This model of care has grown rapidly in recent years, with more than 145 known programs nation-wide. As more communities develop and increase MRC services, so does the importance of building capacity to support consumers during their time in MRC and after discharge to housing, shelter, etc. This webinar highlighted opportunities for providers, community partners, and stakeholders to connect individuals transitioning out of MRC with resources and wrap-around services that they need. 

This webinar took place on June 17, 2024.

This national webinar provided an overview of best practices developing or strengthening health and housing partnerships to support aging patients experiencing long-term homelessness. Participants will understand how long-term homelessness accelerates aging, the types of partnerships that are essential to supporting aging patients, and the community housing models that support the needs of aging patients.

This webinar took place on June 12, 2024.

This is a resource guide for nonprofit housing sponsors interested in pursuing supportive housing development in New York State. It covers all the latest information about supportive housing financing programs, and incentives.

The focus of this guide is the early project planning and feasibility stages of development. It offers practical information on co-development partnerships, site selection, acquisition, and tools to help your staff and board of directors assess readiness and risk tolerance. Both experienced supportive housing sponsors and those new to development will find useful information to guide planning for your organization’s next supportive housing residence.

(Updated: April 2024)

This is a resource guide for nonprofit housing sponsors interested to pursue supportive housing development in New York State. It covers all the latest information about new supportive housing financing programs, and incentives for supportive housing in the recent changes to the NYC Zoning Resolution known as Zoning for Quality Affordability (ZQA).

The focus of this guide is on the early project planning and feasibility stages of development. It offers practical information on co-development partnerships, site selection, acquisition, and tools to help your staff and board of directors assess readiness risk tolerance. Both experienced supportive housing sponsors and those new to development will find useful information to guide planning for your organization’s next supportive housing residence.

To better understand operational challenges and how supportive housing providers view them, CSH
recently conducted a survey and received more than 500 responses from 44 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The survey responses make it clear that collectively we must act quickly to strengthen the supportive housing field. This report walks through the challenges that were elevated by respondents and concludes with ideas about solutions. 

The Los Angeles Tenant Centered Collaboratory (Co-LAB) is an extension of CSH’s capacity-building efforts in the Western United States to improve the operations and fidelity to the core principles of quality supportive housing. The goal of the Co-LAB, supported by the Hilton Foundation, is to improve the quality of tenant-centered and racially equitable supportive housing to focus our training and technical assistance (TA) on tenant outcomes, and to do so with the guidance of tenant leadership.

Background

In May 2021, the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) launched The Los Angeles Tenant-Centered Co-LAB (Co-LAB) Training series. The training was designed as a collaborative, peer-to-peer learning environment for teams comprised of people with lived experience, housing developers/owners, services providers, and property manager partners that are within 1-3 years of leasing up their Los Angeles County supportive housing developments. Additionally, the purpose of the Co-LAB was to foster the co-creation of community environments centered on tenant choice, racial equity, safety, and wellness. The Co-LAB also focused on navigating operational challenges common in the first year while ensuring equitable tenant retention, promoting tenant leadership, and sustaining staff for long-term success. Additional information can be found here.

Following the participation of the Co-LAB, participants were offered follow-up Technical Assistance (TA) for up to 18 months (TA provided at 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months). Technical assistance that was offered included:  best practices on the coordination between supportive services and property management for quick lease-ups during the COVID-19 pandemic, assistance with understanding the developments pro-forma, budgeting for the lease-up process, and developing trauma-informed training for property managers.

Focus Groups

In 2023-2024, the Co-LAB hosted eight (8) Focus Groups that included representation from Los Angeles supportive housing developers, service providers, tenants, individuals with lived expertise of homelessness and working in homeless services, a Black Affinity Group, and property managers. The purpose of the Focus Groups was to 1) understand the perspectives and learning needs of each group, 2) to inform the Co-LAB curriculum development and 3) to guide how to support pressing training and technical assistance needs.

Below is a summary of each focus group type. The summary includes information about the focus group format, participants, and considerations for expanding access to quality supportive housing in Los Angeles County.