Access all recordings from the Fourth International Housing First Conference.
The Fourth International Housing First Conference was held virtually on October 5 - 7, 2021, with a goal to enhance capacity to implement Housing First programs in Canada and internationally with a high level of fidelity to the Pathways Housing First model. View the conference program.
Housing First in Finland
Saija Turunen
Moderator: Tim Aubry
Saija talks about the special characteristics of the Finnish Housing First model. The presentation looks into the development of the model, key achievements and lessons learnt.
Keynote: Housing First in Finland from EENet on Vimeo.
Download the presentation summary [PDF].
Concurrent Block 3
Session 11: HF for survivors of domestic violence (Moderator: Ronni Greenwood)
- Housing First for women experiencing domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in England (Louisa Steele)
- The Westminster VAWG Housing First project houses and supports 20 women experiencing long term homelessness, domestic abuse, other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and multiple disadvantage.
The support is delivered by specialist domestic abuse/VAWG provider Solace Women’s Aid. Traditional safety planning and risk assessment processes have been adapted to meet the needs of the women, and the principle of choice and control is prioritized; staff work creatively to support women who remain in relationships with their abuser. Standing Together manage partnerships with a coalition of housing partners who provide units for the project. It is the first UK service where support is delivered by a specialist women’s provider.
- The Westminster VAWG Housing First project houses and supports 20 women experiencing long term homelessness, domestic abuse, other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and multiple disadvantage.
- Housing First & Women - Creating Safe & Suitable Housing Opportunities for Women Impacted by Violence (Hannah Skinner, Grant Martin). Download the presentation summary [PDF].
- The Supported Housing of Perth Program (SHOPP) was designed and implemented as a local Housing First service collaborative comprised of four (4) community leading organizations. The aim was to support priority populations experiencing homelessness through a HF Intensive Case Management Scattered & Fixed Site model. One of those populations included women with or without dependent-aged children impacted by violence. SHOPP applied an enhanced gender-based lens to the Housing First approach as well as innovative and more inclusive changes to the local homelessness definition.
HF for survivors of domestic violence [Vimeo].
Session 12: Harm reduction in HF (Moderator: Lisa Medd)
- Harm Reduction in Housing First: Research Outcomes, Practices, and Evidence Gaps (Nick Kerman)
- Harm reduction is a central tenet of Housing First. Despite this, harm reduction outcomes have been critically overlooked in empirical reviews of the research evidence on Housing First. Findings show that the research on harm reduction outcomes is emergent, narrow in scope, and largely focused on alcohol. Studies using general indicators of substance use problems often found Housing First to have minimal to no effects; however, examination of more severe harms have yielded promising albeit preliminary findings. The studies investigating harm reduction practices clearly demonstrated the importance of strong working relationships between Housing First staff and tenants, as well as the flexibility and ambiguity that service providers experience when using a harm reduction approach.
- Harm Reduction in Housing First (Melissa Pim)
- Radically meeting the whole person where they are at is the best way to ensure integration of Harm Reduction(HR) approaches to Housing First(HF). This presentation shares the experience of the Housing First team at CMHA-YR-SS as our program identifies the need to mobilize knowledge and fully integrate HR approaches that truly align with the core principles of HF. Our clients have lived with homelessness, concurrent mental health challenges and problematic substance use. With the integration of a HR position on the team, and a new HR committee, we have worked to integrate and update HR policy within our larger community health organization, provide individualized HR counselling to clients, and HR coaching to staff.
Session 13: Systemic responses to growing HF (Moderator: Tim Aubry)
- Some of the Things You Wanted to Know About Toronto’s Supportive Housing Growth Plan but Were Afraid To Ask (Steve Lurie, Frank Sirotich). Download the presentation summary [PDF].
- The City of Toronto has set a target for the development of 18,000 supportive housing units over 10 years. A consortium led by CMHA Toronto, Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness (TAEH) Wellesley Institute, and the Toronto Supportive Housing Network have recently completed development of a comprehensive plan to develop more supportive housing aligned with the City target. The plan is based on a comprehensive needs analysis, stakeholder engagement, strategies to increase supply, as well as improve the range of services associated with supportive housing, including Housing First. The presentation will include an overview of the needs analysis, implications for expanding Housing First and details on plan development and implementation plans, including strategies to align with recently announced federal funding and City of Toronto strategies to end homelessness.
- CMHC Research and Program Outputs: What We Have Learned About Successful Socially Inclusive Housing (Marina Sloutsky, Elisabeth Feltaous, Wendy Pollard). Download the presentation summary [PDF].
- Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) National Housing Strategy focuses on helping populations at risk of housing instability and homelessness find a home that is affordable and meets their needs. Building on recent research examining the housing needs of populations experiencing vulnerability in Canada, CMHC will present a panel of research, innovation, and partnerships specialists examining the socially inclusive aspects of various housing approaches to Housing First. Our panelists will examine the key principles when designing inclusive, low-barrier housing, as well as the obstacles faced when providing a low-barrier entry model to different populations with multiple intersecting needs and challenges.
Systemic responses to growing HF [Vimeo].
Session 14: International adaptations of HF (Moderator: Eric Latimer)
- Maintaining fidelity amid homelessness transformation in Wales (Alex Osmond). Download the presentation summary [PDF].
- Cymorth Cymru, funded by Welsh Government and working closely with the Welsh Housing First Network, have developed a process to accredit Housing First projects and their fidelity to the principles. Three projects have gone through this process.
Our presentation will explain our process, which is based on document review and interviews with key stakeholders. Our co-presenter will represent an accredited project, describing how this has supported continuous improvement and development.
- Cymorth Cymru, funded by Welsh Government and working closely with the Welsh Housing First Network, have developed a process to accredit Housing First projects and their fidelity to the principles. Three projects have gone through this process.
- Ending homelessness through independent, permanent and scatter houses in the community: Up-scalling Housing First in Lisboa/Portugal (José Ornelas, Teresa Duarte, Inês Almas, Patrícia Belo)
- For more than a decade, Housing First has been successfully implemented in the city of Lisboa, in Portugal. The program provides independent, scatter-site, and permanent housing to long-term homeless people, alongside with support services that are consumer-driven and oriented to recovery and community integration. We will describe the housing and the ecological and collaborative supports delivered by the program, including supported employment services, and the intervention plan implemented in response to Covid 19. We then present a summary of the research findings, including those that were collected as part of the larger European study HOME_EU, particularly regarding housing retention and community integration. Finally, we will discuss the challenges and opportunities related with program dissemination and the role of advocacy and research in driving new policy initiatives towards housing first, both at the city and national levels.
International adaptations of HF [Vimeo].
Session 15: Lived experience and Housing First: Peer and Indigenous perspectives (Al Wiebe, Don Robinson; Moderator: Geoff Nelson)
In this session, two perspectives on lived experience and Housing First are explored: peer and Indigenous. Through a facilitated discussion, presenters share their experience. Two participants from the Winnipeg Housing First programs in the At Home / Chez Soi project share their experiences regarding their roles, activities, formats, training, and personal impacts. The session will provide a rich opportunity for sharing experiences from two Winnipeg, Canada. Ample time will be allotted to the audience for questions for and answers from the panel.
Lived experience and Housing First: Peer and Indigenous perspectives [Vimeo].