How the ‘Housing First’ model meets the needs of residents at American House and Kimball Court
The Housing First Series – Part 2. Written by Dylan Novacek, Content Specialist.
At Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, we have 19 different buildings which are designed to meet the needs of specific populations. At 11 of these 19 homes, residents receive onsite support services. Whether it be youth supportive housing at homes like 66 West, or family supportive housing at homes like Cedar View, we work to ensure all residents are able to thrive.
At American House and Kimball Court (pictured), and soon at Bimosedaa, residents have access to onsite supports from our partners at Avivo through the Housing First model. By developing an understanding of how Avivo implements Housing First in their organization and at these Beacon homes, our collaborative will understand why this type of care is essential for residents coming out of extended periods of homelessness.
How Avivo Implements Housing First
“Housing First is an effort to counter-act very large forces,” expressed John Tribbet, Avivo’s Service Area Director. “It’s a necessary model that is at the downstream point of all these negative forces that are excluding residents from the basic safety and security of home. When we unpack the stories of this work, you begin to realize the need.”
As an organization, Avivo works in chemical and mental health, employment, and ending homelessness. An ongoing goal of theirs is to integrate the harm reduction lens throughout the agency. This means meeting individuals where they are at, providing them with unconditional positive regard, and offering them opportunities to flourish.
Recently, Avivo opened their tiny home village as a low barrier way to bring at risk individuals into living indoors. Projects like this are heavily impacted and informed by the Housing First model with harm reduction strategies, as it immediately ensures that the most basic needs of individuals are being met in a time of crisis.
The care and time Avivo puts into this work is felt at each of the sites they serve, including Beacon’s American House and Kimball Court. As low barrier housing options, residents at these buildings are able to get into housing quickly via direct connection with outreach and encampments for quick move-ins.
Approaching Housing First at American House and Kimball Court
“We look at this work from the perspective of a wraparound service model,” shared Danyell Easter, Program Director at Avivo. “We invite residents to get connected to what they need. First, we bring them into housing and meet their basic needs. Next, we’re able to work on the other areas of challenge that may be present in their lives. Eventually, we will reach of a place of stabilization.”
The services Avivo offers at American House and Kimball Court helps in providing a strong Housing First model which is trauma informed and culturally competent. Residents at these homes are not required to participate in the services in order to keep their housing, and sobriety is not required.
The service model is rooted in engagement where service staff seek to engage residents in harm reduction, decreasing alcohol or drug use and addressing whatever may be holding a resident back from their own definition of thriving.
The model has proven to be effective in reducing hospitalizations, jail time, and other crisis interventions.
In fact, 94% of residents at Kimball Court and 77% of residents at American House were successful in keeping their homes at these sites for at least 1 year, which has helped them maintain shelter and stability.
Housing First is Essential
“A well-structured Housing First program provides a lot of guardrails which help residents be supported within these spaces,” John explained. “This model doesn’t mean that anything goes. We work to help keep the community and residents safe through our supports. When a person gets into housing before anything else, they will find the tools to bring them closer to recovery.”
As the service staff at Avivo work to stabilize residents using a harm reduction lens, they accept the realities of our current housing crisis and combat it through real, evidence-based solutions that are led by the voices of those most impacted by systemic inequities.
Pictured: Melissa, a resident from American House
“We work with individuals who have experienced chronic homelessness. With that comes gradual progress and success with residents,” Danyell shared. “A standout moment for me in this work was meeting an individual who lived outdoors for a decade. We brought them into housing within one day.”
Housing First and harm reduction is hard work, but also extremely essential. As organizations like Avivo and Beacon work to end homelessness and bring stable housing to all communities, meeting the needs of our neighbors who face housing disparities is key in achieving our shared mission and vision.
“Understanding Housing First is recognizing that we’re all humans who have unique roadblocks,” Danyell continued. “You can either choose to look at someone based off what’s on paper, or you can choose to work with someone regardless and learn who they really are as a person. That’s what we’re doing at American House and Kimball Court as we walk alongside residents.”
American House, Kimball Court, and the upcoming homes at Bimosedaa are one piece of how we address our housing crisis. Learn the basics of Housing First by reading part one of our series here.
To learn more about Beacon’s partnership with Avivo click here.
