The Impact of Housing First in a Small Town: Emergency Service Use and the Changing Community Attitude

This study examines a newly established Housing First program in a small city in Alaska. Statistically significant decreases in tenants’ use of services such as ambulance transports, hospital emergency room visits, nights spent in the sobering center, and contacts with the police department are noted in the first six months of permanent housing. Additionally, pre/post-self-report data on tenants’ sense of well-being show statistically significant improvements in their sense of safety, physical health, and self-esteem. Interestingly, self-report data also showed tenants had an increase in their feelings of isolation after housing stabilization. In addition to describing the outcome data of residents, this study also highlights the community tension concerning homelessness that was present at the onset of this project and the role this rapid evaluation, shared and understood widely, had on the community perspectives. Ultimately, the data helped to move community leadership from passing a “camping ban” just ten months before the opening of housing first to unanimously supporting a financial investment to expand housing first services in the coming years.