Housing First (HF) was hailed as a revolutionary approach to homelessness for decades. Providing immediate, permanent housing without requiring treatment or behavioral compliance offered a compassionate alternative to the punitive, conditional systems that preceded it. But in their recent paper published in the Journal of Public Health Policy, researchers Farkas, Romaniuk, and Baranowski critique the implementation of this once-radical model, arguing that neoliberal policies have co-opted it, emphasizing cost-efficiency over meaningful, systemic change.
The authors describe the model as follows:
âAccording to [the Housing First] model, the chronically homeless would be housed immediately after intake and assessment without any additional efforts in trying to help their functioning. Any therapy or long-term treatment could be arranged after they obtain stable housing.â
While the Housing First approach has successfully lowered barriers to housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness, Farkas, Romaniuk, and Baranowski argue that its flaws are significant. These include its positioning as a âcost-effectiveâ solution that reduces government responsibility for homelessness and its lack of guaranteed, long-term support for individuals in need. Most critically, the authors contend that Housing First fails to address the structural âroot causesâ of homelessness, such as systemic poverty and social exclusionâan argument that echoes broader critiques of how neoliberalism and biomedical frameworks sideline the social determinants of mental health.
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Broken promises in the field of politics and policy is never news. Broken policies in the political landscape is the rule, not the exception, and to the brain that hasn’t noticed this I say to you that you are connected to these two blinking marbles called ‘eyes’ by two tangles of string. Use them blinking marbles. And while you’re at it use yourself.
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Really good. Thanks for this.
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You said jfk signed something in 1964 . He was assassinated in November 1963. Systems of care blame people that need help for needing help.
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Sadly only an organised working class can influence problems like these.
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