CSH has begun a collaboration with NACo, the national organization that represents counties in the United States. The goal of our partnership is to foster and strengthen efforts to end the cycle of homelessness and incarceration in county jails through placement in supportive housing. We have formed a workgroup of member counties, and are providing technical and advisory assistance around forming criminal justice supportive housing initiatives.
We’re focusing on the population of frequent users of (usually) county-funded public services, such as jails, hospital emergency services, mental health servces and shelters. These men and women have chronic health coniditons that cause them to cycle in and out of crisis sytems of care and homelessness–at great public expense and with limited positive human outcomes. Placing these people in supportive housing will improve their life outcomes, more efficiently use public resources, and likely create cost-avoidance in crisis systems.
CSH is very excited about the opportunity to work with counties in states all over the country, from Florida and Georgia to Nebraska, Oregon, Texas and beyond. Expanding our FUSE supportive housing model, which has demonstrated positive human and cost outcomes in several ongoing evalations, will help promote systems change in the criminal justice and emergency response systems.
