05/21/2018

E-learning and consultation strategy aims to improve nationwide Housing First programs

IUPUI, Heartland Alliance Health's Midwest Harm Reduction Institute and CSH partner to enhance a program for chronically homeless individuals, families

INDIANAPOLIS, CHICAGO and NEW YORK -- Professionals in the homeless service and housing sectors now have access to e-learning modules and distance-based technical assistance to strengthen their knowledge and their programs' fidelity to the Housing First model. Housing First connects people experiencing homelessness to permanent housing without barriers to entry.

The Housing First Technical Assistance and Training program was created by a researcher at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI and staff at Heartland Alliance Health's Midwest Harm Reduction Institute in Chicago. The work was part of a larger study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The e-learning modules are self-paced, on-demand courses that can be accessed from any computer. The four modules are "Introduction to the Housing First Philosophy," "Housing Case Management," "Strategies for Working with Participants" and "Running a Housing First Program." The self-paced training takes four to six hours to complete, depending on the individual learner.

The Corporation for Supportive Housing, or CSH, offers the modules through its Supportive Housing Training Center for purchase individually, as a curriculum or as part of their subscription service. The modules allow agencies to easily access online the critical information to Housing First implementation along with other training resources.

Nicole Bahena, associate director of the CSH Supportive Housing Training Center, said the modules already are having an impact. "Our preliminary research demonstrates high learning satisfaction and positive implementation outcomes for participating housing agencies," Bahena said. "These e-learning modules are convenient too, allowing practitioners to get the training they need right from their desks."

Dennis P. Watson, an associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at IUPUI, said the modules were created due to a lack of well-described, testable strategies to implement the Housing First model. Unlike programs that require proof of "housing readiness" through attaining employment, sobriety and medication compliance, Housing First requires no preconditions and few service requirements. Watson said Housing First has been demonstrated to lead to significant improvements for individuals who are chronically homeless, including higher housing retention and improved physical and behavioral health.

"But we encounter programs called 'Housing First' that do not fully understand what the model entails," Watson said. "Most often, these programs do not implement the harm reduction component that is essential to being able to work successfully with the population Housing First was designed to serve."

Valery Shuman, senior director at Heartland Alliance Health, said the organization's Midwest Harm Reduction Institute has provided Housing First training in Chicago and beyond since 2004.

"We wanted to make the adoption and implementation of the Housing First model accessible to organizations with limited funds and limited staff time," Shuman said. "Transitioning our in-person training to an e-learning format and offering distance-based consultation seemed a great way to increase accessibility, and our National Institute on Drug Abuse funding allowed us to research whether this model would be as impactful.

"People definitely understand the Housing First model better after the e-learning modules, and the consultation helps them put that learning into practice. The more questions and real-world situations staff bring to the consultations, the richer the dialogue and learning."

Watson disclosed the Housing First Technical Assistance and Training e-learning module to the Indiana University Innovation and Commercialization Office, which protects, markets and licenses intellectual property developed at Indiana University so it can be commercialized by industry. ICO licensed the modules to Heartland Alliance Health.

About Indiana University  Innovation  and  Commercialization  Office Indiana University ICO is tasked with the protection and commercialization of technology emanating from innovations by IU researchers. Since 1997, IU research has generated almost 3,000 inventions resulting in more than 4,500 global patent applications. Thesed iscoveries have generated more than $142 million in licensing and royalty income, including more than $115 million in funding for IU departments, labs and inventors.

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