A Message from Deborah De Santis | CSH President and CEO
Dear Supportive Housing Community,
This week, we are celebrating the first-ever Supportive Housing Week – a nationwide opportunity to demonstrate a simple and powerful truth: supportive housing works.
Across the country, supportive housing providers, advocates, community leaders, and people with lived experience have been meeting with members of Congress to share how supportive housing is changing lives in their districts. Members have toured supportive housing communities, visited local programs, met with providers and residents, and heard firsthand what stable housing paired with services makes possible.
It has been deeply gratifying to see the supportive housing field organize around a clear, consistent message: supportive housing works! It transforms lives and strengthens communities. It helps people with disabilities move beyond homelessness and crisis, build stability, increase independence, and strengthen connections to their communities. It also helps communities achieve better outcomes and use tax dollars more efficiently by reducing reliance on costly emergency systems and creating a stronger foundation for health, safety, and well-being.
Just as encouraging has been the bipartisan response. Members of Congress across the political spectrum recognize the value of supportive housing and the results it delivers for the people and communities they serve. At a time when so much divides us, this shared recognition matters. Supportive housing is not a partisan issue. Its impact spans many of the issues elected leaders care about, from housing and health care to mental health and public safety, while serving a wide range of populations, including veterans, seniors, families, and young people transitioning from foster care.
Thank you to everyone who opened your doors, shared your expertise, told your story, hosted a visit, or met with an elected official this week. Also, thanks to the many partners who amplified Supportive Housing Week across your social media channels. Your leadership and partnership have brought the impact of supportive housing to life and strengthened relationships that will sustain this work well beyond Supportive Housing Week. Read our press release recapping Supportive Housing Week.
Let us carry this momentum forward. Together, we will continue making the case, building new champions, and ensuring that more people and communities can experience what we know to be true: supportive housing works.
With gratitude,
Deborah De Santis
President and CEO, CSH
