1. Peteria Chan, MPH Jill Bellinger, Ph.D. Stacey Stevens Manser, Ph.D.
Evaluation Strategies for a Multi-site Initiative Implementing “Housing First”
Peteria Chan, MPH
Jill Bellinger, Ph.D.
Stacey Stevens Manser, Ph.D.

2. The ‘Housing First’ Model
Prevention vs. management
Challenges traditional model
Recovery-oriented framework

3. Healthy Community Collaborative (HCC)
Project Goal: House and coordinate care of persons who are homeless and have a mental illness or co- occurring psychiatric and substance use disorder
Main objectives:
Implement “coordinated assessment”
Engage clients in MHSA and wraparound services
House the most vulnerable persons in PSH
Manage data quality and analysis

4. Data Collection Total number clients for select services
Mental health service data
Service and assessment data for PSH clients
Verified reliability and validity of data

5. Participant Demographics
52% Black
48% White
89% Non-Hispanic
5 Sites
5,805 Participants
Average age: 44 years
63% Male
37% Female

6. Assessments and Housing
285
in PSH
14,503
Coordinated Assessments
5,805 HCC Clients
484
in RRH 79
in AH 39
in TH
PSH = Permanent Supportive Housing RRH = Rapid Re-housing AH = Affordable Housing TH = Transitional Housing

7. Percent of Clients (n= 1,063) who Received MH Services by Service Type
Pharm.
Management
Case Management
MH Crisis
Benefits Assistance
Medication Training
Client Evaluation

8. MH Service Engagement by Site
Site A
(n=305)
Site B
(n=48)
Site C
(n=664)
Site D
(n= 46)

9. Engagement in Support Services by Service Type
Shelter
(n=7781)
Food
(n=8649)
Clothing
(n=6042)
Peer
(n=2067)

10. Challenges for Evaluators
Creating shared definitions of data elements
Verifying data
Managing and cleaning non-uniform data
Differing levels of capacity and project development
Chain of communication and organizational bureaucracy

11. Challenges for Implementing ‘Housing First’
Limited housing stock
Building trust with property managers
Promoting engagement in MHSA services
Finding clients once housing is available
Providing services off-site

12. Lessons Learned for Evaluation
Evaluation Design
Being present from beginning is ideal
Data Management & Collection
Data definitions, reviewing, data cleaning and preparation were time intensive activities
Sites need time to create data collection and reporting procedures
‘Usability’ of Results
Allow feedback from entities
Present results in clear, understandable visuals

14. Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Views expressed by speakers do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Texas Department of State Health Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices or organizations imply endorsement by the Texas State government.
Thank you to the Texas Department of State Health Services and HCC project sites for their ongoing work in support of people experiencing homelessness.

15. Thank you for your time!
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