What Is Permanent Supportive Housing?
Permanent supportive housing is an intervention that combines affordable housing assistance with voluntary support services to address the needs of chronically homeless people. The services are designed to build independent living and tenancy skills and connect people with community-based health care, treatment and employment services.
How Permanent Supportive Housing Can End Chronic Homelessness
Investments in permanent supportive housing have helped decrease the number of chronically homeless individuals by 8 percent since 2007. In addition to ending homelessness for people who are chronically homeless, research has demonstrated that permanent supportive housing can also increase housing stability and improve health.
A cost-effective solution, permanent supportive housing has been shown to lower public costs associated with the use of crisis services such as shelters, hospitals, jails and prisons.
Updated March 2021.