Rapid re-housing is an intervention that helps people who are homeless quickly return to permanent housing. The intervention has been widely used to end homelessness for adults, including both individuals and families. It was also identified as a promising practice by participants in the Practice Knowledge Project. This report examines lessons learned from providers implementing rapid re-housing to help youth escape homelessness.
Providers identified the following important lessons learned from their years of successfully implementing the rapid re-housing model for youth:
- Rapid re-housing for youth requires purposefully embracing a client-driven, Housing First philosophy.
- Landlord engagement is crucial to implementing a successful rapid re-housing for youth program.
- Rapid re-housing can work for youth, but it will need to be a little different from an adult rapid re-housing model.
- Getting the services right is key for youth success in rapid re-housing.
- Rapid re-housing for youth requires flexibility—in case management style, in funding, and in outcome measures.
This paper, part of a series, emerged from the National Alliance to End Homelessness Practice Knowledge Project. The Alliance, in partnership with Funders Together to End Homelessness and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and with the support of the Raikes Foundation and the Melville Charitable Trust, periodically convened insightful and experienced practitioners with a goal of identifying those approaches most likely to succeed in reducing the number of homeless youth. Following up on these in-person sessions, conference calls were held with practitioners to examine in greater depth some of the strategies identified as holding particular promise to end youth homelessness.