Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah, 375 South 1530 East, Suite 235, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jul 5;17(13):4840. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17134840.
Homelessness is a public health issue that many organizations are addressing through a Housing First Model. One such organization is The Road Home (TRH), which provides services to homeless individuals and families in Salt Lake County. TRH is perhaps best known for their emergency shelters, but the organization also administers the Rapid Rehousing Program (RRHP), designed to help families experiencing homelessness transition back into stable housing. Those experiencing homelessness tend to have high rates of chronic mental/physical disabilities as well as issues related to substance abuse. Having a home is the first step toward achieving some kind of stability in their lives. The RRHP allows families to find housing in the private rental market and will cover the initial costs and several months of rent for clients. While the program has been praised by policymakers and social service providers for helping homeless families find rental housing, there is no empirical research about participant perspectives regarding their residential (in)security. The research question of this article is: what is the role of the RRHP in supporting the security of families experiencing homelessness? Researchers collected qualitative data through focus groups and interviews with 31 participants, 23 families experiencing homelessness, two landlords, six case managers, and service providers. Lastly, we identify recommendations for program improvements based on information gathered from research participants. It is our hope that the information presented in this article can and will be used in a way that improves public health by increasing the residential security of families experiencing homelessness.
无家可归是一个公共卫生问题，许多组织正在通过“先住后付”模式来解决。其中一个组织是 The Road Home (TRH)，它为盐湖县的无家可归者个人和家庭提供服务。TRH 最著名的可能是他们的紧急避难所，但该组织还管理着快速安置计划（RRHP），旨在帮助无家可归的家庭重新稳定住房。无家可归者往往患有慢性精神/身体残疾和与药物滥用相关的问题的比例很高。有一个家是他们生活稳定的第一步。RRHP 允许家庭在私人租赁市场上找到住房，并为客户支付最初的费用和几个月的租金。虽然该计划受到政策制定者和社会服务提供者的称赞，因为它帮助无家可归的家庭找到了出租住房，但对于参与者关于他们的居住（不）安全的看法，还没有实证研究。本文的研究问题是：RRHP 在支持无家可归家庭的安全方面发挥了什么作用？研究人员通过焦点小组和对 31 名参与者（23 个无家可归家庭、2 个房东、6 名个案经理和服务提供者）的访谈收集了定性数据。最后，我们根据研究参与者收集的信息，确定了改进项目的建议。我们希望本文介绍的信息能够并将被用于通过提高无家可归家庭的居住安全性来改善公共卫生。
