Overview
“Housing First” refers to a policy framework that addresses homelessness by directly providing housing options without requiring sobriety or treatment for any potential health conditions, including substance use disorder.
Commentary
I’m a huge advocate for Housing First policies. I think it’s one of the most obvious solutions to the cycles of chronic homelessness and substance use that we have and treats housing as a basic human right, which might be especially prudent for a country whose success is built on genocide to clear land and slavery to work it. This is in contrast to programs that place certain conditions on individuals prior to receiving assistance from social services like mandating treatment participation or clean drug tests. In fact, those who are enrolled into Housing First programs have an increased chance of complying with medication schedules and avoiding costly emergency services.
If you gave me a magic wand to address substance use, I would select a combination of Housing First, Contingency Management to supplement the housing with tangible rewards for participation in treatment, and therapeutic communities to provide non-institutionalized support networks.