>>938769666
>no proof
housing first isnβt about feelings, itβs about math. utah, denver, houston all cut chronic homelessness by 40β90% when they switched to permanent housing + support. costs dropped too. less ER, less cops, less jail. cheaper to house someone than to chase them around the streets forever.
Denver β The Housing First Success Story
The Denver Housing First Collaborative tracked outcomes for chronically homeless individuals before and after supportive housing:
Emergency service costs dropped by 72.95%, saving around $31,545 per person annually
ER visits and costs by 34.3%
Inpatient costs by 66%
Detox visits by 82%, saving $8,732 per person
Supportive Housing Network of New York
If scaled to serve 513 chronically homeless individuals in Denver, the savings reach about $16.1 million
Supportive Housing Network of New York
Utah β Cost-Efficiency Meets Impact
Utah's housing-first pilot delivered a jaw-dropping difference:
Before Housing First: it cost over $20,000 per chronically homeless person annually (covering shelters, ER visits, police, etc.).
After providing permanent housing and case management, that cost dropped to about $8,000 per person per year
That means more than 60% in savings, and homelessness plummetedβa 74% drop in chronic homelessness in early years
Nationwide Economic Benefits
Reviews across multiple cities and programs show real societal payback:
Every $1 invested in Housing First programs yields about $1.44 in social cost savings, including healthcare, welfare, and criminal justice reductions
One NYC supportive housing program trimmed costs by $12,146 per person per year
National Low Income Housing Coalition
College of Social Work
https://www.coloradocoalition.org/sites/default/files/2017-01/HousingFirstFinal.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com