Housing First: Implementation, Dissemination, and Program Fidelity

Abstract

The theme of this special issue is implementation, dissemination, and program fidelity of the Pathways’ Housing First (PHF) program. I cannot imagine a more fitting platform than The American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation for the first collection of articles on Housing First (HF). It is a sometimes overlooked but important fact that the (PHF) program was founded on the principles of psychiatric rehabilitation, which were infused into the program’s clinical practice from its inception. PHF began as an NIMH research-demonstration project called Taking Psych Rehab to the Streets, which sought to engage people who were homeless and who had co-occurring severe mental health and addiction problems (Tsemberis, Moran, Shinn, Shern, & Asmussen, 2003). Respecting consumers’ preferences was one of the core practices of that early outreach intervention, and it continues to be the foundation of the PHF program. In that initial study, we found that consumers who had remained homeless and previously shunned help for years were quick to engage if the offer of assistance was consistent with their priorities. What these consumers wanted above all was fundamental to their