The Commonwealth's Premier Housing First Initiative:
Home & Healthy for Good
This page is dedicated to historical information on Home & Healthy for Good.
Highlights of the March 2011 Home & Healthy for Good Report:
- As of February 17, 2011, 488 formerly chronically homeless people have been housed in the Home & Healthy for Good (HHG) program.
- Tenant retention stands at 83 percent.
- The annual costs per person decreased from $33,514 before housing to $24,007 after housing placement, resulting in an annual savings of $9,507 per person.
Click here for the full report
December 2010 Highlights:
- As of November 15, 2010, 455 formerly chronically homeless people have been housed in the Home & Healthy for Good (HHG) program.
- Tenant retention stands at 84 percent.
- The annual costs per person decreased from $33,514 before housing to $24,007 after housing placement, resulting in an annual savings of $9,507 per person.
Click here for the full report.
March 2010 Highlights:
- As of February 19, 2010, 432 formerly chronically homeless people have been housed in the Home & Healthy for Good (HHG) program.
- Tenant retention stands at 84 percent.
- The annual costs per person decreased from $33,479 before housing to $24,079 after housing placement, resulting in an annual savings of $9,400 per person.
- A recent analysis by the state Office of Medicaid showed that on average, Medicaid costs per HHG participant dropped by 67 percent after participants moved into housing.
Click here for the full report.
December 2009 Highlights:
- As of November 16, 2009, 417 formerly chronically homeless people have been housed in the Home & Healthy for Good (HHG) program.
- Tenant retention stands at 84 percent.
- The annual costs per person decreased from $33,327 before housing to $24,066 after housing placement, resulting in an annual savings of $9261 per person.
- A recent analysis by the state Office of Medicaid showed that on average, Medicaid costs per HHG participant dropped by 67 percent after participants moved into housing.
Click here for the full report.
SUMMER 2009 Highlights
- As of June 22, 2009, 388 formerly chronically homeless people have been housed in the Home & Healthy for Good (HHG) program.
- Tenant retention stands at 84%.
- The annual costs per person decreased from $33,108 before housing to $24,159 after housing placement, resulting in an annual savings of $8,949 per person.
- On average, Medicaid costs per HHG participant dropped by 67% after participants moved into housing.
Click here for the full report.
Click here to read the Medicaid data press release.
MARCH 2009 Highlights
- As of February 23, 2009, 357 formerly chronically homeless people have been housed in the Home & Healthy for Good (HHG) program.
- Tenant retention stands at 84 percent.
- The projected annual cost savings to the Commonwealth per housed tenant is $8,948.52.
- Based on new Medicaid claims data, annual Medicaid costs per person plummeted from an average of $26,124 before housing to $8,500 after housing.
Click here for the full report.
Click here to read an editorial about these findings from the Boston Sunday Globe.
DECEMBER 2008 Highlights
- As of November 21, 2008, 336 formerly homeless people have been housed across Massachusetts.
- Tenant retention stands at 84%.
- For the 239 participants who participate in the research study component:
- The annual costs per person, including the cost of housing and services, decreased from $33,504 before housing to $26,280 after housing placement, an annual savings to the state of $7,224 per person. Most of these savings are a result of a drastic decrease in costly inpatient medical care.
Click here for the full report.
SUMMER 2008 Highlights
- As of June 16, 2008, 281 formerly homeless people have been housed across Massachusetts.
- Tenant retention stands at 82%.
- For the 239 participants who participate in the research study component:
- The annual costs per person, including the cost of housing and services, decreased from $33,440 before housing to $25,519 after housing placement, an annual savings to the state of $7,921 per person. Most of these savings are a result of a drastic decrease in costly inpatient medical care.
Click here for the full report. Click here to see a video featuring Home & Healthy for Good tenants.
SPRING 2008 Highlights
- As of February 19, 2008, 247 formerly homeless people have been housed across Massachusetts.
- Tenant retention stands at 83%.
- For the 197 participants who participate in the research study component:
- The annual costs per person, including the cost of housing and services, decreased from $31,892 before housing to $25,242 after housing placement, an annual savings to the state of $6,650 per person. Most of these savings are a result of a drastic decrease in costly inpatient medical care.
Click here for the full report. Click here to see a video featuring Home & Healthy for Good tenants.
DECEMBER 2007
MHSA Submits Updated Home & Healthy for Good Report to Legislature
Statewide Housing First initiative reports dramatic cost savings to Commonwealth
Housing First represents a significant paradigm shift in addressing the costly phenomenon of homelessness. This strategy demonstrates impressive outcomes when chronically homeless people are supported in a permanent, housed environment, rather than targeted for intensive services in shelters or streets. As a result of mounting evidence from around the country that Housing First strategies result in tremendous cost savings to cities and states and a decrease in the incidence of chronic homelessness, the Massachusetts Legislature passed line item 4406-3010 in the FY07 state budget to fund a pilot Housing First program for 130 chronically homeless individuals.
The state allocated funds to MHSA through the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to operate the program, known as Home & Healthy for Good (HHG). An evaluation of this pilot program, with a focus on the cost per participant and projected cost savings in state-funded programs, is ongoing. An initial report was submitted to the Massachusetts Legislature in March 2007, and an updated report with data on 184 of 229 participants was submitted in December 2007. These findings indicate a projected annual cost savings to the Commonwealth of $9,379 per person housed. Other highlights:
- As of December 1, 2007, 229 formerly homeless people have been housed across Massachusetts.
- For the 184 participants studied:
- The average length of homelessness upon entry into the program is 5 years.
- The costs per person per month, including the cost of housing and services, decreased from $2,720 before housing to $1,939 after housing placement, a monthly savings of $781 per person. Most of these savings are a result of a drastic decrease in costly inpatient medical care.
Click here for the full report. Click here to see a video featuring Home and Healthy for Good tenants.
AUTUMN 2007
MHSA Presents Home & Healthy for Good to State Commission to End Homelessness
The Massachusetts Commission to End Homelessness has identified Home & Healthy for Good, the statewide Housing First initiative overseen by MHSA, as a “best practice” in ending homelessness.
On September 20, 2007, at the invitation of the Commission, MHSA Executive Director Joe Finn and Physician Advocate Dr. Jessie Gaeta presented the concept of Housing First - and specifically the experience of the Home & Healthy for Good initiative – at the fifth Commission meeting. The Commission was created by legislation sponsored by Representative Byron Rushing, Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos and Senator Dianne Wilkerson. Commission members include representatives of the executive and legislative branches of government, state agencies, leaders of local municipalities and service providers. The Commission is charged with the task of recommending a broad-based housing plan to end homelessness in Massachusetts.
Finn and Gaeta shared the results of Home & Healthy for Good, a Housing First initiative funded by the Commonwealth, that has seen impressive results in its first year of operation. To date, more than 200 chronically homeless individuals have been housed and given access to intensive case management. The average retention rate in housing stands at 85%.
Finn and Gaeta also presented statistics on the dramatic cost savings, particularly in health care services, that are being realized through a Housing First strategy. They noted the differences between a Housing First approach and the traditional continuum of care model: Housing First moves away from a linear model of care that designates housing as the end result of compliance-based programs. Many of the hardest to serve, particularly those with disabilities, have difficulty navigating such a complex service system. A Housing First approach is predicated on two convictions: first, that housing is a basic human need, not a reward for clinical success; and second, that once the chaos of homelessness is eliminated from a person’s life, clinical and social stabilization occur faster and are more enduring.
After the presentation, Finn, appointed by Governor Patrick as a Commission member, noted “We were pleased by the invitation to present and are very excited that the Commission is seriously considering a more cost-effective and strategic use of resources for ending homelessness in the Commonwealth.”
Finn and Gaeta also presented to the City of Worcester task force on homelessness. MHSA is available for presentations about Housing First and Home & Healthy for Good. Contact Erin Donohue for further information. For the PowerPoint of the presentation to the Commission, click here.
SUMMER 2007
Governor Patrick Signs FY 08 State Budget
Home & Healthy for Good funding doubled
The final FY 2008 state budget doubled funding for the Commonwealth’s premier Housing First initiative, adding momentum to the effort to end homelessness through permanent residential solutions.
Home & Healthy for Good, Line Item 4406-3010, was funded at $1.2 million in the state spending plan, approved by the House and Senate on July 2, 2007. On July 12, Gov. Patrick signed the budget into law.
“Through this budget, the Legislature and Gov. Patrick have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to homeless people in the Commonwealth,” said Joe Finn, executive director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA). “Home & Healthy for Good represents a major shift in thinking that is taking place across the state and across the country. We have seen that it is more effective – and less costly – to move chronically homeless individuals into permanent supportive housing rather than let them linger on the streets and in shelters day after day, year after year.”
Unlike last year, Home & Healthy for Good appeared in both the House and Senate budget proposals. While the House proposal had originally level funded the initiative for FY 2008, the conference committee agreed to go with the $1.2 million figure found in the Senate budget proposal.
“I was so pleased to see Home & Healthy show up in both the House and Senate budgets this year,” Finn added. “It’s great to see that branches, chambers, political parties and ideologies need not be an issue when coming up with practical solutions for homelessness.”
MHSA is currently working with service providers across the state to place chronically homeless individuals in permanent housing. As of July, more than 150 individuals have moved into their own apartments. MHSA is collecting cost and outcome data on the participants of the Home & Healthy for Good program, and initial results have shown a cost-savings of more than $11,000 per person per year.
The final FY 2008 state budget also included: a $564,0000 increase in an earmark in the Department of Mental Health budget to provide housing for the homeless mentally ill; level funding for the Tenancy Preservation Program, which helps disabled renters maintain their tenancies; continued funding for a statewide homeless management information system to collect data about homeless service clients; a slight funding increase for Line Item 4406-3000, which funds homeless services and shelter for homeless individuals; and level funding for the Special Initiative to House the Homeless Mentally Ill.
“We commend the Legislature and Gov. Patrick for their commitment to homeless people across the state,” Finn said. “While they have maintained current levels of funding to deal with the immediate crisis on hand, they have also shown a desire to move closer to ending the social disgrace of homelessness.”
EARLY SUMMER 2007
MHSA Submits Updated Home and Healthy for Good Report to Legislature
Statewide Housing First initiative reports dramatic cost savings to Commonwealth
Housing First represents a significant paradigm shift in addressing the costly phenomenon of homelessness. This strategy demonstrates impressive outcomes when chronically homeless people are supported in a permanent, housed environment, rather than targeted for intensive services in shelters or streets. As a result of mounting evidence from around the country that Housing First strategies result in tremendous cost savings to cities and states and a decrease in the incidence of chronic homelessness, the Massachusetts Legislature passed line item 4406-3010 in the FY07 state budget to fund a pilot Housing First program for 130 chronically homeless individuals.
The state allocated funds to MHSA through the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to operate the program, known as Home and Healthy for Good (HHG). An evaluation of this pilot program, with a focus on the cost per participant and projected cost savings in state-funded programs, is ongoing. An initial report was submitted to the Massachusetts Legislature in March 2007, and an updated report with data on 95 of 155 participants was submitted in June 2007. These preliminary findings indicate a projected annual cost savings to the Commonwealth of $11,016 per person housed. Other highlights:
- As of June 1, 2007, 155 formerly homeless people have been housed across Massachusetts.
- For the 95 participants studied:
- The average length of homelessness upon entry into the program is 6.5 years.
- The costs per person per month, including the cost of housing and services, decreased from $2,720 before housing to $1,802 after housing placement, a monthly savings of $918 per person. Most of these savings are a result of a drastic decrease in costly inpatient medical care.
Click here for the full report. Click here to see a video featuring Home and Healthy for Good tenants.
MARCH 2007
MHSA Submits Home and Healthy for Good Report to Legislature
Statewide Housing First initiative reports successful outcomes
Housing First represents a significant paradigm shift in addressing the costly phenomenon of homelessness. This strategy demonstrates impressive outcomes when chronically homeless people are supported in a permanent, housed environment, rather than targeted for intensive services in shelters or streets. As a result of mounting evidence from around the country that Housing First strategies result in tremendous cost savings to cities and states and a decrease in the incidence of chronic homelessness, the Massachusetts Legislature passed line item 4406-3010 in the FY07 state budget to fund a pilot Housing First program for 130 chronically homeless individuals.
The state allocated funds to MHSA through the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to operate the program, known as Home and Healthy for Good (HHG). An evaluation of this pilot program, with a focus on the cost per participant and projected cost savings in state-funded programs, is ongoing. Initial findings from the preliminary report include projected annual cost savings of $21,216 per person housed. Other highlights:
- As of March 1, 2007, 77 formerly homeless people have been housed across Massachusetts.
- The average length of homelessness upon entry into the program is 3.75 years.
- 89% of participants receive MassHealth benefits.
- For the 36 participants from whom post-housing follow-up data has been received, the costs per person per month, including the cost of housing and services, decreased from $3,211 to $1,443 after housing placement. Most of these savings are a result of a drastic decrease in costly inpatient medical care.
An updated report with data as of June 1 will be available in coming weeks.
