Rapid re-housing programs
Rapid re-housing programs provide support services to move families or individuals experiencing homelessness into permanent housing, usually within 30 days. Support services vary; core components often include help finding permanent housing, case management, social services, and short-term financial assistance for move-in costs and rent. Program staff may also assist with landlord negotiations. Assistance typically lasts 4-6 months, but may extend up to 18 months. Rapid re-housing programs are available to anyone experiencing homelessness, and often serve military veterans and their families, but may not be appropriate for individuals who are chronically homeless or need permanent supportive housing. Individuals typically connect with rapid re-housing programs through emergency shelters, food pantries, and other social service programs1, 2, 3. Programs sometimes focus on specific groups, such as families with school-aged children4 or survivors of domestic violence5.
What could this strategy improve?
Expected Benefits
Our evidence rating is based on the likelihood of achieving these outcomes:
Reduced homelessness
Improved access to social services
Potential Benefits
Our evidence rating is not based on these outcomes, but these benefits may also be possible:
Increased housing stability
Increased food security
Improved health outcomes
Improved mental health
Increased income
Increased employment
Reduced drug and alcohol use
Reduced absenteeism
Improved child behavior
What does the research say about effectiveness?
There is some evidence that rapid re-housing programs decrease the length of time individuals and families remain homeless2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and increase access to social services2, 7, 8. Rapid re-housing programs may also increase housing stability6, 7, 9, 10, particularly for families who are newly homeless7 or those who need only short-term support11. However, additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.
Rapid re-housing efforts can decrease rates of homelessness2, 12 and increase shelter turnover rates, enabling shelters to assist more people2, 13. Evaluations of programs that serve military veterans and their families indicate approximately 75% of participants have permanent housing without assistance after exiting rapid re-housing programs10, 14, 15; other family-focused rapid re-housing programs yield similar results7. Only a small portion of rapid re-housing participants return to homelessness after program completion8, 12, 16; those at higher risk include blacks, veterans, and individuals whose incomes do not increase following housing placement10. Studies suggest single mothers, particularly survivors of trauma and abuse, may require added support services to ensure stable housing13, 17.
Program participation can increase family income6, 13 and employment6, and improve financial stability9. Rapid re-housing programs can increase food security more than usual care and transitional housing13, 18 and improve well-being for adults and children6. Programs may also improve mental and short-term physical health for heads of households6, 18 and reduce drug and alcohol use more than transitional housing18. Rapid re-housing also appears to reduce school absences and child behavior issues18.
Program evaluations suggest three core components of successful rapid re-housing programs: housing identification, often in partnership with landlords; rent and move-in assistance; and case management and services that connect with other providers16. Partnerships between shelters, agencies, funding organizations, and landlords can increase efficiency of implementation and reduce redundancy in procedures7, 19.
Requirements to secure housing and employment in a short time period and to regularly recertify can be barriers to participation in rapid re-housing programs. After leaving the program, some families may have difficulty paying their full rent without subsidies7, 12, 20.
Researchers suggest that rapid re-housing programs are a scalable and cost-effective homelessness crisis response intervention11, 16. Rapid re-housing programs are more cost-effective than transitional housing programs and shelters3, 13, 16, 18. Rapid re-housing costs about $900 per month/per-family; transitional housing ranges from $1,260 to $6,300 per family18; costs for rapid re-housing differ based on local rental rates12, 18. Financial support to cover move-in costs such as first and last month’s rent, security deposits, and utility payments are the largest program costs2, 7.
Implementation Examples
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provided $1.5 billion in funding for the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 200921. These funds are allocated to rapid re-housing programs in all 50 states to assist households with the greatest need of short-term assistance by providing “just enough” financial assistance, housing search support, and other specific services3.
Rapid re-housing programs can operate at the state, county, or municipality level, as in Connecticut22; Hennepin County, MN23, 24; and Salt Lake City, UT24. Non-profit organizations can also provide rapid re-housing services, such as Journey Home in Greater Hartford, CT25.
Programs may focus services on specific groups. Colorado’s Rapid Re-housing Next Step program, for example, focuses on families with school-aged children and unaccompanied students 18 years of age or older4 and their Rapid Re-housing Re-entry program works to break the cycle of homelessness and incarceration26. Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance’s Rapid Re-Housing for Families program27 and Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles rapid re-housing program for woman needing housing28 include an additional focus on survivors of domestic violence.
Rapid re-housing programs can be a collaborative effort between non-profits and social service agencies. The National Alliance to End Homelessness29 and the Road Home Dane County, in Wisconsin, are two examples of such collaborative efforts30.
The VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program is one rapid re-housing program that serves veterans. The program provides grants to organizations which place veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and their families in stable, permanent housing and provide services to help them maintain stable housing31, 32, 33. The Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, a partnership between the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), uses concepts from rapid re-housing, Housing First, and permanent supportive housing with added mental health services to serve homeless veterans34.
Implementation Resources
US HUD-HPRP resources - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), HUD Exchange. Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP): Resources regarding program requirements, promising practices and stories, FAQs and implementation resources.
Phillips 2010a - Philips SW. Rapid rehousing: A manual for providers. 2010.
NAEH-RR 2016 - National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). Rapid re-housing performance benchmarks and program standards. 2016.
Safe Housing Partnerships - Safe Housing Partnerships. Rapid re-housing, housing first, housing tax credits, and other affordable housing approaches. Domestic Violence and Housing Technical Assistance Consortium: a collaboration of the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; the Office on Violence Against Women and the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice; and the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
NCCEH-RRH - North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness (NCCEH). Best practices: Rapid re-housing (RRH).
LHS‡ - Local Housing Solutions (LHS). To enhance local affordability and foster inclusive communities. New York University, Furman Center and Abt Associates, Inc.
Footnotes
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1 NAEH-RR 2016 - National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). Rapid re-housing performance benchmarks and program standards. 2016.
2 US ICH-RR - United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (U.S. ICH). Rapid re-housing (RR).
3 US HUD-RR - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD). What is rapid re-housing (RR)?
4 CDOLA-RRH Next Step - Colorado Department of Local Affairs (CDOLA). Rapid Re-housing Next Step. Ensure students experiencing homelessness have the basic foundation of housing and support.
5 NAEH-RRH Domestic violence - National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). Can rapid re-housing work for domestic violence survivors? 2016.
6 US HUD-Finkel 2016 - Finkel M, Henry M, Matthews N, et al. Rapid re-housing for homeless families demonstration programs evaluation report part II: Demonstration findings—outcomes evaluation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research; 2016.
7 Davis 2012 - David TH, Lane TS. Rapid re-housing of families experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts: Maintaining housing stability. Center for Social Policy Publications. Paper 61. 2012.
8 Byrne 2016 - Byrne T, Treglia D, Culhane DP, Kuhn J, Kane V. Predictors of homelessness among families and single adults after exit from homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing programs: Evidence from the Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program. Housing Policy Debate. 2016;26(1).
9 Brown 2018 - Brown M, Klebek L, Chodzen G, et al. Housing status among single adults following homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing program participation in Indianapolis. Evaluation and Program Planning. 2018;69:92-98.
10 Brown 2017 - Brown M, Vaclavik D, Dennis WP, Wilka E. Predictors of homeless services re-entry within a sample of adults receiving homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing program (HPRP) assistance. Psychological Services. 2017;14(2):129-140.
11 Rodriguez 2017 - Rodriguez JM, Eidelman TA. Homelessness interventions in Georgia: Rapid re-housing, transitional housing, and the likelihood of returning to shelter. Housing Policy Debate. 2017;27(6):825-842.
12 Urban-Cunningham 2015 - Cunningham MK, Gillespie S, Anderson J. Rapid re-housing: What the research says. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute; 2015.
13 US HUD-Gubits 2015 - Gubits D, Shinn M, Bell S, et al. Family Options Study: Short-term impacts of housing and services interventions for homeless families. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research; 2015.
14 NAEH-SSVF-RURR - National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). Ramping up rapid re-housing (RURR): Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program. 2015.
15 US HUD-Cunningham 2015a - Cunningham M, Biess J, Emam D, Burt M, Urban Institute. Veterans homelessness prevention demonstration evaluation: Final report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research; 2015.
16 Urban-Cunningham 2018 - Cunningham M, Batko S. Rapid re-housing’s role in responding to homelessness: What the evidence says. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute; 2018.
17 Patterson 2018 - Patterson DA, West S, Harrison TM, Higginbotham L. No easy way out: One community’s efforts to house families experiencing homelessness. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services. 2018;97(3):212-220.
18 US HUD-Gubits 2017 - Gubits D, Shinn M, Wood M, et al. Family Options Study: 3-Year impacts of housing and services interventions for homeless families. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research; 2016.
19 Sloan 2015 - Sloan MF, Ford KA, Merritt DM. Shifts in practice based on rapid re-housing for rural homelessness: An exploratory study of micropolitan homeless service provision. Contemporary Rural Social Work. 2015;7(2):127-134.
20 Fisher 2014 - Fisher BW, Mayberry L, Shinn M, Khadduri J. Leaving homelessness behind: Housing decisions among families exiting shelter. Housing Policy Debate. 2014;24(2):364-386.
21 US HUD-ARRA 2009 - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD). American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
22 CT CEH-CT RRP - Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CT CEH). The state of Connecticut Rapid Re-housing Program (CT RRP).
23 NAEH-RR 2014 - National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). Rapid re-housing (RR): A history and core components. 2014.
24 Stateline-Henderson 2015 - Henderson T. Attacking homelessness with 'rapid rehousing.' Stateline. States Newsroom. 2015.
25 Journey Home - Journey Home. Journey Home works in the Greater Hartford region: Innovative solutions to end homelessness.
26 CDOLA-RRH Re-entry - Colorado Department of Local Affairs (CDOLA). Rapid Re-housing Re-entry. End the cycle of homelessness and incarceration.
27 MHSA-RRH - Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance (MHSA). Rapid re-housing.
28 DWC - Downtown Women’s Center (DWC). Community-based housing program. Los Angeles, California.
29 NAEH - National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). About us: The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonprofit, non-partisan, organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.
30 RHDC-RR - The Road Home Dane County (RHDC). Rapid Re-housing (RR) program: A collaborative effort between three homeless family shelters: The Salvation Army, The Road Home, and the YWCA Madison.
31 US VA-SSVF - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (U.S. VA). Homeless veterans. Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program.
32 Sturtevant 2015 - Sturtevant L, Brennan M, Viveiros J, Handelman E. Housing and services needs of our changing veteran population. Washington, D.C.: National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy; 2015.
33 NAEH-SSVF - National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) fiscal year 2014 annual report.
34 US ICH-Veteran homelessness - United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (U.S. ICH). Mayors challenge to end veteran homelessness: Criteria and benchmarks for ending veteran homelessness.
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