How did a Housing First intervention improve health and social outcomes among homeless adults with mental illness in Toronto? Two-year outcomes from a randomised trial

• Published in: BMJ open 2016-09, Vol.6 (9), p.e010581-e010581
• Main Authors: O'Campo, Patricia, Stergiopoulos, Vicky, Nir, Pam, Levy, Matthew, Misir, Vachan, Chum, Antony, Arbach, Bouchra, Nisenbaum, Rosane, To, Matthew J, Hwang, Stephen W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation; Adult; Canada; Community Mental Health Services - methods; Drug use; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health services utilization; Health Status; Homeless people; Homeless Persons - psychology; Homeless Persons - statistics & numerical data; Housing; Housing - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Intervention; Interviews as Topic; Justice; Male; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - complications; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental Health; Mental health care; Mental health services; Program Evaluation - methods; Quality of life; Recovery (Medical); Social Work; Substance abuse; Urban Population - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010581

We studied the impact of a Housing First (HF) intervention on housing, contact with the justice system, healthcare usage and health outcomes among At Home/Chez Soi randomised trial participants in Toronto, a city with an extensive service network for social and health services for individuals who are experiencing homelessness and mental illness. Participants identified as high needs were randomised to receive either the intervention which provided them with housing and supports by an assertive community treatment team (HF+ACT) or treatment as usual (TAU). Participants (N=197) had in-person interviews every 3 months for 2 years. The HF+ACT group spent more time stably housed compared to the TAU group with the mean difference between the groups of 45.8% (95% CI 37.1% to 54.4%, p