Adapting housing first models for new projects in the midst of an affordable housing shortage

The goals of this think tank include gaining an understanding of current housing market landscapes and barriers faced by Housing First models, how to structure and design Housing First programs to efficiently overcome current barriers to housing, and to learn new skills and strategies to grow scattered-site housing stock available to program participants through fostering landlord and property investor relationships. We will provide information on local and national affordable housing shortages, an overview of the Social Impact Bond (SIB) project and challenges that come with serving a high-utilizer population in a scatter-site housing setting, and review the design in place at Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH). We will also review strategies to recruit and network with property investors, provide tools to maintain mutually beneficial business relationships over time, and provide strategies for program design that balance clinical and therapeutic needs of program participants with demands of the modern-day housing market.