Permanent Supportive Housing Plus (PSH+) pilot program

Affordable housing and homelessness

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

In Los Angeles County, The People Concern is an industry leader in reaching people experiencing chronic homelessness, providing them with services and housing, and then assisting them in retaining that housing. Through our eight core services we meet people where they are, help them improve their lives, and ultimately find a permanent home. While 92% of the people we house do retain their housing, there is a subset of the population for whom the current model is not effective. There is a gap that needs to close for us to adequately help our most vulnerable neighbors. We propose that the solution to this problem is PSH+, where high-acuity individuals in our programs will have access to a higher level of care than the current system supports. We also believe this model will reduce the time it takes for residents to access services that they would otherwise be referred to, off-site, under a typical model that employs a single case manager on-site to help triage client needs.

The PSH+ pilot program will bring a model to Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) that has not previously been deployed in a Project-Based Housing (PBH) setting. Located in Skid Row, the PSH+ pilot program will serve an anticipated 50 individuals who previously could not receive the level of care they require in other PSH programs. PSH+ will bring enhanced services in a multi-disciplinary approach, including case management, mental health services, and medical health services, directly to our program participants. This removes a barrier for many individuals with the highest levels of acuity and allows them to stabilize. Currently, the primary housing option for people with a high level of needs is a Board and Care facility, but many individuals reject the option because of the lack of independence. PBH is a more attractive housing solution for many because it offers a less restrictive environment that many individuals prefer to live in. However, the current model does not provide the level of services that are often required to stabilize high medical needs individuals, help them retain their housing, and keep them from returning to the street. By offering multi-disciplinary services on-site in PBH, we propose that clientele who need a higher level of service but would otherwise remain homeless due to a lack of choice and independence, will accept and retain their housing, stabilize medically and psychiatrically, and ultimately thrive.

In Los Angeles, approximately 31,991 people are experiencing chronic homelessness. Of those, an estimated 5% need supportive services beyond what the current permanent supportive housing system is able to offer. These individuals are the most likely to fall back into homelessness and our goal is to provide the resources necessary to prevent that from happening. Our PSH+ pilot program is our response to this need within the sector and we hope to help the most vulnerable among us retain their housing.
Our vision is that the PSH+ model will not only grow within our own agency but will become a best practice sector-wide. At the end of our 3-year pilot program, we will present our findings to our government partners, stakeholders, and other homeless service agencies. In the first year of the grant, which aligns with LA2050’s funding, we will serve 25 individuals in PSH+. By the end of the pilot program, we will be serving 50 individuals.

The success of the PSH+ pilot program will be evaluated by the number of individuals we serve and the percentage of individuals who retain their housing. Our goal is that the individuals in the PSH+ program will achieve the same housing retention rate as individuals in our permanent supportive housing programs. We are excited to be creating another option for people who need a high level of care by having enhanced wrap-around services available to them on-site instead of triaging them to community-based care providers. Additionally, we will be increasing the number of people served over the 3 years of the pilot, giving us the time to learn lessons and grow the number of staff providing services. We will be serving 25 individuals in the first year and 50 individuals by the last.