Research Report Engaging the Most Vulnerable in Supportive Housing
Subtitle
Early Lessons from the Denver Supportive Housing Social Impact Bond Initiative
Sarah Gillespie, Devlin Hanson, Mary K. Cunningham, Michael Pergamit, Shiva Kooragayala, Kathryn Nearing, Tracey O'Brien, Christine Velez
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In February 2016, the City of Denver and eight private investors closed on the city’s first social impact bond (SIB), an $8.6 million investment to fund a supportive housing program for 250 of the city’s most frequent users of the criminal justice system. The city will make outcome payments over five years based on the initiative’s goals of housing stability and decreased jail days. This report discusses the process partners developed to refer eligible people to the supportive housing program and the challenges and successes of engaging participants throughout the housing lease-up process in the first year and a half. It also looks at preliminary housing stability among participants and partner perspectives on housing stability.

Policy Centers Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center