Permanent Supportive Housing

Housing First, established by Dr. Sam Tsemberis, is a model which roots permanent supportive housing as a foundation of recovery for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, mental health conditions, and addictions. Traditionally, these individuals have lived in a cycle of surviving on the street, being admitted to hospitals, shelters, or jails and then going back to the street. The stress of surviving each day in this cycle puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the individual’s psychiatric and physical health. “Living in the street,” one client said, “It makes you crazy.”

Instead, Housing First advocates the provision of client-preferred services based on the premise that individuals know what is best for themselves, that services are to be directed by an individual’s self-determined goals. The number one supportive service requested by Step Up members is housing. Not a pill, a program, or a protocol, but a place to live.

Step Up provides innovative, community based Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) and comprehensive case management services via 13 developments in Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange, and San Bernardino Counties across California, and in Seminole County, Florida. In total, Step Up currently provides Permanent Supportive Housing and rich wraparound case management services to over 1,480 individuals that experienced chronic mental health conditions and homelessness. The current retention rate for members that remain housed after 12 months is over 95%.

Eleven of Step Up’s PSH developments are located in Southern CA, one in central California, and one in Florida. The two most recent California projects in Salinas and San Bernardino, are Project Homekey motel conversions. We presently have three upcoming projects underway that will house over 225 more individuals experiencing homelessness in California located in El Monte, San Ysidro, Victorville, and Sacramento.

Step Up also provides PSH and comprehensive services to over 125 Veterans in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Because many Veterans experience PTSD, other mental health conditions, and extreme trauma when transitioning to civilian life, a large population are also chronically homeless. Step Up collaborates with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide housing and services to Veterans that selflessly served our country through our Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (VASH). In Los Angeles County, Step Up has 3 motel conversions and two buildings on the West Los Angeles VA campus presently under construction. These units will house over 400 more Veterans experiencing homelessness by the Spring of 2022.

Step Up also houses over 600 individuals in individual apartments where landlords accept housing vouchers in Southern California, Georgia, and Tennessee. These apartments also qualify as permanent supportive housing as the staff provide member-driven services and case management support to ensure long-term housing retention. Step Up’s housing team works with property management companies and landlords who are willing to engage with Step Up to rent to the homeless population. Once an individual is in housing, service teams provide supportive case management services to ensure success. These services include assisting in securing public benefits (Social Security income, food stamps, etc.), counseling, substance use recovery support and linking to community resources.

Step Up is bringing its expertise national, partnering with developers, local governments, private foundations and service providers in the Southeastern U.S. to provide permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in communities in Greater Metro Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, Sanford, Florida and Nashville, Tennessee.