Abstract
Supportive housing (SH), largely consisting of Transitional Living Programs (TLPs) and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH), is the primarly intervention being applied to the one-in-ten young adults that experience homelessness in the United States each year. To date, efforts to understand the perception of these programs among young adult tenants have focused singularly on TLPs or PSH. The current qualitative study builds upon previous evidence through a comparative analysis of young adult perceptions of TLPs and PSH and examines the the physical, social, and service environments associated with each program. Results suggest six themes, including three themes focused on factors associated with location, common to both TLPs and PSH: desired proximity to friends, family, and amenities; wanted distance from negative influences; and increased ability to assimilate. Three additional themes focused on the environment internal to the housing program that differentiated the models: shared space with roommates, the service environment and relationships with SH staff, and the moving on process. Findings indicate that location is an important but complex element of the housing environment for all young SH tenants with both positive and negative factors. Within the housing environment, more TLP residents had roommates and spoke of utilizing the services associated with their housing, but discussed feeling less prepared for life after SH.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
Anett, J. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for? Child Development Perspectives, 1(2), 68–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x
Auerswald, C. L., Lin, J. S., & Parriott, A. (2016). Six-year mortality in a street-recruited cohort of homeless youth in San Francisco, California. PeerJ. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1909
Bender, K., Ferguson, K., Thompson, S., Komlo, C., & Pollio, D. (2010). Factors associated with trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder among homeless youth in three U.S. cities: The importance of transience. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23(1), 161?168. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20501
Bergman, A. J., Courtney, K., Stefanic, A., & Pope, A. (2019). Emerging adults living in supportive housing programs: A qualitative study.Emerging Adulthood,1–11
Choi, S. K., Wilson, B. D., Shelton, J., & Gates, G. J. (2015). Serving Our Youth 2015: The Needs and Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth Experiencing Homelessness. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1pd9886n
Miller, W. L., & Crabtree, B. F. (Eds.). (1995). Doing qualitative research
Curry, S. R., & Abrams, L. (2015). “They lay down the foundation and then they leave room for us to build the house”: A visual qualitative exploration of young adults’ experiences of transitional housing.Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
Curry, S. R., Morton, M., Matjasko, J. L., Dworsky, A., Samuels, G. M., & Schlueter, D. (2017). Youth homelessness and vulnerability: How does couch surfing fit? American Journal of Community Psychology, 60(1–2), 17–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12156
Curry, S. R., & Petering, R. (2017). Resident perspectives on life in a transitional living program for homeless young adults. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 34, 507–515
Gaetz, S. (2014). Can housing first work for youth? European Journal of Homelessness, 8(2), 159–175
Gattis, M. N., & Larson, A. (2016). Perceived racial, sexual identity, and homeless status-related discrimination among Black adolescents and young adults experiencing homelessness: Relations with depressive symptoms and suicidality. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 86(1), 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000096
Giffords, E. D., Alonso, C., & Bell, R. (2007). A transitional living program for homeless adolescents: A case study. Child & Youth Care Forum, 36(4), 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-007-9036-0
Goodwin, J. M., Tiderington, E., & Noonan, E. (2021). Readiness assessments in moving on initiatives: A scoping review. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 0(0), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2021.1995938
Henwood, B. F., Derejko, K. S., Couture, J., & Padgett, D. K. (2015). Maslow and mental health recovery: A comparative study of homeless programs for adults with serious mental illness. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 42(2), 220–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0542-8
Henwood, B., Redline, B., & Rice, E. (2018). What do homeless transition-age youth want from housing interventions? Children and Youth Services Review, 89, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.04.014
Henwood, B. F., Redline, B., Semborski, S., Rhoades, H., Rice, E., & Wenzel, S. L. (2018). What’s next? A grounded theory of the relationship between ontological security, mental health, social relationships, and identity formation for young adults in supportive housing. Cityscape, 20(3), 87–100
Hodgson, K. J., Shelton, K. H., van den Bree, M. B. M., & Los, F. J. (2013). Psychopathology in young people experiencing homelessness: a systematic review. American Journal of Public Health, 103(6), e24-37. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301318
Holtschneider, C. (2016). A part of something: The importance of transitional living programs within a housing first framework for youth experiencing homelessness. Children and Youth Services Review, 65, 204–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.04.009
Kipke, M. D., Montgomery, S. B., Simon, T. R., & Iverson, E. F. (1997). “Substance abuse” disorders among runaway and homeless youth. Substance Use & Misuse, 32(7–8), 969–986. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826089709055866
Kozloff, N., Adair, C. E., Palma Lazgare, L. I., Poremski, D., Cheung, A. H., Sandu, R., & Stergiopoulos, V. (2016). “Housing first” for homeless youth with mental illness. Pediatrics: e20161514
Mayock, P., O’Sullivan, E., & Corr, M. L. (2011). Young people exiting homelessness: An exploration of process, meaning and definition. Housing Studies, 26(6), 803–826. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2011.593131
Medlow, S., Klineberg, E., & Steinbeck, K. (2014). The health diagnoses of homeless adolescents: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Adolescence, 37(5), 531?542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.04.003
Milburn, N. G., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Rice, E., Mallet, S., & Rosenthal, D. (2006). Cross-National Variations in Behavioral Profiles Among Homeless Youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37(1?2), 63?76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-005-9005-4
Morton, M., Dworsky, A., Matjasko, J., Curry, S., Schlueter, D., Chávez, R., & Farrell, A. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of youth homelessness in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 62(1), 14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.10.006
Munson, M. R., Stanhope, V., Small, L., & Atterbury, K. (2017). At times I kinda felt I was in an institution”: Supportive housing for transition age youth and young adults. Children and Youth Services Review, 73, 430–436
Nolan, T. C. (2006). Outcomes for a transitional living program serving LGBTQ youth in New York City. Child Welfare, 85(2), 385–407
Padgett, D. K. (2016). Qualitative methods in social work research (36 vol.). Sage publications
Perlman, S., Willard, J., Herbers, J. E., Cutuli, J. J., & Eyrich Garg, K. M. (2014). Youth Homelessness: Prevalence and Mental Health Correlates. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 5(3), 361?377. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.1086/677757
Petering, R., Rice, E., Rhoades, H., & Winetrobe, H. (2014). The social networks of homeless youth experiencing intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29(12), 2172–2191. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260513516864
Petering, R., Rice, E., & Rhoades, H. (2016). Violence in the social networks of homeless youths: Implications for network-based prevention programming. Journal of Adolescent Research, 31(5), 582–605. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558415600073
Pierce, S. C., Grady, B., & Holtzen, H. (2018). Daybreak in Dayton: Assessing characteristics and outcomes of previously homeless youth living in transitional housing. Children and Youth Services Review, 88, 249–256
Rhoades, H., Hsu, H., Rice, E., Harris, T., Motte-Kerr, W. L., Winetrobe, H., Henwood, B., & Wenzel, S. (2021). Social network change after moving into permanent supportive housing: Who stays and who goes? Network Science, 9(1), 18–34. https://doi.org/10.1017/nws.2020.19
Rhoades, H., Rusow, J. A., Bond, D., Lanteigne, A., Fulginiti, A., & Goldbach, J. T. (2018). Homelessness, mental health and suicidality among LGBTQ youth accessing crisis services. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 49(4), 643–651. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0780-1
Rice, E., Holguin, M., Hsu, H. T., Morton, M., Vayanos, P., Tambe, M., & Chan, H. (2018). Linking homeless vulnerability assessments to housing placements and outcomes for youth. Cityscape, 20(3), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.2307/26524872
Semborski, S., Redline, B., Madden, D., Granger, T., & Henwood, B. (2021a). Housing interventions for emerging adults experiencing homelessness: A scoping review. Children and Youth Services Review, 127, 106081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106081
Semborski, S., Redline, B., Rhoades, H., & Henwood, B. (2020). Provider perspectives of housing programs for young adults experiencing homelessness. Children and Youth Services Review, 112, 104898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104898
Semborski, S., Srivastava, A., Rhoades, H., Fulginiti, A., & Goldbach, J. T. (2021b). Burden, belonging, and homelessness: Disclosure and social network differences among LGBTQ youth recruited from a suicide crisis service provider. Journal of Homosexuality, 0(0), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2021.1898801
Tiderington, E., Aykanian, A., & Herman, D. (2021). Developing an implementation typology of moving on initiatives. Housing Policy Debate, 0(0), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2021.1982749
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2016). HUD 2016 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs Housing Inventory Count Reports. Retrieved from https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/coc-housing-inventory-count-reports
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2020). HUD 2020 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs Housing Inventory Count Reports. Retrieved from https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/coc-housing-inventory-count-reports
U. S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) (2019). Homelessness in America: Focus on Youth. https://www.rhyclearinghouse.acf.hhs.gov/library/2018/homelessness-america-focus-youth
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) (2017). Advancing an End to Youth Homelessness: Federal and National Initiatives | United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). https://www.usich.gov/tools-for-action/advancing-an-end-to-youth-homelessness-federal-and-national-initiatives
Wood, D., Crapnell, T., Lau, L., Bennett, A., Lotstein, D., Ferris, M., & Kuo, A. (2018). Emerging Adulthood as a Critical Stage in the Life Course. In N. Halfon, C. B. Forrest, R. M. Lerner, & E. M. Faustman (Eds.), Handbook of Life Course Health Development. Springer. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK543712/
Funding
The study was funded by a grant from NIMH (1R01MH110206 & F31MH126641).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Each author declares that they have no conflict of interest, real or perceived.
Ethical Approval
The study was approved by the affiliated university’s institutional review board. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Semborski, S., Petry, L. & Henwood, B. A Comparative Analysis of Transitional and Permanent Supportive Housing Through the Lens of Young Adult Residents. Child Adolesc Soc Work J (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00881-1
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00881-1