Housing First Early Grads at Work
‘Go to work or meet with my Housing First (HF) Worker?’ That’s a tough decision that several HF participants didn’t have to make in the past months. Why not? Because the HF team adjusted meetings to fit around clients’ work schedules. That flexibility and support led to several clients feeling secure enough to graduate from the HF program early.
‘Mark’ was in the HF program from October to February. When starting in the program he was doing a series of odd ‘blue collar’ jobs. Being in the HF program gave Mark the critical housing security he needed to confidently move forward and focus on getting full-time employment. Mark’s worker also provided critical encouragement and emotional support by pointing out that he was working part-time already so was well positioned to take the next step to full time employment.
‘Lee’ was with Housing First from May to February. During that time, Lee developed a connection to a church community. The church offered to cover educational upgrading fees for Lee but couldn’t provide full funding. In partnership with the church, Housing First was able to get funding to meet those upgrading costs. Lee now enjoys a full-time position as an outreach worker in an inner-city agency.
‘Sally’ was with Housing First for almost half a year to December. Initially, she was working part-time in the service industry but, by year end, was getting full-time hours. Working in the service sector could mean late shifts in the evening. To accommodate the work schedule while meeting program requirements, HF meetings were scheduled to fit around Sally’s work and sleep schedule, so Sally wasn’t forced to choose between employment and HF program support.
For each of these cases, the flexibility of the HF team was an important part of client success. Lyndsay Aiton, Housing First Program Manager, highlighted the team’s role in these early graduation successes: “The staff were really amazing. They were flexible about where and when to meet with clients to accommodate them – even if meetings weren’t during regular work hours.”
The stability of housing combined with flexible and encouraging Worker and HF program support, created a solid base for these motivated participants. They built on and reinforced that stability by moving ahead to full time employment. What a great reason to graduate early from the HF program.