i would add that housing-first approaches increase the likelihood that mental health and substance use treatment even work long term.

hard to wanna get sober when you’re being harassed by police or other people. hard to stay sane when you’re barely surviving and putting drugs on top to cope.

right now, many people experiencing homelessness and severe mental illness/addiction are hospitalized for a few days or a week and then they go back to the street. which doesn’t do much except get an individual out of immediate crisis. many will repeat this pattern over and over until incarceration or death.