Housing First: Ending Homelessness, Transforming Systems, and Changing Lives

This book provides a unique portrayal of Housing First as a 'paradigm shift' in homeless services. Since 1992, this approach has spread nationally and internationally, changing systems and reversing the usual continuum of care. The success of Housing First has few parallels in social and human services.

Deborah Padgett is internationally recognized as a qualitative methodologist known for her research on homelessness, including two federally-funded studies of Housing First. The author/co-author of five books and numerous journal articles, Dr. Padgett has received awards for her teaching and mentoring and led the Society for Social Work and Research as President.

Benjamin Henwood, PhD, MSW, is a recognized expert in mental health and housing services research whose work connects clinical interventions with social policy. His proposal to end homelessness has been adopted by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare as a grand challenge to orient the profession. Dr. Henwood is currently an assistant professor of social work at the University of Southern California.

Sam Tsemberis, PhD, is the originator of Housing First. The breakthrough that led to the creation of this consumer-directed program came after making the shift to listening rather than directing consumers, believing in their capabilities, and enlisting their assistance in designing the program. Dr. Tsemberis is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center and conducts research, lectures, and writes about these topics.