Eviction Prevention and Homelessness Prevention
Definition and Overview
- Eviction Prevention and Homelessness Prevention are both designed to keep individuals and families housed and have some differences along the continuum of prevention.
- Eviction Prevention is a strategy or program designed to keep individuals and families in their home. Eviction Prevention aims to prevent evictions from occurring and from reaching courts and formal legal proceedings through a combination of legal assistance, housing counseling, rental assistance, negotiations, and other alternatives to formal eviction hearings. Eviction Prevention aims to assist a household facing eviction.
- Homelessness Prevention is a short- to medium-term intervention that prevents households from moving into emergency shelters, unsheltered locations, and other types of homelessness. Through temporary financial assistance and housing-focused services, Homelessness Prevention stabilizes households’ housing situations. Homelessness Prevention efforts focus on households who would become homeless but for this support.
- Staffing best practices include a target staff-to-participant ratio of no less than one case manager to every 20-to-30 households (i.e., the minimum expectation is a 1:20 through 1:30 case management ratio, though programs should strive for a minimum of 1:20). As with all programs, staffing structure and model is most effective when incorporating lived experiences of homelessness and related systems.
- Some organizations and communities implement homelessness “Diversion” programs. While Eviction Prevention and Homelessness Prevention both focus on preventing individuals and families from losing their housing, Diversion focuses on individuals and families who have just lost their housing (e.g., they present at an emergency shelter), with the goal of providing an immediate and safe housing alternative. Diversion is intended to ensure a household does not enter shelter and the homelessness response system, if possible and safe, and that the homelessness experience is as light touch as possible.
Target Population
- Eviction Prevention is designed to keep individuals and families housed. Therefore, it is typically targeted to households who are low-income (it is common to target households at or below 50% or 80% Area Median Income) and who are at-risk of being evicted.
- Homelessness Prevention is designed to prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless. Therefore, it is targeted to households who are most likely to experience homelessness, such as entering a shelter, without receiving the assistance. Homelessness Prevention focuses on households who are low- or extremely low-income (it is common to target households at or below 30% of the Area Median Income) and likely to stay in an emergency shelter or unsheltered location without the assistance.
- Compared to Eviction Prevention, Homelessness Prevention generally targets households with lower incomes, without additional community resources and networks, and with the most imminent and intense housing crises. Although evidence is limited regarding how to predict who will become homeless, organizations and communities can use data to determine how to prioritize Homelessness Prevention resources, such as understanding prior living situations of shelter guests, identifying prior episodes of homelessness, assessing households’ incomes, and determining potential barriers to re-housing for applicants, such as prior justice involvement or histories of homelessness.
Program Parameters
- Eviction Prevention, Homelessness Prevention, and Rapid Re-Housing deliver similar activities and strategies. Efforts to implement Eviction Prevention, Homelessness Prevention, and Rapid Re-Housing are listed after the Rapid Re-Housing section.
Expected Outcomes
- Outcomes typically focus on permanent housing outcomes, including preventing homelessness, housing stability and retention, and length of time between program enrollment and housing stabilization. Other outcomes may relate to overcoming barriers to housing, increased income (including benefits acquisition), achieving personal goals, and decreasing homelessness risk factors.