Provider-Identified strategies to address homelessness in Arizona: a summary of strategies, evidence, and impact

Abstract

Few sources have reviewed the state of the evidence on commonly implemented and emerging strategies to prevent and respond to homelessness in the United States. We conducted focus groups with 58 homeless service providers and administrators across Arizona about strategies used to address homelessness. We then reviewed and summarized the scholarly evidence on each strategy for housing, health, and financial impacts. We organize the strategies into three overarching categories (1) housing-focused, (2) economic-focused, and (3) wraparound. Results describe the current landscape of strategies in use and suggest limited information exists about the impact and effectiveness of various interventions’ ability to prevent and respond to homelessness. Moreover, providers struggled to describe how they knew if their strategies were effective, indicating the need for increased dissemination of research and evaluation findings in community settings. Results can be used to guide service provision, intervention development, resource allocation, and future evaluations in this area.