CCHP Explained: Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing

Aubry Vonck • Apr 28, 2021

On July 1, 2020, the City of Houston, Harris County, and the Coalition for the Homeless announced a joint $65-million plan called the Community COVID Housing Program (CCHP) , which will serve 5,000 people experiencing homelessness over the course of two years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This four-part series, CCHP Explained , will dive into how we are serving those individuals and families through our COVID response: two permanent housing programs (Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-housing), one new pilot intervention (Diversion), and four additional programs (Auxiliary/Social Distancing Emergency Shelters, Mental Health Case Management, Enhanced Street Outreach, and Permanent Supportive Housing Preservation).

Today, join us as we dive into Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing.

The Community COVID Housing Program (CCHP) will accelerate the work of The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), which is the homeless response system in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, by serving approximately 5,000 individuals between October 2020 – September 2022. Of these individuals, we anticipate approximately 1,000 to be housed through the Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing, or Bridge to PSH, program.

What is Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing?

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Permanent Supportive Housing is “an intervention that combines affordable housing assistance with voluntary support services to address the needs of [people experiencing chronic homelessness]. The services are designed to build independent living and tenancy skills and connect people with community-based health care, treatment, and employment services.” In order to meet the chronic homelessness definition, an individual must:

have a qualifying disability; and
reside in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or an emergency shelter; and
have experienced homelessness either continuously for one year OR experienced four episodes of homelessness in three years.

PSH is permanent and designed to serve the most vulnerable in our community. It espouses the “Housing First” model that does not require a person to find employment, become mentally stable, or sober prior to getting into housing. Housing First allows a person to attend to other needs such as accessing voluntary supportive services, and stabilizing their life when ready.

The Way Home CoC began implementing PSH in a coordinated, client-centric way in 2012, which is why we track the number of people housed in our community only back to 2012. That date also marks the beginning of the shift in our community from working in silos and choosing to serve the people who we thought were best for our programs, to working in the spirit of collective impact and serving the people who were most vulnerable and in need.

While 28 agencies provide PSH everyday as part of The Way Home, four local agencies are providing Bridge to PSH programs through the CCHP: The Salvation Army of Greater Houston is providing navigation and case management, Career and Recovery Resources, Inc. is providing navigation and case management, The Beacon is providing navigation, and the Houston Housing Authority is providing rental assistance.

How does Bridge to PSH work?

Once a person is assessed for housing through Coordinated Access and then referred to the Bridge to PSH program, they are assigned a navigator. One of the first steps in navigation is assistance in securing needed documentation such as documentation of homelessness, documentation of disability, identification, and birth certificates. Navigators also assist with various challenges clients may be experiencing on their path into housing, such as substance abuse issues, mental health barriers, and overcoming criminal backgrounds.

Next, clients need a place to live. CCHP funding has allowed the Coalition to expand our landlord engagement team. This team works hard to build relationships with landlords across the city and county and has secured hundreds of new properties since the start of the CCHP. This means that our clients have options to choose from when moving into the Bridge to PSH program, increasing their likelihood of remaining successfully housed.

Once the navigator has helped a client successfully move in, the navigator then introduces the client to their case manager. The case manager helps the client with their life moving forward including connecting them to mental health supports, income, and more.

Throughout the process, Coalition staff members, including Sable Harris-Buck and Sandra Hoelscher, work behind the scenes to ensure all operations at our partner agencies are running smoothly. They help partners identify issues, problem solve, track data, and manage the program on a big picture scale.

Successes To-Date!

Thanks to CCHP funding and resources, we have housed 581 individuals through Bridge to PSH since October 1, 2020. Without CCHP funding, our traditional pace would have housed fewer than 300 individuals in this same period. Also, before the CCHP began, it took someone experiencing homelessness about 70 days from the time they were referred to a Bridge to PSH program to the day that they moved in. Thanks to the increased resources and enhanced programs through the CCHP, we have reduced that length of time down to an average of 30 days! This means that our community is housing extremely vulnerable people in less than half the time, keeping them safe and reducing trauma.

And while the path to housing can have challenges, there is nothing like a client turning the key to their new home knowing they have the supports in place to keep them there in the long term. These success stories are thanks to a system that values collaboration and teamwork.

Harrison Bartels is one of the 581 individuals who have started their new life thanks to the CCHP Bridge to PSH program. Harrison had worked for years at the same place of employment, but when the business was abruptly sold, he was left without work or a paycheck. Shortly after, Harrison was evicted and faced with his new reality: living on the streets of Houston. He shared that his major barriers during this seven-year journey included lack of food, trouble communicating with friends and family, and numerous instances of theft.

In October 2020, Harrison met Micah Southern, senior outreach associate with the Coalition for the Homeless. While Harrison was initially hesitant, Micah eventually earned his trust and assisted in securing documentation needed for housing. Harrison is now a client in The Salvation Army of Greater Houston’s Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing Program. Harrison credits the Coalition, Micah Southern, and The Salvation Army for ending that seven-year long experience and putting him in a home which he now calls his own, and assisting him in securing a job at MOD Pizza. Click here to read Harrison's full story.

Continue to part two of our four-part series: CCHP Explained: Rapid Re-housing
Continue to part three of our four-part series: CCHP Explained: Diversion
Continue to part four of our four-part series: CCHP Explained: Supplementary Programs

Questions about the Bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing program or other CCHP programs? Contact CCHP@homelesshouston.org.

< Older Post Newer Post >