Preventing Recurrent Homelessness Among Mentally Ill Men: A Critical Time Intervention After Discharge from a Shelter

OBJECTIVES: This study examined a strategy to prevent homelessness among individuals with severe mental illness by providing a bridge between institutional and community care.

METHODS: Ninety-six men with severe mental illness who were entering community housing from a shelter institution were randomized to receive 9 months of a "critical time" intervention plus usual services or usual services only. The primary analysis compared the mean number of homeless nights for the two groups during the 18-month follow-up period. To elucidate time trends, survival curves were used.

RESULTS: Over the 18-month follow-up period, the average number of homeless nights was 30 for the critical time intervention group and 91 for the usual services group. Survival curves showed that after the 9-month period of active intervention, the difference between the two groups did not diminish.

CONCLUSIONS: Strategies that focus on a critical time of transition may contribute to the prevention of recurrent homelessness among individuals with mental illness, even after the period of active intervention. 

Publication Date: 
1997
Pages: 
256-262
Volume: 
87
Issue: 
2
Journal Name: 
American Journal of Public Health