Hub Solutions was hired by the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA) Division of the City of Toronto to evaluate the Eviction Prevention in the Community (EPIC) pilot program. The program provides wrap around eviction prevention services in order to help tenants facing imminent risk of eviction to stabilize their housing.
The main evaluation questions were:
- What is the effectiveness of the intervention in preventing evictions and improving housing outcomes for clients?
- What are the contributing factors to evictions?
- What is the client profile of households at imminent risk of eviction?
- What are the service gaps not easily addressed through the pilot model?
The method
This evaluation included eight main components:
- The refinement of a program logic model
- The development of a program fidelity tool
- Key informant interviews and a focus group with managers and staff of the EPIC program
- Qualitative interviews with participants currently enrolled in the program
- Surveys with participants who have exited the program
- Surveys and qualitative interviews with landlords who have participated in the program
- Surveys with referral sources of the program
- Quantitative analyses conducted on the administrative data of the program
We utilized a mixed methods framework to address each of the evaluation questions. This method was selected as it incorporates both qualitative and quantitative data. We examined trends in the administrative data through the quantitative analysis and gained a deeper understanding of the program through the qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, program staff, landlords, and participants of the program.