Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
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The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
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Author(s): Karen Urbanoski, Scott Veldhuizen, Michael Krausz, Christian Schütz, Julian M. Somers, Maritt Kirst, Marie-Josée Fleury, Vicky Stergiopoulos, Michelle Patterson, Verena Strehlau, Paula Goering
Publication Date: 2017
Background and Aims
Evidence supports the effectiveness of Housing First (HF) programs for people who are experiencing homelessness and mental illness; however, questions remain about its use in people with comorbid substance use disorders (SUD). The aim of this project was to test whether SUD modifies the effectiveness of an HF intervention.
Design
Secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial of HF versus treatment-as-usual (TAU...
Author(s): Carol E. Adair, David L. Streiner, Ryan Barnhart, Brianna Kopp, Scott Veldhuizen, Michelle Patterson, Tim Aubry, Jennifer Lavoie, Jitender Sareen, Stefanie Renee LeBlanc, Paula Goering
Publication Date: 2017
Purpose
Housing First (HF) has been shown to improve housing stability, on average, for formerly homeless adults with mental illness. However, little is known about patterns of change and characteristics that predict different outcome trajectories over time. This article reports on latent trajectories of housing stability among 2140 participants (84% followed 24 months) of a multisite randomised controlled trial of HF.
Methods
Data were analyzed...
Author(s): Paula Goering, Scott Veldhuizen, Geoffrey B. Nelson, Ana Stefancic, Sam Tsemberis, Carol E. Adair, Jino Distasio, Tim Aubry, Vicky Stergiopoulos, David L. Streiner
Publication Date: 2016
Objective
This study examined whether Housing First fidelity ratings correspond to program operation descriptions from administrative data and predict client outcomes.
Methods
A multisite, randomized controlled trial (At Home/Chez Soi) in five Canadian cities included two assessments of 12 programs over two years. Outcomes for 1,158 clients were measured every six months. Associations between fidelity ratings and administrative data (Spearm...
One-Year Outcomes of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Housing First With ACT in Five Canadian Cities
Author(s): Tim Aubry, Sam Tsemberis, Carol E. Adair, Scott Veldhuizen, David Streiner, Eric Latimer, Jitender Sareen, Michelle Patterson, Kathleen McGarvey, Brianna Kopp, Catharine Hume
Publication Date: 2015
Objective:
Housing First is a groundbreaking approach to ending chronic homelessness among people with mental illness. This article presents one-year findings from a multisite randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing Housing First with treatment as usual.
Methods:
The study was a nonblind, parallel-group RCT conducted in five Canadian cities. A sample of 950 high-need participants with severe mental illness, who were either absolutely hom...
Author(s): Scott Veldhuizen, Carol E. Adair, Christian Methot, Brianna C. Kopp, Patricia O’Campo, Jimmy Bourque, David L. Streiner, Paula N. Goering
Publication Date: 2014
Purpose
Participant retention is an important challenge in longitudinal research on homeless people. High attrition can threaten validity, and may represent lost opportunities to deliver interventions. In this article, we report on attrition in the At Home/Chez Soi study, a multi-site randomized controlled trial of a housing intervention for homeless people with mental illness.
Methods
We first calculate life tables, and then use clustered logis...

Author(s): Paula Goering, Scott Veldhuizen, Aimee Watson, Carol Adair, Brianna Kopp, Eric Latimer, Geoff Nelson, Eric Macnaughton, David Streiner, Tim Aubry
Organization: Mental Health Commission of Canada
Publication Date: 2014
This report documents the final results of the At Home/Chez Soi research demonstration project, which examined Housing First as a means of ending homelessness for people living with mental illness in Canada. The project followed more than 2,000 participants for two years, and was the world’s largest trial of Housing First, with demonstration sites in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal, and Moncton.
This report is also available on the Mental...
Author(s): Paula Goering, Scott Veldhuizen, Aimee Watson, Carol Adair, Brianna Kopp, Eric Latimer, Angela Ly
Organization: Mental Health Commission of Canada
Publication Date: 2012
Over 900 individuals from our shelters and on our streets who have not been well served by our current approach are now housed in adequate, affordable and suitable settings. Eighty six percent of participants remain in their first or second unit (as of August 2012). At 12 months those in the Housing First intervention had spent an average of 73% of their time in stable housing. In contrast, those in treatment as usual (TAU) spend only 30% of thei...