Putting Housing First, Making Housing Last: Housing Policy for Persons With Severe Mental Illness

Abstract

Challenges to Finding Safe and Affordable Housing Securing safe and affordable housing is a challenge for millions of Americans. For individuals with severe and persistent mental illness this challenge is even more diffi cult. The sad reality is that most individuals with severe and persistent mental illness live at or below the poverty line and even though many receive subsidized supports such as food stamps, health care, and disability insurance, these benefi ts rarely stretch far enough to cover the cost of adequate and safe housing. The average rent on a modest effi ciency apartment in  consumed 96 percent of the monthly disability payment. It is not surprising then that persons with severe and persistent mental illness are estimated to represent roughly 30 percent of the homeless population.