Race and retention in permanent supportive housing: a secondary analysis of housing outcomes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite the overrepresentation of People of Color among people experiencing homelessness and ongoing housing discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities, research has paid scant attention to the intersections of race and homelessness, including assessments of race-related outcomes of permanent supportive housing (PSH), a mainstay homeless assistance program in the U.S. The purpose of this study, therefore, framed by the Public Health Critical Race praxis, was to use secondary Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data obtained from a Continuum of Care in North Texas to explore the intersections of race and PSH outcomes. Given the high representation of veterans of military service among the sample, and the parallel VA service system generally accessible to veterans, separate analyses examined housing loss among veterans and non-veterans. Findings show that, while race does predict housing loss for all participants or any race or veteran-based subgroup, race was associated with demographic identifiers, such as gender, disabling condition, domestic violence victimization, income, and access to benefits, but these factors were also largely insignificant predictors in regression models. The only demographic identifier predicting housing loss was the number of times an individual was homeless in the last three years, predicting housing loss for all service recipients, White service recipients, and non-veteran service recipients. The results of the study are discussed, including important between-group variations that inform recommendations for administrative policy and practice.