Rapid Re-housing Works in Connecticut

Where are they now?

Three years later, did Rapid Re-housing work in Connecticut?   

Rapid Re-housing is short-term financial assistance and services such as case management, outreach, and housing search for individuals and families who are in emergency shelter or on the streets and need temporary assistance in order to obtain and retain housing.   Rapid Re-housing does not meet the needs of every person experiencing homelessness, but is an important option for many.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) Program allowed providers in Connecticut to greatly expand Rapid Re-housing services in 2010.  Under HPRP, and in three years, just under three million dollars went toward Rapid Re-housing services for 3,100 people in over 1,600 households.  In 2013, we can look back on this data to consider the questions: Was that money well spent? Did those people return to shelter?



Rapid Re-housing Works in Connecticut.
Since Connecticut clients received Rapid Re-housing services through HPRP, only a small number have returned to shelter.  These results are consistent with Rapid Re-housing outcomes across the nation. [2]  Rapid Re-housing appears to be especially successful for families with children in Connecticut.

Three years after receiving Rapid Re-housing, eighty-two percent (82%) of singles have not returned to a Connecticut shelter. For families, the result is 95%.

At the two year post-exit mark, almost 90% of singles and 94% of families had not returned to shelter.


The graph below illustrates the percent of singles and persons in families that returned to shelter after exiting from Rapid Re-housing services in 2010, 2011, and 2012. [3]

After Exiting the Program, How Many Rapid Re-housing Recipients had not returned to shelter in Connecticut  [4]

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¹ National Alliance to End Homelessness, Rapid Re-Housing: Creating Programs that Work, http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/rapid-re-housing-creating-programs-that-work

² United States Interagency Council, Emerging Research Indicates Rapid Re-Housing Sets Up for Success, Katharine Gale, Policy Director, August 2013. http://www.usich.gov/media_center/blog/RRH_research

³ Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, CT HPRP Returns to Shelter report, Connecticut Homelessness Management Information System (CT HMIS), August 2013.

⁴ Results show returns to shelter after varying lengths of time “at risk” for return.  Those exiting in 2012 were measured at 9 months post-exit while those exiting in 2010 were measured some 3 years post-exit.  This means that it is possible to compare Family/Individual returns within but not across exit cohort years.

Additional Resources

Anderson, Lindsay. (2013). Ending Family Homelessness. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.   http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/4.1-integrating-rapid-Re-housing-and-employment-strategies-for-families

Batko, Samantha. (2013, May 21). Data Points: Rapid Re-Housing Works. National Alliance to End Homelessness. http://www.endhomelessness.org/blog/entry/data-points-rapid-re-housing-works#.UgaVk2RgaRk

Burden, Jamey. (2013). Basics of Rapid Re-Housing. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/1.1-basics-of-rapid-Re-housing

Byrne, Thomas. (2013). The National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing: Housing Outcomes of Veterans Exiting the Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) Program. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/2.1-emerging-research-on-rapid-rehousing

Fetzer-Rice, Beth. (2013). Basics of Rapid Re-Housing. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/1.1-basics-of-rapid-Re-housing

Cotter, Meghann. (2013). Micah Ecumenical Ministries: Housing the ‘Un-Houseable: Using Relationship-Based Service Models to Rapidly Re-Housing Single Adults. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/5.1-rapid-rehousing-models-for-single-adults

Foster, Sage B. (2010) Rapid Re-Housing Program, HPRP Innovative Strategies for Housing Single Adults. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 12-14, 2010, Washington, D.C.  http://fr.slideshare.net/naehomelessness/53-rapid-rehousing-for-single-adults-foster

Housing Innovations. (2012, November 19). Homelessness Resolution Strategy: Rochester and Monroe County Final Report. City of Rochester, N.Y. http://www.cityofrochester.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=8589956335

Rodriguez, Jason. (2013). Georgia Department of Community Affairs: Rapid Re-Housing and Homelessness Recurrence in Georgia.  National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C. http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/2.1-emerging-research-on-rapid-rehousing

Taylor, Jamie Vanasse & Pratt-Roebuck, Katrina. (2013). Cloudburst Consulting Group & Office of Supportive Housing and the City of Philadelphia: Evaluating Philadelphia’s Rapid Re-Housing Impacts on Housing Stability and Income. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/2.1-emerging-research-on-rapid-rehousing

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2013, May 6). Building the Bridge to the Future: Lessons Learned from HPRP. YouTube HUD Channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzTFg5iuOyc