"Housing is Health Care": The Impact of Supportive Housing on the Costs of Chronic Mental Illness
This study examines how housing and in-home supports affect public spending on individuals with chronic mental illness in Maricopa County, Arizona.
It does so through a comparative analysis of average costs per person per year across three housing settings: permanent supportive housing, housing with unknown in-home support, and chronic homelessness.
Specifically, it analyzes costs for housing, health care, and criminal justice during the period of 2014-2019. It also features a small-sample (small-N) case study of a housing setting that provides individualized, 24/7 in-home support to individuals with chronic mental illness (CMI) who have high support needs, examining average costs per person before and after moving into that setting (2016-2019).
Finally, the study outlines recommendations from interviews with dozens of experts who work with and care for individuals with CMI in Maricopa County about reducing costs and improving care.
Read the complete report here.
Read a two-page handout based on the report here.
Watch the webinar describing the report's highlights.
Read coverage of the report in The Arizona Republic.
Watch the "Housing is Health Care" Video Series, also available below.