Crisis Housing First in London and Newcastle:Final Evaluation

Crisis has advocated for wider adoption of Housing First over the past eight years; its two Housing First services in London (launched in November 2019) and Newcastle (in March 2021) were a significant step into operational delivery of the model, alongside existing Skylight services. Whilst there have been small differences in implementation between the two services, the core features of Crisis’s Housing First Delivery Model are that it is not commissioned or delivered by a statutory agency or housing provider, and offers an intensive case management model, procuring housing for individuals. It is well-resourced, and teams include clinical psychology, peer input and a personalisation budget. Fidelity to the model is prioritised. The independent evaluation ran from January 2021 to June 2023 in London and from August 2021 to December 2023 in Newcastle. Activities included: policy and paperwork review; analysis of case management data and case studies; interviews with members, coaches, managers and external professionals, some of which generated ‘stories of change’ which were reviewed by diverse panels using the Most Significant Change approach; fidelity and cost effectiveness assessments.