Temporary Supported Communities: Strategies for Serving Unsheltered People by NHCHC

Temporary Supported Communities: Strategies for Serving Unsheltered People

Communities are struggling to address a growing gap between unaffordable rents, stagnant incomes, a severe shortage of affordable housing, and insufficient emergency shelter capacity. As a result, the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to grow, with 653,100 people living without housing on a single night in 2023 (a 12% increase over 2022).

Many communities have responded by criminalizing unhoused people and forcibly removing them from public spaces. Our prior issue brief, “Impact of Encampment Sweeps on People Experiencing Homelessness,” describes the harm that arrests and encampment sweeps have on people experiencing homelessness and provides recommendations for more constructively responding to unsheltered homelessness.

Some communities are experimenting with approaches that allow unsheltered people to legally stay in public spaces without the threat of sweeps; however, simply allowing people to continue to live on the street is not a solution to ending homelessness. Providing services and actively working toward housing must be part of any community approach.

This issue brief illustrates how 13 communities have dedicated public spaces for unsheltered people to stay and receive services without the threat of arrest, offers interim support strategies as they move toward permanent housing, describes approaches communities should avoid, and notes issues of ongoing concern.

New Terminology: Temporary Supported Communities

Important Context for This Brief

Only permanent housing ends homelessness. This brief describes approaches that reduce the harms of encampment sweeps to unsheltered people, but it is not intended to endorse encampment sweeps which can perpetuate unsheltered homelessness.

There can be many advantages to implementing a Temporary Supported Community, but these approaches also raise some significant concerns that must be part of any public discussion. Please see page 13 for an overview of some of those concerns.

Communities are using a variety of terms to describe dedicated spaces where unsheltered people can live without the destabilization and fear of sweeps and arrests: “Sanctioned encampments,” “homeless campsites,” or “managed encampments” are most common. However, each of these terms can have negative connotations, especially for those hoping to eradicate “encampments.” Additionally, there are currently no clear regulatory or legal guidelines that dictate the terminology or governance of such places.

Hence, this issue brief coins the term “Temporary Supported Community” (TSC) to serve as an umbrella concept that reflects the interim nature of these spaces, the presence of support services, and the relationships formed among residents. It is also an attempt to create neutral terminology to discuss alternatives to criminalization and emerging approaches to shelter and services (Note: This term might change in the future as communities continue to test new strategies and vocabulary.)

TSCs are not to be confused with the non-congregate shelter approaches (e.g., hotel/motel rooms) adopted during COVID-19 and still in practice in many jurisdictions.

APPROACHES TO TEMPORARY SUPPORTED COMMUNITIES

This brief is directly informed by conversations with people living in TSCs and service providers working in these spaces. Although the physical layout varies across communities, there are commonalities in the type of structures employed and services offered. This section will briefly describe how 13 communities (listed below) have approached TSC models.

•Denver, Co.

•Nashville, Tenn.

•Louisville, Ky.

•San Diego, Calif.

•Santa Barbara, Calif.

•Rohnert Park, Calif.*

•Santa Rosa, Calif.

•Richmond, Calif.

•Phoenix, Ariz.

•Seattle, Wash.

Sleeping Structures and Perimeters

•Yakima, Wash.

•Tukwila, Wash.

•St. Petersburg, Fla.

* (now closed)

Tiny houses and cabins: Communities in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Skyway, and Tukwila, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Santa Barbara and Santa Rosa, Calif.; and Denver, Co., use weather-insulated tiny houses (or cabins) with running electricity, air conditioning, a heating unit, a bed, storage space, and a desk and door that locks. In these communities, tiny houses and cabins refer to four-wall structures with small windows that can accommodate one or two people They come in different sizes (64 to 100 square feet depending on the manufacturer) and those reviewed for this brief do not offer interior running water, bathrooms, or kitchens.

Shipping containers and portable pods: Louisville, Ky., Yakima, Wash., and Phoenix, Ariz., employ shipping containers and portable pods outfitted with air conditioning units, running electricity and/or portable heat, a bed, a desk, and storage space with doors that lock. In the case of Yakima, shipping containers have been modified to house four people in individual rooms. The container has four doors on one side and four windows on the other, and the living units can be locked. They do not offer running water, bathrooms, or kitchens in the interior.

Tents on pallets: Communities in Rohnert Park and San Diego, Calif.; Denver, Co., Shoreline, Wash.; and Portland, Ore., use individual tents on platforms, which serve as a protective barrier from heat, flooding, or other environmental hazards. There is no electricity provided inside the tents, although sometimes portable heaters are provided. Communities in Denver and San Diego use ice-fishing tents

A mixed structure: Denver, Co.; Phoenix, Ariz., Yakima, Wash., and Portland, Ore., use a combination of individual tents on the ground and tents on pallets, industrial-size congregate-style tents, shipping containers, and tiny houses in their TSCs.

Perimeters: Nearly all the communities marked their physical perimeter with chain-link fences and all had some form of controlled entry/exit for residents. In some TSCs, cameras and buzz-in-style features let people in and out. In other TSCs, staff or volunteers are responsible for providing security, and still other TSCs use a contracted security company. In some communities, non-residents were prohibited from entry.

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF

PERSPECTIVES

“They helped me through the housing paperwork out here. That was great because I am not sure I would have gotten through by myself. It’s very daunting and scary.”

— TSC Resident

“As

much as we want to work to end homelessness, as healthcare providers, we’ll continue to go where our patients are.”

— HCH Provider

Note on ‘Perspectives’: Throughout this brief, we include direct quotes from unhoused individuals who have experience living in Temporary Supported Communities, as well as healthcare professionals who serve these communities. These quotes help illuminate both the opportunities and challenges of TSCs.

Only permanent housing ends homelessness and encampment sweeps often perpetuate unsheltered homelessness. This brief describes approaches that reduce the harms of such sweeps to unsheltered people because forcible displacements continue to take place across the U.S.

Hygiene and Meals

All TSCs provide outside portable restrooms with handwashing stations, shower trailers, a laundry facility on-site or off-site, and a common dining/sitting area.

These TSCs do not have the capacity to cook and store enough food to provide three meals a day. Cooked meals are brought in and meal delivery is coordinated through staff and community volunteers.

While the tiny houses or cabins do not offer indoor plumbing connections, in Santa Barbara’s Dignity Moves Village, a sewage hook-up was installed. Now, instead of porta potties, the TSC uses common-area restrooms, sinks, and showering facilities.

Governance

Funding: TSCs are funded through City, State, or County funds, philanthropic donations or public-private partnerships. The process of choosing a site provider is typically conducted through a City, County or State Request for Proposal (RFP). In the State of California, Governor Newsom and the legislature allocated $750 million through the Encampment Resolution Fund to provide communities with the funding to provide supportive services to people living in encampments and help them move into housing. At least one of the TSCs — Los Guilicos Village — used this funding. In addition to funding a site operator, local governments used the funds to contract with 24/7 security and support services. In other cases, the state awarded funding to expand on-site behavioral health services and add tiny homes

Time period: Communities that set up TSCs did so with authorization from a City Council or a County government body for a period of 6 months to 3 years (though Yakima just authorized its TSC for 14 years). As of this publication, the Roberts Lake Park and Ride Safe Sleeping Program, Rohnert Park, Calif., has closed and 72% of residents transitioned to permanent or other temporary housing opportunities, including interim housing at Labath Landing. The Camp United We Stand in Seattle, Wash., has moved to a new church parking lot location per the City’s 6-month expiration permit agreement. The Los Guilicos Village in Santa Rosa, Calif., will be closed and replaced with refurbished dormitories.

Leadership: Most TSC operations are overseen by non-profit organizations contracted by the City and approved by City Councils or the County government. In a few TSCs, residents are responsible for all daily site upkeep, whereas at other sites, residents have an active role in camp governance and serve as peer support and coaches. In some cases, TSCs offer monthly meetings where residents can share concerns and feedback with the leadership/operator.

Location: Communities locate TSCs on city-owned properties that include unused parks, abandoned park and rides, unused parking lots/parking garages or other property, and in business/residential downtown areas.

PERSPECTIVES

“An important question to ask: What is the ultimate motive for people setting up these encampments?”

— HCH Provider

“This place makes me feel more in control in my life, more normal by far — like a regular person instead of cattle. It’s not a whole lot, but I have a door that locks with windows and that’s huge. You can shower by yourself.”

— TSC Resident

“I have my dog of seven years. It’s a huge deal that I can keep him with me here. I would not be here if that wasn’t the case.”

— TSC Resident

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF Only permanent housing ends homelessness and encampment sweeps often perpetuate unsheltered homelessness. This brief describes approaches that reduce the harms of such sweeps to unsheltered people because forcible displacements continue to take place across the U.S.

Population Served

The number of people staying at a TSCs ranges from 30 people in Louisville, Ky., 70 people in Denver, Co., to 300 people in San Diego, Calif

TSCs in Denver, Phoenix, Santa Barbara, and in the Seattle tiny house programs serve individuals and allow couples to stay together.

Communities in King County, Seattle, and Yakima, Wash., also serve families with children. Many of the TSCs allow people to stay with their pets.

While some TSCs allowed couples to stay together, for TSCs in Louisville, Ky., and one community in Seattle, Wash., that was not the case.

In some TSCs, people who must register as sex offenders and people with warrants were barred entry.

Denver, Co., and Tukwila, Wash., are two communities that prioritized specific populations: Tukwila serves asylum seekers and Denver created dedicated Native- and LGBTQ+-inclusive spaces within their TSCs.

RATIONALE FOR TEMPORARY SUPPORTED COMMUNITIES

Local officials face multiple demands from different constituencies to address the rise in unsheltered homelessness due to safety, health, and human rights concerns. The requests from neighborhood groups, business associations, police departments, mayors, or elected officials representing areas with high levels of unsheltered homelessness typically focus on dismantling encampments and removing unsheltered people from public places. Ironically, these same groups often oppose new affordable housing units from being constructed, thus worsening the homelessness crisis.

At the same time, people experiencing homelessness often have no other options for shelter, and experience worse physical and mental health outcomes and higher mortality rates than their housed counterparts. TSCs present communities with an opportunity to reduce the harm to the health and safety of a vulnerable community by providing a safer and more stable—albeit still unsheltered—setting combined with support services.

While also expanding the availability of permanent housing, local jurisdictions may want to establish TSCs for a variety of reasons:

•Gives greater choices and dignity to very vulnerable people and offers physical and psychological safety by offering a more private and secure space.

• Avoids the harms of encampment sweeps, arrests, citations, and other criminalization measures.

•Offers a consistent, more stable place for unhoused people to connect to health care and support services, and a safer, consistent venue for health care providers to deliver those services.

• Enhances public health by offering overdose prevention measures, preventing infectious disease spread, and supporting safety for unsheltered people and the surrounding neighborhood.

•Supports transitioning participants to permanent housing as the community’s goal.

• Accommodates people who often are barred from (or do not do well in) traditional shelters — those with certain medical, behavioral, functional limitations, physical/mobility challenges, or trauma histories; gender minorities; people with partners/pets/family members; and generally those needing more autonomy, privacy, and personal space.

• Conserves limited public safety resources such as police, fire, emergency responders and restores public spaces such as parks, sidewalks, and other venues for everyone’s use.

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF

STRATEGIES TO CONSIDER

The 13 TSCs interviewed for this brief took a range of approaches across three key areas: (1) increasing safety, security, and greater stability; (2) expanding connections to care; and (3) establishing stronger pathways to permanent housing. Some of these approaches were quite basic (and were literally only “better than doing nothing”) while others took progressively greater steps to provide supports. Communities may take different approaches to various practices as local public policies and resources allow.

INCREASING SAFETY, SECURITY, AND GREATER STABILITY

PRACTICE TIER 1

(Better than nothing)

Sleeping Spaces

Other Basic Needs

If using congregate-style industrial-size tents for families, allow sufficient space to prevent overcrowding and infringement of personal space.

If using individual tents, install pallets or other protective barrier underneath to better insulate from weather, leaks, and pests.

Provide portable toilets, shower trailers, and handwashing stations; communally accessible electricity/charging stations; heat/air conditioning, drinking water, and regular meal delivery.

Ensure bathrooms are wellstocked with essential items (soap, toilet paper/paper towels, period products, etc.). Ensure regular garbage removal and the availability of covered trash cans. Keep communal spaces clear and free of debris. Provide designated smoking areas, fire extinguishers, and education on safe fire response.

TIER 2

TIER 3

(Tier 1 plus additional steps) (Building on a Tier 2 approach)

Use larger, prefabricated shipping containers for individual use.

Provide access to portable temperature regulators and storage space, in addition to bed and bedding/sleeping bag.

Utilize tiny houses or cabins with windows, locked doors, resident-controlled heating and cooling, electricity, and storage space, which offers greatest protection from the elements, privacy, and personal safety.

Install a sewer line and fixed toilet and bathing facilities. Set up a common eating area, access to clean water, a designated pet and smoking area, free 24/7 laundry, and access to phone and mail services.

Provide residents sufficient bags/cans for garbage disposal, and ensure pest/ rodent management.

Add community building areas such as community gardens, communal cooking, entertainment, library, and a computer lab for job searches, education, training opportunities and service connections.

Provide cleaning supplies to assist residents in keeping their individual spaces clean.

Create sections that accommodate people who tend to be up at night so that those trying to sleep are not affected by noise.

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF

PRACTICE

TIER 1

INCREASING SAFETY, SECURITY, AND GREATER STABILITY

TIER 2

TIER 3 (Better than nothing) (Tier 1 plus additional steps) (Building on a Tier 2 approach)

Location Locate in municipally owned parking lots, park & rides, or other available locations owned by City, State, or County.

Place on a transit line or short walking distance to health care centers, grocery stores, and other community resources.

Note: Isolated areas and/or areas with geographic barriers or weather-related risks (floods) are not recommended.

Locate in town center and/or at a venue residents had input in selecting.

Ensure public transportation is readily available to TSC residents at no cost.

If located outside town center, provide regular shuttle services or other transportation to town centers when the TSC is inaccessible via public transit.

Disability Access

Build ramps and other physical assistive devices to make living structures, bathrooms, showers, and communal spaces ADA accessible.

Use signage to clearly mark pathways and structures, and to indicate where essential services and facilities are located.

Provide a secure area to charge wheelchairs/mobility assistive devices.

Provide or post schedules in central locations with emergency response information and when resources are available or will be onsite.

Set aside a dedicated ADAaccessible shower and bathroom unit(s).

Ensure at least several sleeping units have an elevated bed (off the ground) and is large enough to accommodate a wheelchair or other mobility devices.

Arrange for transportation services to ensure residents are able to access services in the larger community.

Use universal design principles in all elements of the TSC so living structures, bathrooms, and community spaces do not need to be retrofitted for accessibility.

Have quiet spaces for people to use when feeling overwhelmed among larger groups.

Provide space for service providers, such as home health aides, home physical therapists, or home occupational therapists to work with residents.

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF

Only permanent housing ends homelessness and encampment sweeps often perpetuate unsheltered homelessness This brief describes approaches that reduce the harms of such sweeps to unsheltered people because forcible displacements continue to take place across the U.S.

INCREASING SAFETY, SECURITY, AND GREATER STABILITY

PRACTICE TIER 1

Governance and Rules

TIER 2

TIER 3 (Better than nothing) (Tier 1 plus additional steps) (Building on a Tier 2 approach)

Establish clear, written, traumainformed rules and standards of conduct for residents and service providers that ensure individual and community safety.

Communicate expectations, rules and standards of conduct at the time of intake.

Hold monthly meetings between TSC residents and staff to share program rules and updates.

Ensure abstinence or sobriety is not required for entry. Do not search residents’ individual sleeping spaces or their belongings.

Craft policies that emphasize sanctions for disruptive/unsafe behavior, rather than zerotolerance on drug/alcohol possession/use.

Incorporate resident feedback about needed improvements to the program, rules and policies; ensure residents know they can make suggestions without fear of losing their placement.

Make rules/standards as flexible as possible so that the TSC can be responsive to meet residents’ needs without compromising safety.

Provide rules of conduct and standards in multiple languages.

Include residents in the design of the TSC and in leadership roles to inform rules and service provisions collaboratively with staff.

Engage in management practices that are compassionate, inclusive of resident feedback and promote a restorative justice approach to policy infringement.

Staff Training

If using outside security, ensure they are trained in de escalation approaches and trauma-informed care.

All staff should receive customer service and organizational policy and procedure training and have supervision.

Provide training for all staff, volunteers and security staff in trauma-informed care, harm reduction, motivational interviewing, de-escalation, and mental health first aid.

Incorporate peer coaches as part of the staff to provide support and de-escalation, as part of the staffing model.

Include a debriefing plan for any crisis event and partner with crisis intervention teams to manage and de-escalate crises.

Train and/or hire residents to provide security and safety at the TSC.

PRACTICE TIER 1

INCREASING SAFETY, SECURITY, AND GREATER STABILITY

TIER 2

TIER 3 (Better than nothing) (Tier 1 plus additional steps) (Building on a Tier 2 approach)

Perimeter

Referral, Entry, and Exit

Use the least prison-like fencing possible that also meets fire code for safe egress in the event of an emergency.

Accept participants as they are referred by approved case management agencies.

Allow residents to come and go as they please and be away for several days at a time.

Mask the fencing with greenery or flowers.

Design a perimeter that blends with the neighborhood and is visually attractive.

Accept participants from a broader range of service providers.

Design a clear, low-barrier process of referral and access.

Hold a resident’s space and protect their pets and belongings when they have short-term stays in a hospital, medical respite care program, or detention, or leave the program/stay elsewhere for a designated time (e.g. 1 week).

PERSPECTIVES

“I think it’s safer here than out there. When you’re out there you’re not sleeping in the same spot every night…Here they have laundry facilities, bathrooms, and food. It gives you a sense of stability because you know where you’re going to lay your head down, where your next meal comes from…it makes the transition from homelessness to housing easier because it doesn’t feel odd or weird or unnatural when you finally have a home to go to?”

— TSC Resident

Prioritize people displaced by encampment sweeps, those unable to access emergency shelters, and those most vulnerable to being arrested for sleeping outside.

Ensure entry does not screen out those unable to advocate for themselves.

Establish a waitlist that is sharable among street outreach teams. Allow referrals from a wide range of entities, to include self-referral

“As a woman, I don’t have to worry here. I feel a lot safer here than at the shelter.”

— TSC Resident

“People with disabilities, mental health, and substance use challenges do better in these spaces because they’re feeling a different level of respect and privacy.”

— HCH Provider IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF Only permanent housing ends homelessness and encampment sweeps often perpetuate unsheltered homelessness This brief describes approaches that reduce the harms of such sweeps to unsheltered people because forcible displacements continue to take place across the U.S.

EXPANDING CONNECTIONS TO CARE

PRACTICE TIER 1

(Better than nothing)

Case Management and Benefit Enrollment

Direct residents to external community resources that offer case management and benefit enrollment (Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, etc.).

TIER 2

Healthcare Services Direct residents to a local Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) program, other community health center, or other health care provider nearby.

Provide lock boxes for personal medications, and securely store those needing refrigeration or proper storage (e.g., insulin, wound care supplies, etc.).

TIER 3

(Tier 1 plus additional steps) (Building on a Tier 2 approach)

Provide regular, onsite case management and benefit enrollment.

While encouraged through motivational interviewing, ensure participation in case management (and other services) is not a requirement for TSC residency.

Identify a private space onsite and offer telehealth services so residents can connect virtually to external service providers.

Offer on-demand referrals to treatment such as counseling, detox, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and other services.

Host support groups (either resident-led, or in partnership with an external community provider).

Ensure that there is a plan to transfer a resident to an appropriate setting if their needs are greater than can be supported at the TSC (e.g., inpatient treatment, skilled care, medical respite care, etc.).

Embed case management and benefit enrollment goals in every resident’s case management plan and actively monitor progress.

Do not require engagement in case management as a condition of residency. 9

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF

Contract with local HCH program, community health clinic, street medicine teams, mobile medical units, and/or department of public health to regularly deliver medical and behavioral health supports (to include medications/onsite MOUD initiation).

If feasible, encourage co location with support services onsite. If not feasible, provide on-demand, free transportation to service sites.

PRACTICE TIER 1

EXPANDING CONNECTIONS TO CARE

TIER 2

Outreach and Support Services

Harm Reduction Interventions

TIER 3

(Better than nothing) (Tier 1 plus additional steps) (Building on a Tier 2 approach)

Educate TSC residents where they can access outreach workers, community health workers, and peer support teams in the external community.

Equip and train all residents, staff, volunteers, and security staff on overdose prevention strategies, to include use of Naloxone.

Educate residents on availability of Syringe Service Programs (SSPs) and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in the broader community (if applicable).

Provide a sharps container to safely discard needles. Conduct wellness checks on everyone in regular intervals to be able to identify and respond to overdoses.

Implement a “buddy system” among residents to encourage peer support.

Invite outreach workers, community health workers and peer support onsite to meet with TSC residents on a regular basis.

Provide Naloxone, fentanyl and xylazine test strips, and safe smoking materials onsite.

Identify separate TSCs (or different wet/dry/”damp” areas within a TSC) to accommodate preferences for those in various stages of recovery.

Establish partnerships with support service providers from the beginning, establish coordination, and offer a regular space inside the TSCs to engage with residents.

Contract with service providers to bring SSP/MOUD and other harm reduction services onsite, particularly for TSCs that are located far away from providers.

Offer vending machines with safe-consumption/safe sex supplies.

Designate a safe and private space for residents to receive prescribed medications.

PERSPECTIVES

“In this place, the nurses and medics have a van that comes to give you medications, shots. They’ll fill out the prescription right then and there. This is really helpful because my ailments get out of hand.”

— TSC Resident

“Folks who’re there for 8-9 months, this transitional place allows providers to treat people with ongoing consistent care, which is important for conditions like Hep C.”

— HCH Provider

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF

PRACTICE

ESTABLISHING STRONGER PATHWAYS TO PERMANENT HOUSING

TIER 1

TIER 2

TIER 3

(Better than nothing) (Tier 1 plus additional steps) (Building on a Tier 2 approach)

Housing Case Management Direct residents to external community places to complete a housing assessment.

Ensure no resident is exited without permanent housing.

Partner with housing navigation teams to regularly come onsite to assess every resident’s housing needs.

Additional Housing Strategies

Ensure each resident has the documentation necessary to get housed whether through onsite services or external community resources.

Advocate with the City, County, or State officials to provide emergency housing vouchers for residents who do not have access to them.

Establish a landlord incentive program for landlords willing to rent to TSC participants with housing vouchers.

Facilitate access to supportive services that would assist in transition to housing (e.g. personal care supports).

Hire housing case managers as part of the TSC staff.

Require case managers to participate in the local Coordinated Entry System (CES) to connect eligible residents to housing opportunities.

Every person living in the TSC should have an assigned housing case manager.

Partner with available supportive housing programs or housing authorities to prioritize entry for participants in the TSCs, particularly those most vulnerable.

Partner with/establish a rental assistance fund to pay rent for 6-12 months for residents who can be rapidly housed and do not need intensive support services.

Remove typically barring eligibility criteria such as criminal background and income.

Prioritize chronically homeless residents for placement in a permanent supportive housing program through the Coordinated Entry System.

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF

APPROACHES TO AVOID

Do not use tickets or law enforcement harassment to force people to move into a TSC or arrest and/or fine them if they choose not to stay there.

Do not conduct tent-to-tent searches, require physical searches upon entry, or arrest people with warrants at intake.

Do not bring law enforcement on site to handle minor infractions or to intimidate residents.

Do not use security staff who are unfamiliar with the unsheltered community or who are not trained in trauma-informed practices, harm reduction interventions, or conflict de escalation.

Do not impose zero-tolerance policies for drug use or possession that is not disruptive.

Do not neglect the importance of onsite medical, behavioral health, and support services, and do not impose barriers to service providers accessing residents.

Do not locate the TSC in far-away, “out-of-sight” places without easy access to public transit. This only further isolates unsheltered people.

PERSPECTIVES

“I wish there were more funding available to have more appropriately trained staff. A lot of the staff who work there are people with personal experience with homelessness. But there is no training provided on trauma-informed care, or dealing with mental health crisis”

— HCH Provider

“It doesn’t feel like a homeless camp, it feels like a community. In any community there’s disputes, we settle them between ourselves most of the time without cops having to be called.”

— TSC Resident

“I feel like I have a calmer spirit here, and I don’t have to run here or there. Everyday I get something accomplished that is positive. This is a starting step for me — I’m practicing having my own apartment and that gives me hope.”

— TSC Resident

“The people here get into housing because they have a consistent place where they can be found, stabilize on their medicine, and where they can retrieve their mail without getting their belongings stolen. Incidents of theft or crime onsite are far lower than if they were on the street.”

— HCH Provider

“I know what I really like is the fact that I have door that locks. To have any kind of privacy is huge because on the streets you do not have any privacy whatsoever.”

— TSC Resident

ISSUES OF CONCERN

There can be many advantages to implementing a TSC, but these approaches also raise some significant concerns that must be part of any public discussion:

Long-term fixtures: As mentioned throughout this brief, TSCs are not a substitute for permanent housing but they risk turning into perpetual community fixtures if housing does not become available. If people are forced to live there because all other public spaces are criminalized and/or there is no intention to connect to permanent housing, TSCs risk becoming internment camps.

Short-term time limits: Imposing too short a time limit (for example 3-6 months) for a TSC to operate—or requiring them to move locations every few months—is detrimental. The timeline established should align with the broader community’s progress increasing permanent housing units. Additionally, residents themselves need sufficient time to connect to services and identify a stable housing opportunity.

Diverted resources from permanent housing: The resources needed to establish and operate TSCs risk redirecting vital funding from building permanent housing units. Communities can develop both at the same time—but may want to consider limiting the amount of total funding that can be allocated to TSCs.

Coercion and use of law enforcement: Residency in a TSC must be voluntary and free from coercion or threat of arrest. While connecting to services is extremely important, engagement in care must also remain optional for the resident.

Inconsistent definitions of emergency shelter: Some communities list TSCs as “emergency shelter” in their Housing Inventory Count (HIC) and in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). However, most some TSC sleeping units may fall short of the standards HUD has established for Continuums of Care to use when determining whether a household experiencing homelessness should be considered unsheltered as opposed to sheltered (reference pp 27-28). Local Continuums of Care should consider how they categorize these spaces, especially in light of housing prioritization processes that look at sheltered and unsheltered status differently. It is essential to ensure that a person does not lose their eligibility for permanent housing because of residing in a TSC.

PERSPECTIVES

“Being here has taken me out of fight or flight. I’m able to stash my stuff and don’t have to worry about it getting stolen. It feels like can finally take a breath. I feel supported and now that I’m in one location, people can find me. If I had stayed out there longer, your nervous system can only handle so much before it snaps.”

— TSC Resident

“They have Narcan on site and if you come in drunk or high, they don’t kick you out. They watch you, They make sure you’re safe, and everyone watches each other. Everyone can feel safe when they come in here.”

— TSC Resident

“It’s a shack, not a home. It’s harm reduction, but it’s not giving people the dignity of a permanent home.”

— HCH Provider

CONCLUSION

Temporary Supported Communities (TSCs) are not a substitute for permanent housing, but they do offer an interim strategy to reduce the harms of sweeps for unhoused people while communities work to expand their permanent, supportive, and affordable housing options. Though they do not end homelessness, TSCs offer greater stability, safety from arrest, connections to care with health care providers and support services, and a bridge to permanent housing.

Communities that implement these approaches should be clear that the goal is to provide a more stable and safe environment for people experiencing homelessness — removing the risk and costly distractions that occur during encampment sweeps, while laying the foundation for them to obtain permanent and affordable housing. If set up with the right wrap-around resources and partnerships, they have the potential to be a pathway to permanent housing.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For more information about some of the TSCs highlighted in this paper:

• City of Seattle Sanctioned Encampment Siting: Frequently Asked Questions

• City of Rohnert Park California Roberts Lake Park Safe Sleeping Program Report to City Council

• Dignity Moves Santa Barbara Street Village 2022 Impact Report

• Los Guilicos Shelter Village for People Experiencing Homelessness

• Colorado Village Collaborative, Denver Co.

• All In Mile High Communities, Denver Co.

• Low Income Housing Institute Tiny Homes Construction Resource Hub

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Below are publications and other resources published since our last policy brief regarding unsheltered people and encampments:

• 19 Strategies for Communities to Address Encampments Humanely and Effectively — U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (one-page summary)

• Protecting the Health and Well-Being of People Living Unsheltered by Stopping Forcible Displacement of Encampments — American Public Health Association (APHA, November 2023)

• State program to clear homeless encampments show signs of success, but housing remains elusive — Cal Matters

• Encampment Clearings and Transitional Housing: A Qualitative Analysis of Resident Perspectives Health Affairs (February 2024)

• “Notice of major cleaning”: A Qualitative Study of the Negative Impact of Encampment Sweeps on the Ontological Security of Unhoused People Who Use Drugs — Social Science and Medicine (2023)

IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR THIS BRIEF

The National Health Care for the Homeless Council is the premier national organization working at the nexus of homelessness and health care. Grounded in human rights and social justice, the NHCHC mission is to build an equitable, high-quality health care system through training, research, and advocacy in the movement to end homelessness. Visit nhchc.org to learn more.