Community Psychology Paper Example: Homelessness and Pathways Housing First, Analysis and Community Action Plan

Community Psychology Assignment: A Community Problem and an Organization That Addresses It

Apply course knowledge to a real-world community problem and become familiar with one organization that targets it:

• Community problem: examples from online news or magazine sources, statistics from a reputable source and at least two peer-reviewed articles.
• Organization: overview emphasizing its intervention and action approaches.
• Analysis of approaches: how the programs are or are not consistent with community psychology intervention and action strategies, described in community psychology terms, with strengths and weaknesses.
• Action in your community: how you would replicate the program, disseminate findings and educate the community to support it.

Use six to eight scholarly, peer-reviewed sources.

Original example for study purposes (about 1,000 words). Add local news examples from your own community and your course text.

The Community Problem: Homelessness Among Adults With Serious Mental Illness

Homelessness is one of the most visible community problems in the United States, and people with serious mental illness are among those most affected. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, at least 745,652 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2025. Although this was a 3.3% decrease from the previous year, the first overall decline in nearly a decade, chronic homelessness, which typically involves people with disabilities who have been homeless for long periods, increased by 2.1% (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2026). News coverage has described cities across the country clearing encampments while shelters remain full and the cost of rent continues to rise, leaving many people moving between streets, emergency rooms and jails. [Add an example from your local newspaper, such as an encampment, a shelter closure or a story about a person experiencing homelessness.]

For people with serious mental illness, homelessness is both a cause and consequence of poor health. Traditional “treatment first” or “staircase” programs required people to achieve sobriety and psychiatric stability before receiving housing, which excluded many of the people with the greatest needs. Research shows that this approach often failed: people cycled through shelters and hospitals without ever reaching the top of the staircase (Tsemberis et al., 2004).

The Organization: Pathways Housing First

Pathways to Housing, now known as Pathways Housing First, was founded in New York City in 1992 by psychologist Sam Tsemberis to serve chronically homeless adults with psychiatric disabilities. Its intervention reversed the traditional model by offering immediate access to permanent, scattered-site apartments in the community, without requiring treatment participation or sobriety as a condition of housing. Tenants hold regular leases and pay about 30% of their income in rent, and the program provides voluntary, consumer-driven support services through Assertive Community Treatment or intensive case management teams. Services follow principles of consumer choice, harm reduction and recovery orientation, meaning participants decide which services they use and staff help reduce harm from substance use rather than requiring abstinence (Tsemberis et al., 2004). The model has been widely replicated across the United States, Canada and Europe.

Evidence supports the approach. In a randomized trial in New York, Housing First participants spent significantly less time homeless and more time stably housed than participants in treatment-first programs, without greater substance use or psychiatric symptoms (Tsemberis et al., 2004). Participants in the Housing First program also reported greater perceived choice, which was associated with reduced psychiatric symptoms (Greenwood et al., 2005). In Canada’s large At Home/Chez Soi trial, scattered-site Housing First with intensive case management in Toronto substantially increased housing stability compared with usual care (Stergiopoulos et al., 2015). A systematic review concluded that permanent supportive housing and Housing First interventions improve housing stability among homeless people in high-income countries (Aubry et al., 2020).

Analysis of Approaches

Pathways Housing First is highly consistent with community psychology’s intervention and action strategies. First, it reflects empowerment, which Rappaport (1987) described as a process by which people gain mastery over their own lives. By giving tenants control over their housing and services, the program treats them as capable citizens rather than as passive recipients of care. Zimmerman’s (1995) concept of psychological empowerment, with its intrapersonal, interactional and behavioral components, helps explain how choice and control can build confidence and participation.

Second, the program represents second-order change. Rather than adjusting the existing system, such as adding more shelter beds or requiring better compliance with treatment, it changes the underlying rules by making housing a right rather than a reward. Third, it reflects an ecological perspective, recognizing that individual well-being depends on stable environments, neighborhoods and access to resources. Scattered-site housing promotes community integration, allowing tenants to live as neighbors rather than in segregated facilities. Fourth, its emphasis on harm reduction and strengths aligns with community psychology’s preference for prevention and competence promotion over deficit-based treatment.

Strengths. The model has strong evidence from randomized trials, respects human dignity and choice and reduces reliance on costly emergency services. It addresses a structural cause of homelessness, the lack of housing, rather than blaming individuals.

Weaknesses. Housing First depends on an adequate supply of affordable housing and rent subsidies, which many communities lack. Effects on substance use, mental health and quality of life are less consistent than effects on housing stability (Aubry et al., 2020). Scattered-site tenants may experience social isolation, and the program does not by itself address broader social justice issues such as low wages, discrimination and housing policy. Fidelity can also weaken when communities adopt the Housing First label without its core principles of choice and voluntary services.

Action in My Community

Replication. To replicate the program in [my city], I would first build a coalition of stakeholders, including the local continuum of care, mental health agencies, landlords, the public housing authority, health systems, people with lived experience of homelessness and local government. I would start with a pilot serving 25 to 50 chronically homeless adults with serious mental illness, using housing vouchers to secure scattered-site apartments and an intensive case management team trained in Housing First fidelity. Including people with lived experience on the planning team and staff would honor the community psychology value of citizen participation.

Evaluation and dissemination. I would evaluate the pilot with participatory methods, tracking housing retention, emergency room visits, jail days and participants’ own ratings of quality of life and choice. Results would be shared through a community report, presentations at city council and community board meetings, local media stories featuring tenants who consent to share their experiences and briefs for health systems and funders that highlight potential cost savings.

Educating the community. To build support and reduce stigma, I would hold community forums, partner with faith communities and neighborhood associations and recruit landlords through information sessions that explain guaranteed rent and support services. Framing housing as a foundation for health and community safety, and sharing local data and stories, would help residents see Housing First as a solution that benefits the entire community.

References

Aubry, T., Bloch, G., Brcic, V., Saad, A., Magwood, O., Abdalla, T., Alkhateeb, Q., Xie, E., Mathew, C., Hannigan, T., Costello, C., Thavorn, K., Stergiopoulos, V., Tugwell, P., & Pottie, K. (2020). Effectiveness of permanent supportive housing and income assistance interventions for homeless individuals in high-income countries: A systematic review. The Lancet Public Health, 5(6), e342–e360. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30055-4

Greenwood, R. M., Schaefer-McDaniel, N. J., Winkel, G., & Tsemberis, S. J. (2005). Decreasing psychiatric symptoms by increasing choice in services for adults with histories of homelessness. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36(3–4), 223–238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-005-8617-z

National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2026). Long-awaited federal data shows the first overall reduction in homelessness since 2016 [News release]. https://endhomelessness.org/media/news-releases/long-awaited-federal-data-shows-the-first-overall-reduction-in-homelessness-since-2016

Rappaport, J. (1987). Terms of empowerment/exemplars of prevention: Toward a theory for community psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 15(2), 121–148. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00919275

Stergiopoulos, V., Hwang, S. W., Gozdzik, A., Nisenbaum, R., Latimer, E., Rabouin, D., Adair, C. E., Bourque, J., Connelly, J., Frankish, J., Katz, L. Y., Mason, K., Misir, V., O’Brien, K., Sareen, J., Schütz, C. G., Singer, A., Streiner, D. L., Vasiliadis, H.-M., & Goering, P. N. (2015). Effect of scattered-site housing using rent supplements and intensive case management on housing stability among homeless adults with mental illness: A randomized trial. JAMA, 313(9), 905–915. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.1163

Tsemberis, S., Gulcur, L., & Nakae, M. (2004). Housing First, consumer choice, and harm reduction for homeless individuals with a dual diagnosis. American Journal of Public Health, 94(4), 651–656. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.94.4.651

Zimmerman, M. A. (1995). Psychological empowerment: Issues and illustrations. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23(5), 581–599. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02506983

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