The Impact of Shelter Diversion

Family Promise of West Michigan, Family Promise of Spokane, and the Lord’s Place, located in West Palm Beach, are three nonprofit organizations dedicated to fighting homelessness in their local communities. As part of this mission, these organizations participate in diversion conversations with clients who are experiencing housing crises, searching for solutions that could keep them out of homeless shelters. These organizations, in partnership with the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO), want to examine the impact of supplementing these conversations with additional resources and support. Within a randomized controlled trial, eligible clients will be randomly assigned to receive either a diversion conversation alone, a diversion conversation with flexible financial assistance, or a diversion conversation supplemented with both flexible financial assistance and proactive follow-up case management. The purpose of this project is to determine the effectiveness of offering additional support along with a diversion conversation for clients experiencing housing crises. We will measure the impact of these support services on homelessness, housing stability, creditworthiness, benefits usage, income, and employment. The study will enroll approximately 3,200 households, where 25 percent will be enrolled into each of the treatment arms and one half are in the service as usual control group.