A new study reports that providing permanent supportive housing for people in rural Maine is less expensive than serving people while they're homeless.
That conclusion is similar to the one VHFA reached in our May 2008 publication "The Costs and Benefits of Assisting Vermont's Chronically Homeless" (841KB; PDF).
The Maine study, which followed 163 people, found a 57 percent cost reduction for mental health services over a 6-month period.
The Maine study was prepared by Melany Mondello, Shalom House; Jon Bradley, Preble Street; and Tom Chalmers McLaughlin and Nancy Shore, University of New England.
It was sponsored by the Corporation for Supportive Housing, MaineHousing and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
Download a copy of the report (254 KB; PDF).