Addressing the needs of the street homeless: A collaborative approach

摘要

This article describes a collaborative interagency multidisciplinary outreach team, designed to house individuals who are absolutely homeless (living outdoors), have not successfully responded to other programs, and who have either a severe and persistent mental illness, personality disorder, developmental challenge, or untreated medical needs. The collaborative care model was adapted for an urban Canadian setting from the U.S. Housing First model to meet the housing and treatment needs of chronically homeless persons and to address the unique characteristics and service needs of those living outdoors. Preliminary outcomes and implications for service delivery to this vulnerable group are discussed.