Abstract
Homelessness prevention efforts face an overarching challenge: how to target limited resources far enough downstream to capture those at greatest risk of homelessness, but far enough upstream to stabilize households before they experience a cascade of negative outcomes. How did the COVID-19 emergency rental assistance programs launched in hundreds of localities across the United States respond to this challenge? This paper draws on two waves of a national survey of emergency rental assistance program administrators, as well as in-depth interviews with 15 administrators, to answer this question. Results show that although the vast majority of program administrators considered homelessness prevention to be a key program goal, their programs tended to target rental assistance far upstream of tenants at immediate risk.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 896-914 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Housing Policy Debate |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2022 |
Keywords
- COVID-19
- homelessness prevention
- rental assistance
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Development
- Urban Studies
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law