The Effects of the “Work Works” Approach on Housing Instability, Incarceration, and Employment

• In Event: Punishment, Place, and the Policing of Marginality

Abstract

Housing instability, unemployment, incarceration, and chronic health issues—including substance use, mental health conditions, and disabilities—are deeply interconnected, often creating cycles that perpetuate poverty and inequality while costing taxpayers millions of dollars in emergency and public services. Programs that address these needs holistically have the potential to disrupt those cycles. The Urban Institute conducted a comprehensive evaluation of one such program in Colorado – Bridge House’s Ready to Work (RTW) program. With foundations in the Work Works model, RTW combines three elements—paid work, housing, and supportive services—to help people experiencing homelessness achieve long-term stability. Using a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design, we studied the program’s core components, impacts on housing instability and incarceration, and preliminary effects on employment. This presentation will describe key findings and conclusions, including pre-program needs among program participants, operational successes and challenges, and the program's impacts; and relatedly, data limitations associated with availability, quality, and completeness when evaluating similar programs.

Authors

• Rochisha Shukla, Urban Institute

• Will Engelhardt, Urban Institute

• Krista White, The Urban Institute

• Sam Tecotzky, Urban Institute