Simply put, Housing First is a policy that offers unconditional, permanent housing as quickly as possible to homeless people, and other supportive services afterward. It was first discussed in the 1990s, and in the following decades became government policy in certain locations within the Western world.
Housing First is a bipartisan, evidence-based practice backed by multiple, national studies. The Housing First approach has garnered strong bipartisan support for decades. It has been embraced by the George W. Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations, including the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). It has also been adopted by many state and local elected officials who have seen Housing First work in their communities.