For someone to get and stay healthy, they need the stability of a home and access to the health care they need. Everyone deserves these basic human rights, and the Flexible Housing Pool (FHP) program gets the Chicago metropolitan area one step closer to making that a reality.
The Flexible Housing Pool is different from traditional housing programs because it focuses on reducing costs to the health care sector and works towards improving individual health care outcomes. The program will decrease utilization of emergency services and hospitalizations by connecting people to stable housing and the supportive services they need in order to improve health outcomes.
The program also expands the definition of homelessness in order to get more people stably housed, all while creating new affordable housing units throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. The Flexible Housing Pool engages directly with landlords in order to maintain healthy neighborhood relationships and provide landlords with peace of mind by filling units with guaranteed on-time rental payments, all while knowing that they are supporting FHP clients to get healthier and stay engaged in care.
The program is modeled on a Los Angeles program that successfully housed 3,000 individuals and saw a reduction in emergency room visits, inpatient stays and the use of mental health services.
The Flexible Housing Pool was developed in collaboration with Cook County Health and the City of Chicago and has support from several stakeholders from various sectors to focus on a new approach to addressing homelessness. All sectors that impact homelessness are part of the solution to ending homelessness.
The Center for Housing and Health is grateful to partner with the following agencies, public entities, institutes, health care providers and foundations:
