A new employment initiative at three supportive housing sites was followd, tracking objective measures of success. We plotted "working pathways" that depicted two year "courses" of the return to work; and documented collective changes in the sponsoring agencies' missions. The effect for paid jobs held and retained proved modest. Subgroups of tenants benefited. In two sites, tenants averaged 6 to 7 months more work in the two years following the introduction of the initiative than in the prior two years. Two factors figured in succcess: ability of the local project to make a standing offer of employment, such that fleeting readiness or suddenly applied pressure to work could be seized; and creation of personal stakes in working. The latter included prospects of renewing family ties, retention of rent subsidy contingent upon participation in a recovery group or employment program, and hope of genuine independence from a well-paying job. A few affirmative businesses made special efforts to provide supported workplaces that were unusually accommodating of persons with psychiatric disabilities. Pathways charting the return to work show it to be anything but simple or stable. Cycling was a common pattern, owing to trial-and-error, job shopping, time-limited training programs, over-reaching coping capacitiies, or poor fits between tenant and job demands. Distinctive "cultures of work" could be described in each of the three field sites, reflecting the ethos of sponsoring agencies rather than the local job market.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, an attendee will be able to 1) List the factors that contribute to holding and retaining paid jobs for tenants living in supportive housing sites with different sponsors; 2) Discuss the impact of the sponsoring housing agency's "culture of work" on their tenants' employent success
Keywords: Housing, Homelessness
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.