This report presents study results, examining the impacts of the Domestic Violence Housing First model on domestic violence survivors and their children over a 24-month period; it presents prior research, the design of the study and procedures used, participant characteristics and experiences, sample retention, services received by survivors at different points in a 24-month period, primary and exploratory research question, and includes appendixes.
The authors report on the impacts of the Domestic Violence Housing First (DVHF) model on survivors of domestic violence and their children, over a period of 24 months. A primary goal of DVHF is to assist domestic violence (DV) survivors in stabilizing their housing; the primary research question asked about the effects of DVH model on survivors over time, and four exploratory research questions asked if advocates could predict which survivors would remain stable and safely housed, if the DVHF intervention worked better for some survivors than others, if there were any particular characteristics associated with better outcomes, and if COVID-19 impacted the effectiveness of DVHF intervention. The authors report that findings from this demonstration evaluation suggest that the DVHF model is effective in helping survivors achieve long-term housing stability, lower levels of abuse, and improved mental health; and that DVHF services may be more effective if offered within a trauma-informed service model.