Home for Good

Public Sector Solutions, Homelessness, Health

Highlights

76%Reduction in shelter stays in Anchorage, Alaska

$12.75M

In outcomes-based funding for permanent housing to address homelessness in Anchorage

Home for Good is a $12.75 million Pay for Success project designed to help 150 residents of Anchorage, Alaska experiencing persistent homelessness access permanent housing and supportive services. The Municipality of Anchorage, United Way of Anchorage, Social Finance, and more than 20 other organizations are collaborating on this three-year initiative, which launched in October 2020. This project represents an innovative approach to Pay for Success where philanthropy provides initial funding and the government takes over financial support in later stages, so long as outcomes are achieved.

Due to systemic inequities that disproportionately contribute to the experience of homelessness for Alaska Natives, Social Finance expects that more than half of this project’s eligible residents will be Alaska Native, compared to 9% of Anchorage’s overall population. Home for Good will partner with Southcentral Foundation, an Alaska Native-owned and -led healthcare system, to provide intensive case management using its award-winning Nuka System of Care. The project’s governance structure also includes people with lived experience with housing insecurity or health disparities in the Anchorage community.

Goals

Improve stable housing and physical and mental health, and reduce avoidable interactions with emergency medical services, shelters, and the criminal justice system.
Improve coordination between Anchorage’s emergency, healthcare, criminal justice, and homeless service systems to engage and enroll community members with the most complex and urgent service needs.
Provide a high-quality, dignified, and culturally appropriate experience to participants, using a Housing First approach to do whatever it takes to keep them stably housed.
Build community capacity to sustain this intervention by improving participants’ access to long-term housing vouchers and expanding providers’ ability to bill Medicaid for services that address the social determinants of health.

Participant Stories

For Shane, Clinical and Job Support—and a New Lease on Life

Today, Shane lives in a small downstairs apartment with a full kitchen. His humble dwelling is a far cry from the tent he was living in a year ago—thanks to the support of Home for Good. “Zach, my case worker, said, ‘Do you want to get out of here? I can help you.’ And he did. He did everything he said he’d do; it never stopped,” said Shane.

With Her Own Apartment and Support Services, Alice Is on a Path to Success

With Her Own Apartment and Support Services, Alice is on a Path to Success

After more than ten years of living outside and in shelters, Alice now has her own apartment thanks to Home for Good. The safety of a home has allowed her to focus on her recovery and her future. After working with her case management team, Alice is enrolled in a career training program and on a path of sustained success.

In Anchorage, Moving from Emergency Services to Preventative Supports

To date, Home for Good has seen reductions in emergency service use across the board—to the tune of a 77% reduction in Anchorage Safety Center intakes, a 69% reduction in Anchorage Fire Department Emergency Medical Services transports, and a 76% reduction in shelter stays.

How It Works

The full consequences of extreme trauma, untreated severe mental illness, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, physical disabilities, or addiction don’t develop overnight and won’t end overnight. Lasting improvement is a long journey. And the data we now have confirms we are on the right path.Mike Abbott, CEO, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
Paul Hollie, Head, Premera Social Impact
Diane Kaplan, President and CEO, Rasmuson Foundation
Preston M. Simmons, CEO, Providence Health and Services Alaska

Insights

Alaska’s First Pay for Success Program Helps People Experiencing Homelessness Get—And Stay—Stably Housed, Resulting in First Outcome Payment, Social Finance
Anchorage Takes a Community Approach—with Pay for Success—to Address Homelessness, Social Finance
Home for Good Aims to Help 150 of Anchorage’s Most Vulnerable, Providence.org
Home at Last, United Way of Anchorage

News

Alaska’s First Pay for Success Project Launches to Reduce Persistent Homelessness in Anchorage, Municipality of Anchorage
Tackling Homelessness, 2.0: Investing Private Money for Public Good, Alaska Public Media
Backing a Proven Homelessness Solution, Anchorage Daily News
Proposed Project Seeks to House Biggest Users of Anchorage Emergency Services, Alaska’s News Source
Alaska’s First Pay for Success Project Launches to Reduce Persistent Homelessness in Anchorage, Municipality of Anchorage

Partners and Supporters

Photos courtesy of United Way of Anchorage and Providence Alaska.

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