New Path Community Housing is a 40-unit, single-site, Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) program using a Housing First approach. Located in Ada County, Idaho, it is the state’s first single-site PSH project. New Path’s evidence-based program is designed to address specific issues related to chronic homelessness including high utilization of emergency medical and detox services, frequent contact with the criminal justice system, and compromised overall personal well-being. As program evaluator, Idaho Policy Institute oversees all evaluation activities and works closely with New Path partners to design data collection strategies, monitoring, and reporting for this program. The evaluation objectives are to:
- Measure the program’s ability to meet stated goals and objectives, and
- Inform project partners’ programmatic decisions.
The evaluation measures the impact of the Housing First model on New Path residents in four outcome categories: health, criminal justice, housing, and well-being.
Key Achievements:
Key achievements in New Path’s first five years include:
- A reduction in emergency services by 5,569 fewer days
- Total savings/cost avoidance of $8,852,827
- An increase in overall program participant well-being.