This program provided housing and services for adults with experiencing homelessness with cocaine dependency and nonpsychotic mental disorders. The intervention was delivered in two phases:
- In the first phase, participants received rent-free furnished housing after two negative urine drug tests. Participants were tested twice per week during the intervention and were transferred to a shelter for people experiencing homelessness if they failed a drug test. Participants also received one to two months of outpatient treatment at Birmingham Health Care (BHC) to reduce cocaine dependency. For about six hours per day, participants received counseling, psychological evaluation, group-based educational therapy, and routine drug testing. Participants set therapeutic goals and were incentivized to meet these goals (receiving $5 or $10 debit cards for goal attainment). Transportation was provided to and from BHC.
- In the second phase of the intervention, participants received three to five months of work experience and aftercare at BHC. Participants worked 6.5 hours per day in food service, landscaping, or construction jobs and earned $5.25 per hour. In this phase of the intervention, which lasted four to five months, participants were charged $161 per month to remain in program housing but were not evicted if unable to provide payment.
Services lasted for six months across both phases. The program served cocaine-dependent adults with nonpsychotic mental disorders who either met federal criteria for homelessness or were deemed at serious risk for homelessness. This program was offered in Birmingham, AL. This evaluation also examined rent-free non-abstinence-contingent housing (NACH) and the contrast between rent-free abstinence-contingent housing and NACH.
Low
