End homelessness: Aykanian's research shows need for stronger response to housing disparities

Amanda Aykanian, PhD, assistant professor in the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, has co-authored a new paper in the Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness: “Voices from the field: Continua of care representatives discuss strategies and opportunities for promoting equity in homelessness services in the United States.”

Aykanian is the co-lead of the Grand Challenge to End Homelessness, part of the Grand Challenges for Social Work, launched by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Her colleagues on the project were lead author Courtney Cronley, PhD, associate professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Emmy Tiderington, PhD, associate professor at Rutgers University; and Melody Huslage, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The current study synthesizes findings from interviews with 14 continua of care (COC) representatives (64% female, 71% White) asking how CoCs are addressing local race-based disparities through homelessness services and how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can help them in these efforts.

Results indicated that HUD’s policy focus on coordinated entry incentivizes CoCs to think about service accessibility, but HUD needs to offer more concrete technical assistance, particularly around vulnerability assessments. Participants described data-driven decision-making as important for reducing racial disparities. They appreciated HUD’s emphasis on tracking racial demographics, but noted that HUD policies do not incentivize data collection for some populations, like sexual and gender minorities. Participants described diversifying their leadership and building representation in their local services through client advisory boards.

Finally, participants identified structural factors like racialized housing markets that disproportionately affect BIPOC communities. Given macro-level discrimination, local and HUD-based policies must track and respond to disparities in order to ensure equitable access to housing for all people.