Evaluating the Impact of Shelter Diversion on Homelessness Prevention and Housing Stability

The Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) at the University of Notre Dame has partnered with Strategies to End Homelessness (STEH) in Ohio to evaluate the effectiveness of their Shelter Diversion Program. This program is designed to prevent homelessness by providing temporary rental assistance, housing search assistance, and comprehensive case management services to people at risk of homelessness. The research team will employ a randomized control trial (RCT): About 900 participants will be randomly assigned to either the treatment group, receiving the Shelter Diversion Program services, or a control group, receiving referrals to other housing resources in the community. The RCT will allow researchers to assess Shelter Diversion’s impact on reducing emergency shelter use, engagement with street outreach services, and additional calls to the Central Access Point (CAP) helpline. Additionally, the evaluation will explore long-term outcomes related to housing stability, economic well-being, and criminal justice involvement. The study fills gaps in both research and policy, with federal agencies expanding financial support to prevention programs without rigorous evaluations of Diversion programs to support their decisions. Our results will contribute valuable insight into the effectiveness of shelter diversion as a strategy to prevent homelessness and stabilize housing for vulnerable populations.