The study examined long-term outcomes of families in Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany residing in three types of housing programs: emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing. It is the first of its kind to identify trauma symptom severity as a predictor of residential instability.

Many children struggled with physical and emotional problems, and poor child outcomes were predicted by maternal major depressive symptoms.

Families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population in the United States, approaching 40% of the total homeless population. The SHIFT Study documents the characteristics of women and their children who are homeless, and identifies gaps in housing services that have important policy and practice implications.

Programs such as Housing First and Rapid Re-Housing must provide families with tailored supports and services that address trauma to ensure their long-term housing stability. Services should be easily accessible, avoid family separation, and not jeopardize housing due to substance use. Services for children should assess and address children’s attachment, development, and behavioral issues. Mothers need to be assessed for trauma histories and trauma symptom severity so those at greatest risk for residential instability can be identified to receive trauma services.

The study was a longitudinal study that followed families for 30 months. Interviews were conducted with mothers at baseline (n = 292), 15 months (n = 200) and 30 months (n= 184).

The study was conducted from 2007 to 2010. Longitudinal studies of family homelessness are rare and have not followed participants for more than a year. The SHIFT Study is the only study that has information on homeless families over a 30 month period and is the most recent data in this field.

The SHIFT Study was conducted in four New York cities: Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany. While the findings speak specifically to New York, the results can be extrapolated to mid-size cities across the country.

The SHIFT Study was conducted by The National Center on Family Homelessness, now a practice area of American Institutes for Research’s Health and Social Development Program. The SHIFT Study was funded by the Wilson Foundation.

The Wilson Foundation was founded in 1963 by Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson out of a deep sense of commitment to the Rochester, NY community and their desire to enhance the quality of life for its residents. The Foundation seeks to have a meaningful impact in the area of family homelessness and, to that end, has spearheaded the development of Wilson Commencement Park, a transitional housing program for low-income, single-parent families, and sponsored the SHIFT Study on residential stability in New York.

American Institutes for Research (AIR) is one of the world’s largest nonprofit behavioral and social science research and evaluation organizations, founded in 1946. AIR’s mission is to conduct and apply the best behavioral and social science research and evaluation towards improving peoples’ lives, with a special emphasis on those who are disadvantaged.

The National Center on Family Homelessness conducts state-of-the-art research and develops innovative solutions to end family homelessness in America and give every child a chance, founded in 1988. The National Center merged with American Institutes for Research in 2012 and became a practice area within its Health and Social Development Program.

Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany are representative of mid-sized cities nationwide. Findings from the SHIFT Study related to the prevalence of trauma in mothers have been documented by previous research, and provide an opportunity for a national policy discussion about how to design effective programs and services for families.

The SHIFT Study found that nine in ten homeless mothers in the study experienced at least one instance of trauma in their lives, 81 percent had experienced multiple traumas, and half met the criteria for PTSD. Trauma symptom severity in mothers predicted long-term residential instability. Trauma symptom severity also predicted unemployment, depression and PTSD. When trauma symptoms go untreated in mothers who are homeless, children are negatively impacted.

Trauma-informed care is a strengths-based approach that emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both survivors and providers across several organizational-level domains. Trauma-informed care is based on an understanding that recovery is possible for everyone. Service providers play a critical role in supporting recovery and minimizing risk of recreating traumatic experiences. Becoming trauma-informed requires a commitment to changing the practices, policies, and culture of an entire organization.

The SHIFT Study looked at: 1. emergency shelters, which provide temporary or transitional short-term shelter for families, 2. transitional housing, which provides housing and support services to facilitate movement to independent living within two years, and 3. permanent supportive housing, which provides long-term, community-based housing combined with supportive services for families with intense needs.

Forty-five percent of the sample was in emergency shelter, 41 percent in transitional housing, and 14 percent in permanent supportive housing.

Most mothers were in their early 20’s, never married, and with two or three children. The majority were African-American, one quarter were Caucasian, and 14 percent were Latina. Roughly 1/3 did not graduate from high school or obtain a GED, 1/3 graduated from high school or obtained a GED, and 1/3 had some college or a 2 year degree.

The Wilson Foundation and several partners are coming together this summer in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Washington, DC to share insights from the SHIFT Study and discuss effective strategies for combatting family homelessness. To make a significant difference in the area of family homelessness requires many people and organizations working together. This tour is a first step in that new, focused collaboration.

The tour serves as a challenge to stakeholders in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany to establish ‘community councils’ and set clear, actionable goals to help families achieve residential stability.