For Homeless People with Serious Mental Illness, Can a State Transitional Shelter Promote Racial Equity in Housing Outcomes?

Objective. To examine the role of race, sex, arrest history, and psychiatric diagnoses in duration of shelter tenure and housing outcomes for patients in transitional shelters. Methods. The authors performed a three-year retrospective chart review of Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) records for individuals residing in three DMH transitional homeless shelters from 2013 to 2015. Results. Race was not predictive of length of stay, initial disposition, or housing status at three to five-year follow-up. Arrest history negatively predicted initial housing placement, and diagnosis of substance use disorder predicted homelessness at follow-up. There were no differences by race in arrest history or diagnosis of substance use disorder. Conclusions. Race was not a factor in duration of shelter tenure, or in securing or maintaining housing following shelter stay. Arrest history and lifetime substance use disorder were associated with more negative outcomes following transitional shelter stay.