Build supportive housing and shelters

Permanent supportive housing combines affordable housing assistance with voluntary support services, including mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) treatment.[2] Stable housing is frequently essential to addressing chronic health needs, including MH/SUDs. The evidence for permanent supportive housing is robust. According to a National Academies of Sciences’ review of available evidence, permanent supportive housing’s “housing first” approach has been shown superior to approaches that prioritize “treatment first,” which historically required receiving MH/SUD treatment before receiving housing assistance.[3]

Unfortunately, the National Academies of Sciences’ review also found that permanent supportive housing (and other affordable housing) units are often blocked through local exclusionary zoning policies, as well as restrictive covenants and special permitting requirements. While more funding for permanent supportive housing is urgently needed, local restrictions block projects and unnecessarily drive up costs, wasting critical resources.[3] Inevitably, these local barriers increase homelessness and the number of unsheltered individuals living on the streets, including a disproportionate number of individuals with MH/SUDs, leading to worsening health outcomes and criminal legal system involvement.

RLIUPA is a powerful model that could be used to increase permanent supportive housing units and homeless shelters. Enacted in 2000, RLIUPA prevents discrimination against religious assemblies or institutions. Local governments have often used zoning, landmarking, or other land use laws to prevent places of worship, religious schools and camps, and religious social service facilities (such as group homes and homeless shelters) from locating within their boundaries. RLUIPA’s requirements are enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice and, importantly, through private rights of action. After RLUIPA’s passage, it became much more difficult for local governments to block such facilities. While RLUIPA protects religious-affiliated social service facilities, including homeless shelters, the protections do not extend to permanent supportive housing and homeless shelters more broadly.

Congress should utilize the RLUIPA model to prevent local communities from blocking critically needed permanent supportive housing, which is essential to preventing homelessness, including for individuals with MH/SUDs.