Across the United States, the rate of individuals entering homelessness continues to outpace those exiting homelessness. Effective prevention not only reduces the strain on emergency shelters and outreach workers but also strengthens community stability, health, and well-being. Furthermore, preventing homelessness is often more cost-effective than managing it after the fact.
This course explores diverse homeless prevention strategies, including temporary financial assistance, eviction diversion, and right to counsel programs. Participants will review existing evidence for multiple prevention strategies, engage with prevention case studies nationwide, and understand how communities fund and sustain these programs.
Details
Course Dates:
Session 1: Tuesdays, Dec. 1 – 15, 3:00 – 4:15 PM ET
Session 2: Fridays, Jan. 29 – Feb. 12, 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
Format: Live Online
Cost: Free
Credits (CEUs): 3
Session 1
- Tuesday, Dec. 1 | 3:00 – 4:15 PM ET
- Tuesday, Dec. 8 | 3:00 – 4:15 PM ET
- Tuesday, Dec. 15 | 3:00 – 4:15 PM ET
Session 2
- Friday, Jan. 29 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
- Friday, Feb. 5 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
- Friday, Feb. 12 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
Learning Objectives:
- Assess a homelessness prevention framework to help identify and aid in comprehensive prevention planning.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of legal aid, right to counsel, just cause eviction policies, and mediation services.
- Examine how stabilization services ensure individuals not only access but maintain stable housing.
Course Instructors:
Sara Shuman
She is an Associate Research Professor with the Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW) at the University of Arizona. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Health from Temple University and has over 10-years of community-based experience in community-based research, program planning, and evaluation. Dr. Shuman’s work uses mixed-methods, qualitative methods, and participatory approaches to reduce homelessness and improve the health of individuals, families, and communities. She is interested in policy-relevant and actionable research. She is currently working on projects to better understand what works house people living in homeless encampments, the impact of flexible funds to prevent homelessness, and how physical activity opportunities can improve the health of people incarcerated in jails. Sara is also part of the Arizona Housing Analytics Collaborative (AzHAC), a tri-university research project focused on using data analysis and translation to prevent and reduce homelessness across Arizona.