Under a September 2011 contract with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Abt Associates has been conducting an evaluation of the Hilton Foundation’s Chronic Homelessness Initiative, with the goal of answering the overarching question: Is the Chronic Homelessness Initiative an effective strategy to end and prevent chronic homelessness in Los Angeles County? The evaluation is designed to provide both progress on interim milestones related to improving the systems for serving people experiencing chronic homelessness and estimates of the effect of permanent supportive housing (PSH) on residents and on the problem of chronic homelessness. Since the beginning of the Chronic Homelessness Initiative, the Foundation has awarded more than $56.7 million in multiyear grants to 29 nonprofit groups working in LA and beyond. Grantmaking has concentrated on three broad areas: homelessness systems change, targeted program delivery, and knowledge dissemination. The Foundation has shown leadership across the three funding areas by its willingness to take reasonable risks to innovate, by spurring other community stakeholders to action, and by expanding the reach of the Initiative beyond direct investments.
The Foundation articulated six strategic goals for the Initiative. The goals represent significant milestones toward the ultimate goal of ending and preventing chronic homelessness in Los Angeles. In this fourth annual evaluation report, we provide updates on progress towards each goal. These status updates are summarized below and elaborated in the body of this report. Many of the five-year goals have been exceeded, and systems change efforts have created momentum for continued success.