ABSTRACT
34 SUMMARY. This chapter describes a homelessness prevention therapeutic community (TC) for addicted mothers and their children developed by Gaudenzia in response to increasing numbers of homeless addicted mothers and families entering the Philadelphia shelter system. The program uses TC principles and methods as the foundation for recovery and the structure within which the homelessness prevention interventions unfold. The mothers progress through program stages and typically move from residential to permanent housing. The chapter describes the program’s conceptual framework and logic model, setting, client profiles, goals and interventions. The specific homelessness prevention activities include 14 distinctive interventions that address family preservation, employment; housing stabilization; societal reintegration and building a supportive community. The study design includes two groups and 185 subjects: a homelessness prevention TC (n = 104); and a standard TC (n = 81 ). The process evaluation assesses the fidelity of implementation of the homelessness prevention interventions. The outcome evaluation compares the effectiveness of the homelessness prevention TC with a standard TC on both traditional outcomes (e.g., substance abuse) and homelessness prevention outcomes (e.g., housing stabilization). This program has considerable significance for policy and planning, especially for the development of integrated mother-child programs and for the application of TC principles and methods to homelessness prevention. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: getinfo@lza wortlzpress inc. com]
