Housing First was developed by Dr. Sam Tsemberis, at Pathways to Housing in New York, in the early 1990s ((Tsemberis, S.J. (2010) Housing First: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Illness and Addiction Minneapolis: Hazelden.)).

Who created the Housing First?

Sam Tsemberis, Founder and CEO of Pathways to Housing and the originator of the Housing First model. Housing First grew out of working directly with people diagnosed with mental illness who were living on the streets of New York, where Sam learned that people needed services beyond hospitalization.

Who owns Housing First?

Today Social Housing Minister Amy Adams and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff launched Housing First Auckland, which aims to house 472 homeless Aucklanders and provide wrap-around services to address the causes of their homelessness.