2024 Long-Stayer Barriers & Solutions

The Decreasing Length of Stay Workgroup, a workgroup from the CoC Collaborative, is seeking information about long-stayers from shelter staff providing case management.

For the purposes of this survey, we are looking to collect information on individuals who remain in the shelter for an extended period, often beyond the expected or average length of stay. While this timeframe can vary depending on the shelter’s policies, long-stayers generally face multiple and complex barriers that prevent them from transitioning to stable housing.

This information will be used to help the CoC identify barriers and solutions impacting length of stay in shelters.

If you have any questions or would like to connect directly about this survey or the assessment, please contact Cleo Warner at cwarner@azmag.gov.

Please share a bit about your organization so we can better understand your context.

Question Title

* 1. Shelter name

Question Title

* 2. What services is your shelter providing in house or with co-located partners?

Housing navigation

Employment services

Benefits assistance

Mental health resources

Substance use resources

Legal assistance

Transportation support

Identification and document services

Family or relationship conflict resolution

Childcare

Medical or physical health services

Case management services

Immigration support

Companion animal support

Special population support (e.g., DV, veteran)

Other (Please describe):

Question Title

* 3. Please rank in significance the barriers you are seeing for the long-stayers at your shelter (1 being most significant).

Lack of affordable housing options

N/A

Unemployment or underemployment

N/A

Lack of income (fixed income, inability to obtain income, seeking SSDI, etc.)

N/A

Mental health challenges

N/A

Substance use issues

N/A

Legal issues (e.g., criminal background, eviction history)

N/A

Limited access to transportation

N/A

Lack of identification or necessary documents

N/A

Family or relationship conflicts

N/A

Childcare

N/A

Medical or physical health conditions

N/A

Limited availability of case management services

N/A

Immigration issues

N/A

Lack of appropriate housing options (unit sizes)

N/A

Client motivation/stage of change

N/A

General lack of resources (resources available during COVID, flex funding)

N/A

Pets

N/A

Special population support (e.g., DV, veteran)

N/A

Other

N/A

Question Title

* 4. If you specified other, please provide an explanation.

Question Title

* 5. Please rank in significance the resources or skills you need to help long-stayers move forward. (1 being most significant)

Access to more affordable housing resources

N/A

Additional mental health services

N/A

More substance use treatment options

N/A

Employment training and job placement support

N/A

Legal assistance (ex: for tenants or criminal record expungement)

N/A

Increased transportation assistance for clients

N/A

Workshops on financial literacy and budgeting

N/A

Enhanced case management training (e.g., trauma-informed care, de-escalation skills, SOAR training, eviction mediation)

N/A

Access to medical or disability services for clients

N/A

Collaboration with local landlords to ease housing barriers

N/A

Empowerment of clients

N/A

Flex funding

N/A

Other

N/A

Question Title

* 6. If you specified other, please provide an explanation.

Question Title

* 7. What household composition do your long-stayers generally fall into?

Singles

Families

Question Title

* 8. What age do your long-stayers generally fall into?

18-24

25-61

62+

Question Title

* 9. What gender do your long-stayers generally fall into?

Male

Female

Transgender, Questioning, Non-Binary

Question Title

* 10. How often do you receive feedback from clients regarding their needs and experiences?

Regularly

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Question Title

* 11. What common themes or suggestions do clients express?

Question Title

* 12. Please provide any other information you think would be helpful for us to know about long-stayers in your shelter.

Question Title

* 13. If you would like to discuss your responses with the workgroup, please provide your name and email.

Name

E-mail