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For students & researchers

Research hub

Writing a paper, a thesis, or a class assignment on homelessness? Start here. We have citable statistics, primary-source links, a glossary, recommended academic reading, and a downloadable dataset you can analyze for your project.

How to use this site for a school project

  1. Read the relevant background article in our Learn section. Each article is plain-language but evidence-based and links to the primary research it draws on.
  2. Pull citable numbers from the statistics page, and cite the original source listed there (HUD AHAR, PIT count, NLIHC, At Home/Chez Soi, etc.) — not us. Citing primary sources is best practice.
  3. Use the glossary to make sure you're using terms correctly. Mixing up "chronic" and "unsheltered" homelessness in a paper is the most common student error.
  4. Download the dataset if you want to do a maps or analysis project — /data has the full directory in CSV and JSON formats under a CC-BY-4.0 license.
  5. Cite this site when you use our content directly (an article's framing, our analysis, the dataset). Each article has a "How to cite this page" widget with APA, MLA, and Chicago formats. Click to copy.

Featured articles for student research

Primary sources to cite

The bedrock data and policy sources. Use these directly in your bibliography wherever possible.

Recommended books

  • Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

    Matthew Desmond · 2016

    Pulitzer-winning ethnographic study of eviction in Milwaukee. The definitive popular work on how housing instability becomes homelessness.

    Author / publisher site ↗

  • Helping America's Homeless

    Martha R. Burt et al. · 2001

    Earlier but still-influential overview of US homeless services and program effectiveness.

  • Housing First: Ending Homelessness, Transforming Systems, and Changing Lives

    Sam Tsemberis · 2010

    By the originator of the Housing First model. Direct primary source for the intervention.

    Author / publisher site ↗

  • Down and Out, on the Road: The Homeless in American History

    Kenneth L. Kusmer · 2002

    Historical perspective on US homelessness from the late 1800s through the 1980s rise of mass homelessness.

  • Skid Row in American Imagination

    Christopher G. Hudson · 1998

    How the cultural image of homelessness diverges from the actual demographics.

  • Tent City Urbanism

    Andrew Heben · 2014

    Architectural and policy perspective on tent cities and tiny-home villages.

    Author / publisher site ↗

  • The Homelessness Industry: A Critique of US Social Policy

    Erin O'Sullivan Oliphant · 2018

    Critical analysis of how 'homeless services' as a sector can perpetuate the problem it aims to solve.

  • Toxic Inequality

    Thomas Shapiro · 2017

    Broader context on US wealth and racial inequality, with a chapter on housing precarity.

Foundational academic papers

Papers that shaped the field. Most are freely accessible.

  • Housing First, Consumer Choice, and Harm Reduction for Homeless Individuals With a Dual Diagnosis

    Tsemberis, S., Gulcur, L., & Nakae, M. — American Journal of Public Health, 2004

    Foundational Pathways Housing First RCT. Demonstrated housing stability without sobriety preconditions.

    Read ↗

  • At Home/Chez Soi Project Final Report

    Mental Health Commission of Canada (Goering et al.) — Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2014

    Largest Housing First RCT (n=2,148) across five Canadian cities. Persistent positive effects on housing tenure.

    Read ↗

  • Effectiveness of Critical Time Intervention for Abating Subsequent Homelessness in Patients With Mental Illness

    Susser, E. et al. — American Journal of Public Health, 1997

    Demonstrated effectiveness of intensive, time-limited transition support.

    Read ↗

  • Aging and Homelessness

    Margot Kushel et al. — UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative (ongoing)

    Ongoing longitudinal research on the aging US homeless population — most-cited work on senior homelessness.

    Read ↗

  • Voices of Youth Count — National Estimate

    Morton, M.H. et al. — Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 2018

    Most cited US source for youth homelessness prevalence and characteristics.

    Read ↗

  • The Cost of Homelessness: A Systematic Review

    Various; see Built for Zero working papers — Community Solutions / multiple

    Aggregates cost studies showing housing is cheaper than letting chronic homelessness persist.

    Read ↗

For educators

All content on this site is free to use in your classroom. If you'd like to:

  • Assign articles as readings — link or print directly. The articles are CC-BY-4.0.
  • Have students build a maps or data-analysis project — see /data for the dataset.
  • Set a service-learning component — students can work with their local Continuum of Care or a listed shelter. See /volunteer.
  • Run a class discussion on the policy debate — start with What actually works and Encampments and sweeps.

How to cite this page

For school papers and academic work. Click any citation to copy.

Citing primary sources is generally preferred to citing us. Where this article references specific studies (e.g. At Home/Chez Soi, HUD AHAR, point-in-time counts), use those sources directly in your bibliography when possible. Our Research hub links to the primary documents.