“By pairing housing with case management and supportive services, we believe most of these people will be able to lead more stable, more productive lives, and that’s good for the whole community.”

Permanent supportive housing is similar to the Housing Choice Voucher program, known as Section 8, in that recipients of housing assistance can choose their own home in the community and the lease is in their name, as opposed to time-limited housing programs like transitional housing or shelter housing, said Matt Pate, program manager for the Housing First pilot project, which is in the criminal justice reform unit of Pima County Administration.

“By giving people housing choice, we are increasing the likelihood that people want to stay in that housing and take ownership of that housing,” Pate said.

Participants will also receive wrap-around services, including on-site case management and help with living skills, he said. As participants get stabilized, they will contribute 30 percent of their income to their housing costs, as in the Section 8 program, he said.

Homelessness rates in Tucson have been declining, but the demand for services to help the unsheltered still far outpaces available resources, said Claudia Powell, chair of the board of the Tucson-Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness.