This paper determines the outcomes five years post-housing for women in a Housing First cohort from Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand is unusual in that half of those experiencing homelessness are women.
We used linked government datasets to examine the change interactions with government services such as health, justice, and income for a cohort previously experiencing homelessness and supported by Housing First. The majority of women in the study were Māori (76%), aged between 25 and 44 (57%), and had children (84%).
Our descriptive analyses show that overall, five years after being housed, these women had significant improvements in patterns of service interactions. Hospitalisations were 65% lower and pharmaceuticals dispensed increased by 14%.
