A Behavioral Community Psychology Framework for Analyzing Housing Stability for Homeless Families: Modifying the Rapid Re-Housing Metacontingency

Abstract

Modern family homelessness in the United States is a “wicked problem” (Rittel & Webber, 1973) that results from deep-rooted and pervasive structural and systemic inequities. Its remains an unsolved social justice issue despite the prominence of Housing First/Rapid Re-housing (HF/RRH) interventions as the current best practice model. We suggest culturo-behavior science, which has not addressed homelessness in any substantive manner, can contribute to resolution efforts by adopting the behavioral community psychology (BCP) approach, which emphasizes prevention or early amelioration of social problems through systems analyses, community involvement, behavior-analytic interventions, policy advocacy, research, and dissemination of findings. We employ the metacontingency to frame and analyze the current HF/RRH policies to suggest three practice changes that may improve outcomes for currently unhoused families: allowing more extended time frames to secure housing that are determined by a family’s specific situation; facilitating a shared housing option by screened families to enhance communal resources; and encouraging participation in programs and services designed to “contribute to the prevention of problems in living, capacity building, and empowerment of people of marginal status” (Fawcett, 1991, p. 633). We suggest, however, that the BCP approach can be a productive model through which culturo-behavior scientists also can address harmful systemic factors on all levels in the prevention of family homelessness.