A New Approach to Homeless Service Delivery

The Mall Network is a national collaborative of communities, government agencies, and service providers who have come together in order to reshape the continuum of homeless services to best meet client and community needs in the context of changing local and national policies.

This network supports a multi-service delivery approach in which services are physically and programmatically co-located or closely located in order to: (1) directly link a community’s social service system to permanent supportive housing, (2) coordinate efficient intake so that people are linked to appropriate housing, and (3) position strategic community street outreach and prevention efforts so that housing becomes a priority.

Trends

In the past few years, public policies that affect homeless services have changed dramatically. This has altered, and will continue to alter, the nature of homeless support services and their role in the community.

Recent trends in homeless service policies include:

“Housing First” with particular attention on Permanent Supportive Housing,
A focus on housing the chronic homeless population,
Ten-Year Plans referring to better coordination of service delivery drafted and implemented in cities across the county,
Funds being redirected away from supportive service programs and placed in Permanent Supportive Housing developments,
Limited public and private funds for homeless programs. Multi-Service centers address these trends.

The Mall Network is a strong supporter of Permanent Supportive Housing and seeks to develop a strategic linkage between services and housing.

The Need for “Malls”

Communities around the country are seeking to update their homeless service delivery system. Most communities already invest in a variety of traditional homeless services. The Mall model brings together and streamlines traditional existing services, and links them to Permanent Supportive Housing. This addresses recent trends in homeless service policy while meeting various housing and service needs of the homeless in an efficient and effective manner.

The Benefits of “Malls”

Serves more people
Easier access of services for clients
Improves coordination of care
Provides a home base for services
Greater cost-effectiveness
Eliminates duplicate services
Leverages resources
Enables standardized system of tracking outcomes

The Mall Network: "A Catalyst for Change"

The Mall Network brings together community leaders, elected officials, service providers, and housing advocates to share insight on redefining support services delivery, promote multi-service centers as policy, and provide technical assistance to local communities.

Many communities across the country either operate multi-service centers or are in the process of developing such a center. There is a need to bring these efforts together so that communities can access technical assistance, garner support from other communities, and share “best practices.” This network also promotes policies that support the reshaping of the continuum of services through multi-service centers.

This innovative social service delivery method has proven especially effective in light of current trends. The Mall model of service delivery joins the Housing First movement by linking services to Permanent Supportive Housing. It also provides effective outreach to address chronic homelessness, and encourages service providers to work together to produce numerical outcomes.

The Mall Network Contact Information:

THE MALL NETWORK
340 N. Madison Ave. , Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 644-2209
info@mallnetwork.org

Website: www.mallnetwork.org

The National Mall Network

Downloads

A New Approach to Homeless Service Delivery

Trends

The Need for “Malls”

The Benefits of “Malls”

The Mall Network: "A Catalyst for Change"