Problems maintaining collaborative approaches with excluded populations in a randomised control trial: lessons learned implementing Housing First in France.

Background: In 2006, a local collective combating homelessness set up an 'experimental squat' in an abandoned building in Marseille, France's second largest city. They envisioned the squat as an alternative to conventional health and social services for individuals experiencing long-term homelessness and severe psychiatric disorders. Building on what they learned from the squat, some then joined a larger coalition that succeeded in convincing national government decision-makers to develop a scientific, intervention-based programme based on the Housing First model.

Bread and Shoulders: Reversing the Downward Spiral, a Qualitative Analyses of the Effects of a Housing First-Type Program in France.

This paper is a qualitative analysis of the effects of , a support framework, on recovery trajectories of people with long-term homelessness and severe psychiatric disorders during 24 months in a Housing First-type program in France. A comprehensive methodology based on grounded theory was used to construct an interview guide, conduct multiple interviews with 35 Housing First participants sampled for heterogeneity, and produce memos on their trajectories before and after entering the program based on interview information. Thematic analysis of a representative subsample ( = 13) of memos identified 12 objective factors and 6 subjective factors key to the recovery process.

Evaluation of the Housing First program in patients with severe mental disorders in France: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Recent studies in North American contexts have suggested that the Housing First model is a promising strategy for providing effective services to homeless people with mental illness. In the context of the highly generous French national health and social care system, which is easily accessible and does not require out-of-pocket payment, the French Health Ministry insists on rigorous techniques, including randomized protocols, to evaluate the impact of Housing First approaches in France.

Method And Design: A prospective randomized trial was designed to assess the impact of a Housing First intervention on health outcomes and costs over a period of 24 months on homeless people with severe mental illness, compared to Treatment-As-Usual.