The overarching aim of this book is to explore the objectives, philosophies and outcomes of supported housing in different contexts. The exploration is intended to further our understanding of an oftenneglected topic in housing research and to stimulate further research in this area. But the book is also intended to share what is known about supported housing in a way that helps the planning and running of supported housing in the future and so improves the well-being of vulnerable people. The focus of the book is on the impact that supported housing makes on the well-being of those who live in it and whether some forms of supported housing are better at doing this than others.

Here, supported housing is defined very generally as accommodation with support provided, whether specifically linked to the accommodation or to the person living there. Support encompasses help with everyday tasks and can include practical help with cleaning and food preparation as well as social work, health care and other forms of support such as training or occupational therapy. The settings included in this wide definition range from institutions such as nursing homes for older people to people living in their own homes and receiving support provided to them. In between is a variety of different forms of supported housing that include sheltered housing for older people, hostels, group homes and so on. A fuller discussion of the different types of supported housing and the care and support provided is given in Chapter One.

In the US a distinction is sometimes made between ‘supportive housing’ and ‘supported housing’ (see Lipton et al, 2000; Henwood et al, 2013). The bases of the distinction vary according to different commentators, but include factors such as the permanency of the housing and the philosophy of the provision, including the emphasis on training and empowerment. The result of the debate seems to be a confusing and not particularly useful distinction. Why use a difficult binary distinction when there are other more useful ways of indicating difference between forms of provision? We return to this in Chapter One. Suffice it to say here that the definition in this book includes both of these forms.