Why Host Homes? Host home programs are a promising addition to the array of housing options available to youth. Broadly, host home programs partner with community members, or hosts, who provide housing for a young person in their home. Program staff supports both the host and the youth by helping to set up housing agreements, provide financial support, connect youth to other services, and mediating conflict.
One of the main benefits of the host home model is its relatively low cost compared to brick-and-mortar housing programs and the private rental market. Because youth stay in existing homes or apartments, the programs require no infrastructure investment. Housing programs that seek to place youth in private rented accommodations face the challenge of limited affordable housing options. Host homes can be geographically dispersed, and capacity can grow or shrink according to need. These factors also make the model well-suited to rural areas, which rarely have youth-centered homeless services despite having a similar rate of youth homelessness as cities and suburbs (Morton et al., 2018).