Madelyn Hepner

Founded in 2004, Pathways to Housing DC provides home, health, and hope to more than 3,500 adults each year who are experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness. Pathways to Housing DC initially opened our doors to end homelessness and help the healing of men and women who were considered “chronically homeless”- those individuals living on the streets for years with serious mental health challenges such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder that were not being treated. What made Pathways to Housing DC unique in a city with many mental health and housing programs was our Housing First model. Other agencies operated with rules and pre-housing requirements such as curfews, mandated sobriety, compliance with medication, and participation in groups either before entering housing, or as a requirement to keep housing. This approach worked for the majority of homeless individuals seeking services, but the remaining most psychiatrically disabled and vulnerable subgroup stayed on the street and was not effectively housed within the existing system of care. What has made Pathways to Housing DC so unique in its success over the past decade is our reversal of this traditional treatment sequence. Instead of requiring people to be “clean and sober” or “housing ready,” Pathways DC offers housing, first. Since placing its first client into permanent housing nearly a decade ago, Pathways to Housing DC has successfully ended chronic homelessness and supported recovery for more than 600 Washington residents. With a staff today of over 100 highly skilled professionals, Pathways to Housing DC provides comprehensive, integrated health and social services to nearly 2,000 clients annually throughout the District.