Speaker Bio - Joshua Evans

Joshua Evans is a social geographer with expertise in housing, homelessness, mental health recovery and public policy. Joshua’s scholarly publications cover a range of topics including managed alcohol programming, permanent supportive housing, housing first, social enterprise, and social finance. He recently co-led a SSHRC-funded research project focused on paid employment and mental health recovery and he is currently beginning a new SSHRC-funded study examining the intersection of social services delivery and data-driven urbanism.

Joshua is also one of several co-investigators working to build the Community Housing Canada Research Partnership, an initiative that is part of The Collaborative Housing Research Network - an independent, Canada-wide collaboration of academics and community partners. Joshua lives in Edmonton and teaches in the Human Geography program at the University of Alberta. 

Presentation Summary: 

Translating Principle into Practice: Permanent Supportive Housing and Eviction Prevention

Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is an intervention that fosters housing retention and independent living by combining stable affordable housing with on-site support services. PSH is grounded in the philosophy that everyone has a right to housing and programs share in common key principles such as client choice and autonomy, harm reduction, and culturally-appropriate supports. PSH programs are widely seen as an essential cornerstone of affordable housing strategies and plans to end homelessness. This presentation draws on interviews with PSH staff from programs in Edmonton to explore what success looks like in this sector and what strategies have proven effective in preventing tenancy failures.