Experimental Trial of an Employment-Based Housing Program for Adults at Risk of Homelessness

Part of paid clinical trials in Houston, Texas.

Sponsor
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Study ID
NCT07470372
Status
Enrolling By Invitation

Conditions

  • Emergency Department Visits
  • Employment
  • Health-Related Quality-of-Life
  • Housing Stability
  • Sleep Quality

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Employment-Based Housing — OTHER
    Employment-based housing (EBH) is an innovative program that delivers housing and employment needs simultaneously. EBH will be delivered by an organization called Entryway which will provide training and employment opportunities in the apartment/multifamily housing industry. Since hires are required to live on-site, employees are provided with housing at the properties where they work at no or very low cost. There are a variety of entry-level positions in the industry (e.g., leasing agent, maintenance/apt technician, maintenance/apt supervisor) which pay well above Texas minimum wage and have opportunities for career advancement. Participants will receive job coaching, resume assistance, and extended training. Once trained, they are provided interview assistance (e.g., transportation) and, upon employment, continue to support through ongoing training and mentorship.
  • Vocational Services — OTHER
    Active control intervention (AC) which will involve the provision of basic vocational services. Our in-house vocational specialists will offer basic hands-on vocational assistance and take advantage of various existing job support resources that already exist through the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and other federal and state agencies. This could include job search support, resume review, application support, job prep, and interview training.
  • Resources — OTHER
    Passive control intervention (PC) which will involve the provision of a list of available community resources. Participants randomized to PC will receive a referral to resources via text, and can self-navigate to whichever resource seems best to them.

Study Details

Employment-Based Housing (EBH) is a novel model that helps unstably housed individuals obtain housing and on-site employment where they are housed. The long-term goal of this project is to examine how housing and vocational services can be integrated into hospital emergency departments (EDs) as a multi-sectoral intervention. The investigators central hypothesis is that EBH provides housing, employment, and health insurance which will reduce acute care use and ameliorate non-medical determinants of health more than standard care models. The rationale is that EBH addresses multiple upstream factors that can prevent recurring use of acute care, and the combination of housing with employment services will have positive synergistic effects. This project has three specific aims: 1) Conduct a three-arm randomized clinical trial comparing EBH to passive (resource list) and active control interventions (basic vocational services) on acute care use as the primary outcome and secondary outcomes related to housing, employment, and health-related quality of life; 2) Understand the experiences of subgroups of participants receiving EBH; and 3) Identify barriers and facilitators to adoption of EBH in public healthcare systems in other cities nationally. To achieve these aims, an EBH program will be integrated into the ED of the largest safety net hospital system in Houston, Texas- the 4th largest city in the United States. The project will include a three-arm randomized trial enrolling 750 participants (250 participants per arm). The three-arm trial allows for the investigation of the unique contribution of housing over other non-medical determinants of health (employment and insurance). Participants will be randomized to one of the three arms and followed for 12 months.

Key Dates

Start date
May 9, 2026
Status verified
May 2026
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2030
Completion
Jun 30, 2030

Study Design

Enrollment
750 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Arms

  • Experimental: Employment-Based Housing
    Experimental intervention
  • Active Comparator: Vocational Services
    Active control intervention
  • Placebo Comparator: Resources
    Passive control intervention

Primary Outcome Measure

Emergency Department (ED) Visits [ Time Frame: From enrollment to 12 months after enrollment ]

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
UTHealth HoustonHoustonTexas77030-

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By research site
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