The document discusses harm reduction housing models presented by DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) at a conference on homelessness. DESC provides various housing and treatment services in Seattle for over 2,000 vulnerable individuals each day with disabilities like mental illness, drug/alcohol addiction, and histories of homelessness, abuse, and trauma. DESC follows a housing first model placing people directly into housing from the streets without treatment preconditions and using a harm reduction approach rather than mandated abstinence.

1. www.desc.org Harm Reduction Housing Models presented by Bill Hobson Annual Conference National Alliance to End Homelessness July 12-14, 2010 – Washington D.C.

2. A Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) initiative Funded by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Mission is to promote the adoption of evidence-based and promising practices in co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders