Palmer Court Employment Pilot

Utah’s most aggressive effort to end chronic homelessness and reduce overall homelessness started in 2004. A State Homeless Coordinating Committee was established and developed a 10-year State Plan to reach these goals. Although “Housing First” guides the plan, providing employment and work readiness activities was part of this vision. Beginning in 2010, plans were developed to provide supported employment opportunities for formerly chronically homeless individuals. Palmer Court, a permanent supportive housing (PSH) facility with both single adults and families, was selected as the employment pilot test site. The pilot was to be implemented using existing resources. A generous grant from the Butler Family Foundation made it possible to access technical assistance, visit other sites with similar programs and support some limited barrier removal activities for residents.

The Employment Pilot started in March 2011 with the vision that “all permanent supportive housing residents will have access to increasing their income through employment.” Objectives (See Appendix 1) were developed to guide the evaluation. Specific outcomes to be tracked for the 24 month pilot period (Mar. 2011 – Mar. 2013) included resident employment, job retention, participation in work readiness activities, use of public benefits and knowledge of and attitudes toward onsite employment resources. Data to answer these questions were gathered using agency databases, service provider tracking logs, and focus groups with residents, service providers and agency representatives.

Read the reports associated with this project:

• Palmer Court Employment Pilot: Final Report (2013)
• Palmer Court Employment Pilot Development Implementation Overview (2012)
• Palmer Court Employment Pilot Baseline Survey Report (2011)

 

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