Why Peer Support and Community Health Workers Are the Heart of Effective Homelessness Solutions

By Charles Hendrickson | Love Overwhelming Blog

In the latest wave of federal policy announcements, Washington State’s Housing First approach has come under pressure. A new executive order threatens to pull millions in federal funding unless cities like Seattle abandon proven strategies in favor of outdated enforcement-first models. At Love Overwhelming, we believe there is a better way, one that saves money, changes lives, and keeps the community at the center.

Housing First isn’t just compassionate, it’s cost-effective. And when paired with community health workers and peer support specialists, it becomes one of the most powerful tools we have for reducing homelessness, hospitalizations, and justice system involvement.

Rising Pressure, Broken Models

There’s increasing political pressure to prioritize shelters with mandatory treatment over housing with optional, voluntary support. The problem? That approach has been tried for decades and failed. It ignores the real reason people stay housed and get healthy: human connection, stability, and trust.

People experiencing homelessness are not problems to be solved. They are people to be seen, supported, and believed in. And that starts by meeting them where they are with real housing, and real relationships.

Housing First Plus Peers and CHWs

Love Overwhelming implements a model we call ARC: Accountability, Recovery, and Community. We work alongside individuals, not above them. Our teams include certified peer support specialists and community health workers (CHWs) trained to support people navigating recovery, housing stability, and healthcare.

Peers and CHWs are not extras. They are the connection point. Their presence helps build trust with people often overlooked, shut out of services, or traumatized by traditional systems. They walk with people, not ahead of them. They stabilize crises, de-escalate conflict, and encourage healing all while helping navigate complex systems like Medicaid, mental health services, and housing vouchers.

Better Outcomes, Lower Costs

Evidence from Washington and across the nation shows that peer-supported Housing First programs:

• Reduce ER visits by over 40 percent

• Lower jail bookings and court costs by 30 to 60 percent

• Cut emergency shelter stays by half

• Increase connection to behavioral health and recovery services

• Lead to long-term housing retention rates above 80 percent

These aren’t just success stories. They’re hard data points showing the financial and human return on investment. Programs with peer and CHW integration cost less over time, prevent crises before they start, and improve quality of life across entire communities.

Return on Investment for Funders, Donors, and the Public

Every dollar spent on peer-integrated Housing First models saves taxpayers between $1.50 and $3.00 in emergency systems spending. That’s a triple ROI. For public and private funders, this isn’t just charity—it’s smart investment.

• For grantmakers, it means your dollars go further, funding outcomes instead of dead ends.

• For donors, it means you’re part of real change, not band-aids.

• For community members, it means fewer tents, fewer emergency calls, fewer overwhelmed hospitals—and more people safely housed and supported.

Love Overwhelming’s programs are structured to capture and report outcomes through Medicaid-billable services, detailed service logs, and trauma-informed evaluation tools. We don’t guess. We measure. And our data proves what we already know: people thrive when they are housed and believed in.

A People-Centered Future

You’re not just funding a program. You’re investing in dignity, stability, and the belief that recovery is possible.

At Love Overwhelming, we train and employ people who have lived the stories we now work to transform. Our peer specialists and CHWs are local leaders who carry a unique credibility. They turn survival into strength, and that strength into support for others.

We see what the world often misses. The potential in people. The wisdom in their stories. The power of walking together instead of standing apart.

This is what it means to partner with Love Overwhelming.

It’s housing, with heart. It’s recovery, with respect. It’s a return on investment that pays dividends in lives restored, systems relieved, and communities made whole.

We invite you to fund it, support it, and share in it.

If you’d like to schedule a meeting or learn more about how your donation or partnership creates measurable impact, reach out at www.loveoverwhelming.org.

Because when we invest in people, we all rise.