Not by the Book: The Emergence and Translation of Housing First in Sweden

The emergence of Housing First in Sweden is described and analysed in the light of the deregulation of the housing market and the existing organisation of service delivery for homeless people. The spread and growth of Housing First in Sweden was promoted by Lund University during 2009. Although widely disseminated, implementation of Housing First has been slow. Only seven of Sweden’s 290 municipalities have started, or decided to start a Housing First project. An important reason for this is that the organisation of service delivery with homeless people in Sweden is characterised by a path dependency, in which the ‘staircase’ model has become an institutionalised practise. None of the Swedish Housing First services has adopted Housing First by the book, but the core elements of the philosophy have been adopted. An evaluation of one of the Swedish Housing First services shows housing stability rates of around 80 per cent and that the tenants feel that their lives have improved in several respects.