Project rescue: serving the homeless and marginally housed elderly

The authors describe the engagement techniques and service components of a program for homeless and marginally housed elderly. On follow-up evaluation of 132 people, clients averaged three favorable outcomes (maximum = 7). Service delivery was conceptualized as a three-stage process based on the differential effects that variables had at each stage. The strongest predictors of outcome were number of service encounters, type of presenting problem, and perceived level of social support.