The Effect of Noncongregate Emergency Shelters on Occupant Well-Being, Chico, California, 2023

While noncongregate shelters are an increasingly common intervention for homelessness, their effect on residents' psychological well-being is not well understood. This study evaluated the effect of a low-barrier, noncongregate shelter on the well-being of individuals experiencing homelessness in a small Northern California city in 2023. Focusing on 5 key areas of well-being-sleep quality, sense of community, sense of control, generalized anxiety, and psychological safety-this study surveyed 106 (of 170) shelter residents 9 months after the opening of the shelter. A retrospective pretest-posttest design and generalized linear models permitted an analysis of changes in well-being after previously unsheltered individuals moved into the noncongregate shelter, as well as within-subjects' differences by sex, age, and duration at the shelter. All indicators of well-being with the exception of sense of control showed significant improvement after the shelter move-in. Specifically, on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores meaning a more positive outcome, mean sleep quality improved from 2.6 to 4.0 (P < .001), sense of community from 3.1 to 3.4 (P = .01), and psychological safety from 3.1 to 3.5 (P < .001); on a 4-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating higher levels of anxiety, anxiety decreased from 2.7 to 2.1 (P < .001). Additionally, interactive analyses indicated that changes in well-being differed depending on an individual's sex, age, and duration at the shelter. While this study demonstrates improvements in well-being relative to individuals living unsheltered, future research should use comparative designs to assess long-term housing stability outcomes for individuals in temporary shelters compared with those who remain unsheltered or in secure permanent supportive housing.