Types of Housing: Supportive/Supported Housing

Supportive and supported housing options for people with mental health and/or substance use concerns are usually small in size and focus on rehabilitation and community integration. 

Supportive Housing
In supportive housing, housing and support are linked. This means that staff members usually work in the residences to provide support. The amount of hours that staff spend on-site depends on the level of assistance needed by the residents. Supportive housing usually features group home settings, but can sometimes include low-support self-contained apartments. Residents in supportive housing have limited choices in their housing setting and do not usually have a choice over who also lives in the house with them.

Supported Housing
In supported housing, there are no staff members on-site. If a resident needs further assistance to live independently, case management is often used to provide this support. Supported housing usually features independent apartments, housing co-operatives or other government funded social housing for people with low incomes. Key elements of supported housing are: 

• the role of people with mental health and/or substance use concerns as tenants and citizens,
• the role of staff as facilitators,
• citizen empowerment, and
• tenant control over staff support.

One example of supported housing is the Apartment Subsidy Program.

Supportive and supported housing are provided through many agencies in Toronto. For a more complete description of such housing programs in Toronto, please see the Housing Guide created by the Community Support and Research Unit in collaboration with Education and Publishing.

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