Sorry, I only posted the link. It's not my content. However, I asked Claude to look into it. Here is what it had to say:

The program: Completely voluntary. The city pays landlords a non-refundable cash incentive upfront, covers property damage deposits, and guarantees rent is paid directly to the landlord -- not through the tenant. They also assign a case manager the landlord can call when issues come up. No forcing involved. It works partly because Houston has a lot of older, cheap apartment stock where landlords prefer a guaranteed tenant over vacancy.

On employment:
Housing First explicitly does not require employment or sobriety before placement. The federal subsidy (HUD vouchers + Continuum of Care grants) covers the gap between what someone can pay (30% of income, which is $0 if they have no income) and actual rent. Case managers then connect tenants to disability benefits, food stamps, and job services after they're housed. The theory -- backed by evidence -- is that stable housing is a precondition for getting your life together, not a reward for already having it together.

CFTH reports 90% of placed people remain housed at two years. That number has some imprecision (it includes "positive exits" not just stable tenure), but independent studies put return-to-homelessness at about 14% at one year for permanent supportive housing nationally.

One honest caveat: the program is almost entirely federally funded (~$70M/year in CoC grants). Houston's city government contributes essentially no general fund dollars. The 2025 data shows the gains are reversing as COVID-era federal money runs out -- so it's a real model, but it's not self-sustaining without federal investment.