Chris Baker, executive director at The Other Ones Foundation, said the Housing First philosophy is sound in theory, aiming to remove barriers to resolving housing crises, but it has shifted from a flexible approach to a one-size-fits-all solution that doesn’t align with actual practice. Baker was a guest on a recent episode of the Texas Talks Podcast.

“I think that we got kind of lost somewhere along the way, and I believe that, fundamentally, the idea of Housing First as a philosophy of approach is sound," said Baker in a recent edition of the Texas Talks Podcast. “This concept is like, why put undue barriers on someone to help resolve their housing crisis? I think that's a good philosophy of approach.”

“The problem that came up along the way is that we went from it being a philosophy of approach to an answer—a unilateral answer," said Baker. “Maybe not entirely unilateral, but it became the answer for everybody. Housing First conceptually is about making it as low-barrier as possible for someone to get into housing, and once they're in, we can do the work to help them become independent. But that's not how it's actually shaking out in practice.”

Baker serves as the executive director at The Other Ones Foundation, which provides shelter and workforce services to the homeless. He earned his degree from SUNY Oneonta in 2007 and gained experience in homelessness services, activism, music, writing, and legal work. He founded The Other Ones Foundation in 2017 to implement his new approaches to addressing homelessness.

Texas Talks podcast is hosted by Brad Swail. The weekly show is focused on public policy in the state of Texas, with insights from the people and organizations that influence it.

The podcast is available on Simple Cast and YouTube.