Currently, the supportive-housing program is limited to single people, most of whom have severe mental or physical problems. But Bloomberg plans to expand the program to include families, former convicts, and former wards of foster care.

While independent studies have shown that supportive housing is effective for homeless individuals who are mentally ill, there is little research on whether the concept would work with families or other categories of homeless people.

"We were only able to measure the effectiveness of housing for singles after we built it," said Linda Gibbs, the city's commissioner for homeless services. "We do feel convinced that there are other populations who will benefit from the model."

Through the program, social workers, psychiatrists, and doctors providing support services are located close to the housing units. Currently, there are 20,000 supportive-housing units throughout the city's five boroughs. Bloomberg is proposing to build 12,000 more units. Advocates for the homeless want 1,500 to 2,000 of the new units reserved for families.

"There are a subset of homeless families that, even with affordable housing, return to the shelter system because they have barriers to independence like domestic violence and drug addiction," said Maureen Friar, executive director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York. "Rather than have them cycle through years of chaos, supportive housing is the best promise to break the cycle."

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