White House Summit Takeaways: Dr. Julie Hayden Shares The Rhombus Model for Addiction Treatment Within Homelessness

The Rhombus Model was recently represented at the White House’s “Best Practices for Addiction Treatment Within Homelessness” Summit in Washington, D.C., by Dr. Julie Hayden, PsyD. The April 13–14 meeting brought together national leaders, practitioners, and individuals with lived experience to identify scalable approaches to addressing addiction, mental illness, and homelessness across the country.

Hosted through a collaboration between the Office of National Drug Control Policy, HHS/SAMHSA, and HUD/CPD, the summit focused on translating proven approaches into a practical Best Practices Toolkit for communities nationwide. The goal was not only to discuss what works, but to define systems and strategies that can be implemented in real-world settings.

Dr. Hayden was invited to contribute as a subject-matter expert based on her work developing and implementing the Rhombus Model—an operating system designed to align services, structure, accountability, and outcomes across the continuum of care. Her presentation, “From Instability to Independence: Designing Systems That Actually Work,” focused on a central challenge facing communities today: individuals do not just need access to services—they need a system that moves them from crisis to stability and ultimately to independence.

The Rhombus Model addresses this gap by organizing care into a clear, structured pathway: Protect → Prepare → Propel. Protection focuses on stabilization—meeting immediate physical and mental health needs. Preparation builds the internal and external capacity needed for change, including structure, skills, and accountability. Propel supports long-term independence through employment, community integration, and sustained support.

This framework is not theoretical. It is actively implemented through East County Transitional Living Center (ECTLC), which serves as a large-scale proof of concept for the model. At ECTLC, individuals and families move through a structured, year-long program that integrates housing, treatment, work therapy, education, and community support into a single coordinated system.

The outcomes demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. Based on a San Diego Taxpayers Association analysis, ECTLC achieved a cost of approximately $790 per person exiting to permanent housing in 2024—significantly lower than traditional models—while also demonstrating high rates of long-term housing stability among program graduates. These results reflect the impact of a system designed for continuity, accountability, and measurable progress.

Dr. Hayden presented these principles during the “Best Practices – San Diego & Greensville” session, contributing to a broader national dialogue that included topics such as system design, integration of faith and clinical care, outcome tracking, coordinated transitions across levels of care, and sustainable funding strategies. Across the summit, a consistent theme emerged: fragmented services produce fragmented outcomes, while integrated systems create pathways to lasting change.

The inclusion of the Rhombus Model in this national conversation reflects growing recognition that addressing homelessness and addiction requires more than isolated interventions. It requires a coordinated operating system that connects housing, treatment, workforce development, and community into a unified process.

ECTLC continues to serve as a leading example of how this model can be applied in practice, demonstrating that when individuals are supported within a structured, accountable system over time, they can achieve stability, independence, and long-term success.

As federal partners continue developing the Best Practices Toolkit, the Rhombus Model offers a scalable framework for communities seeking to move beyond short-term solutions and toward measurable, sustainable outcomes.

Real change happens when systems—not just services—are designed to move people from crisis to independence.