Emmy Tiderington

Emmy Tiderington, PhD, LMSW, is an Associate Professor in the Rutgers School of Social Work, and she leads the Rutgers Housing & Health Equity Cluster. She is also Faculty Affiliate at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, & Aging Research, the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, and the Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy. Prior to entering academia, she worked as a clinical supervisor and social worker in housing and case management programs serving people with serious mental illness and other complex needs.

Her research program seeks to develop and test service-system innovations that improve housing stability, health, and opportunities for greater independence from services among people who have experienced homelessness. She has particular expertise in permanent supportive housing and Housing First models, Moving On initiatives, and mental health and substance use recovery. Dr. Tiderington’s research has been supported by federal, state, local, and private funders, including the National Institute of Mental Health, the State of New Jersey, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Her recent work has focused on understanding how people successfully transition from permanent supportive housing when they no longer need intensive services. She recently led a two-year study using linked Medicaid, affordable housing, and homeless services data from two states to identify predictors of successful exits from permanent supportive housing. She then combined these findings with input from supportive housing tenant advocates and a scoping review of existing assessment practices to develop the Life After Supportive Housing (LASH) Readiness Self-Assessment Tool and Action Plan, an evidence-informed, tenant-centered approach to assessing readiness to move on from supportive housing services. The LASH tool has been licensed for use by more than 70 organizations across the United States and Canada. 

Housing Inequality & Homelessness 
Advanced Contemporary Policy: Mental Health 
Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis 
Clinical Social Work: Mental Health 

Tiderington, E. (2026). Theorizing positive exits from permanent supportive housing for individuals with complex health needs. Housing, Theory and Society, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2026.2687410

Cantor, J. C., & Tiderington, E. (2022). The promise of service-enriched, hotel-based housing as an alternative to congregate shelters for high-need persons experiencing homelessness. JAMA Network Open, 5(7), e2223895. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.23895

Tiderington, E. (2021). “I achieved being an adult”: A qualitative exploration of voluntary transitions from permanent supportive housing. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 48(1), 9-22. doi:10.1007/s10488-020-01036-z. 

Tiderington, E. (2019). Long-term effectiveness of housing and supports for homeless adults with mental illness. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(11), 879-881. doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30372-4  

NBC - Lx 

• This advocate for affordable rent proves anyone can be housing insecure. (2020, June 26). https://www.lx.com/community/lx-natl-this-advocate-for-affordable-rent-proves-anyone-can-be-housing-insecure/14133/

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research

• Permanent housing for the hardest cases. (2020). https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-featd-article-071320.html 

Reuters – Health News

• Rent subsidies, mental health care tied to housing stability for homeless. (2019, November 25). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-homelessness/rent-subsidies-mental-health-care-tied-%20to-housing-stability-for-homeless-idUSKBN1XZ2K0