53 Part A _ Articles Introducing the Housing First Model in Spain: First Results of the Habitat Programme Roberto Bernad, Rebeca Yuncal RAIS Fundación Sonia Panadero Universidad Complutense de Madrid > Abstract _ The Habitat programme launched in August 2014 is the first systematic implementation of the Housing First (HF) model in Spain. This article presents its first steps and the difficulties experienced during the kick-off process. The processes of defining profiles and deciding on the selection of users, the referral of users and their placement into the programme and the delivery of services have raised some challenges from which the Habitat teams have drawn some relevant learnings. This article also presents the methodology and the first findings of Habitat’s rigorous evaluation. The objective of the evaluation is to produce evidence on the efficiency of the HF model for the Spanish context and to identify difficulties or drivers for its success. A fidelity assessment to the HF model has been done, which shows good loyalty of Habitat to the HF principles. The results of the programme for users at 6 months are very positive and similar to those of other international experiences. The housing retention rate is 100 percent and improvements have been observed in the areas of security, family relations and economic situation. The traditional intervention on the control group has produced little or no improvement on the control group participants. > Keywords_ Housing First, Fidelity Assessment, homelessness, evaluation, social experimentation ISSN 2030-2762 / ISSN 2030-3106 online