I certainly don't want to appear like I'm picking on Paul Boden, who is the director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), a coalition of homeless advocacy groups based in San Francisco, but I wonder if he's seen the latest news on the impact of Project Homeless Connect's effort in Springfield MA?
Now, I believe he would feel that this is far too little, far too late (and I would certainly agree), and I also understand the frustration Mr. Boden feels concerning the ridiculous pittance given by the Feds to combat Homelessness, especially when we can toss billions of dollars away on a war that we shouldn't be waging in the first place. But I digress....
I know too that he's done his homework and understands the problems well, as do most of the advocates here in Nashville, but I will still pose this question to him and anyone else who complains about short-term strategies as we struggle to achieve long-term solutions - what do we do while we wait for our society to fix the problems so eloquently described in WRAP's seminal work, Without Housing: Decades of Federal Housing Cutbacks, Massive Homelessness and Policy Failures?(pdf)
We as a society cannot simply ignore the needs and demands of the rest of the members in it while we work to correct the problems of one of her groups, and it's important to not only recognize this fact but to also ensure that everyone in society knows we recognize it and are willing to work with all of them as we seek realistic solutions.
As such, I ask you, is it realistic to block, thwart, condemn, or otherwise diminish short-term band-aid efforts when the truly viable long-term solutions are either unreachable at this point in time or are so far off in the distance as to render them completely meaningless for the purposes of discussion? Realize we are not talking here about fixing potholes in a bad road, folks; we are talking about people who have serious, immediate needs that must be attended to, and quickly.
Keep in mind that most of these needs cannot wait for the wheels of government and/or justice to turn here, and I believe it is absolutely unethical, not to mention shameful, to ask those in need to wait until we can change the situation that WRAP defines as a federal failure on a massive level: "...more than 25 years of federal funding trends for affordable housing have created the contemporary crisis of homelessness and near-homelessness." I don't disagree here, and I reiterate that WRAP's assessment is spot-on. But I wish someone would tell me what we're supposed to do with those who plead, suffer and die while we wait for society to implement the corrections - and we've already been waiting for decades, mind you.....
U.S. official lauds effort to aid needy
SPRINGFIELD - The city is on the right path in the effort to end homelessness, engaging strategies that are both effective and taxpayer-wise, according to the nation's point man on homeless issues.
Philip F. Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, praised Springfield's efforts while attending Project Homeless Connect on Friday at the MassMutual Center. More than 500 homeless and poor people attended the daylong event, aimed at connecting them to services and programs, including housing and employment assistance and medical and mental health care.
The city announced last January a 10-year strategy to eradicate long-term homelessness, following the lead of many other communities nationwide but also presenting a model for many like-sized communities, Mangano said.
Central to this city's plan is "Housing First," whereby the city and agencies strive to provide more subsidized housing units for the chronically homeless, coupled with support services and less emphasis on emergency shelters."The bottom line, Springfield has been astute enough to understand the best and most innovative ideas around the country and bring them to Springfield," Mangano said. "What you are doing here locally has not only implications for your own community, not only implications for your region, but they have national implications."
"In terms of what Springfield is doing, it is in the forefront of cities its size around the country."
The work Springfield is doing under the 10-year plan is "good for the homeless person, it's good for the community, it's good for the taxpayer," he said.
Based on multiple studies, said Mangano, it is known that "randomly ricocheting" the chronically homeless bears a cost ranging from $35,000 to $150,000 per person per year, when adding in such factors as emergency room treatment, substance abuse and mental health treatment, and police and court costs.
In contrast, giving the homeless a place to live, often a room or efficiency apartment, and the support services they need, costs between $13,000 and $25,000 per person per year, he said.
"It's a no-brainer," Mangano said. "So that's where the entire nation is going. Springfield is right there in that partnership, moving forward, in that effort to get the job done."
The city and its Housing Authority, working with service providers, have set aside about 140 housing vouchers for chronically homeless people this year. So far, 43 people have been housed and an additional eight are moving into apartments on or about Sept. 1, said Geraldine McCafferty, the city's deputy director of homeless and special needs housing.
"I think we are very lucky to take advantage of what people have been doing around the country the last several years," she said.
Mangano said that for anyone to be homeless in America "is a disgrace" and morally and spiritually wrong. It is also "economically irresponsible" when considering the high expense of "shuffling and cycling" the homeless, he said.
"In the 10-year plan and in Project Homeless Connect, we understand there are more effective strategies than business as usual," he said.
William J. Miller, executive director of the Friends of the Homeless Shelters on Worthington Street, said Mangano makes a valid point.
"Housing with support services for the chronically homeless is the best model in many cases," Miller said. "The more we are able to do, the better off we will be."
Hundreds of new homeless emerge each year and need shelter for various lengths of times, he said, and the city needs to work "on both fronts."
