Monday, January 26, 2004
An interesting approach to homelessness
Columbus seems to be having luck with an innovative solution to homelessness: give them homes.
Columbus, Ohio, is at the forefront of a trend gaining momentum in cities: housing the chronically homeless - not those who need just a nudge toward self-sufficiency, but those who, like Bingham, have been homeless for much of their lives, who may never have been independent, and who often struggle with addiction or mental illness.
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[U of Pennsylvania professor Dennis Culhane] found that although the long-term homeless made up only 10 percent of the homeless population over three years, they were using half of all shelter beds on any given night. And when Culhane compared the costs of supporting those with and without permanent housing, he discovered that it cost a city just $1,000 more annually per person to offer supportive housing - with services for mental health, addictions, employment, and other needs - than to care for the chronically homeless.
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[F]or the most part, the program has been successful. More than 370 units have been built, and 165 more will be ready this year. And Columbus's approach is now part of a blueprint for cities fighting homelessness nationwide.
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"The tenants are very protective of the building," says Marla Taylor, the manager at North High. "They watch the building, keep the yard clean, take out the trash, and don't let people who shouldn't be here in."
Sounds like a good idea to me. It's not simply a giveaway. A great many of the homeless given a place to stay seem to be proud enough to work for it and I'd imagine the simple dignity of having a permanent place of their own is the biggest factor of all. It's not just a hand out, it's a hand up.
