Housing First

[CatherineM]

Next discussion. Homelessness. For those who think the solution to homelessness is to force them to work, put them in jail, or ignore them until they go away, head to the next thread. Nothing to see here. 

For those interested in the topic, housing first is where you don't expect them to quit drinking or doing drugs before housing them. At first my husband was against the idea because he knows the largest portion of the homeless population are the mentally ill, and he would like to see them treatment first so they have a chance at succeeding in keeping their housing. 

Since we live in "that part of town" when it started here, one of the apartments went in across the alley from us. I've had a ring side seat to see how it works.  For those recently on the street, it seems to work well. They might just have needed a secure base to get back on their feet. For those who've been out for a long time, not so much. As an example, our adopted son's dad moved in for a month. That was weird. Didn't last though because he didn't like even 25% of his check going to rent instead of drugs or booze. 

I think that if you're an addict or alcoholic and receive financial supports, you should be forced to have a public guardian (representative payee in the US) to pay your housing and food before you have a dime, but that's old cranky talking this morning. 

So have you guys had housing first set up where you live, and if so, how's it working?  

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

I've never heard of "housing first." Perhaps we have another term for it in the U.S. Perhaps "group homes" or "reentry homes." I'm sure there are other terms that I'm not aware of. Sorry.

Edited October 28, 2015 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[MIKolbe]

I do not believe we have that here in pgh...

 

But I believe Salt Lake implemented this.  It seems to be doing well.  Seems counter-intuitive.... seems to be one of those things that doesn't work in theory, but works in reality.

 

Would like to see it happen else where.

[CatherineM]

I've heard that Salt Lake has vertically eliminated homelessness. They are down to around 100 and know them all by name. Medicine Hat in Southern Alberta has done the same. 

[vee]

Ive never heard of this either but I like the idea. 

[Slappo]

We have a housing first project underway, but I don't think construction has started or at least not completed. Alaska has a huge huge drug and alcohol abuse problem, so I really hope that it is effective in helping some of the homeless addicts.

I believe in northern regions of Alaska it has been implemented and found very effective which is why it is being pushed for in my home city.

[Lilllabettt]

I was listening to NPR awhile ago (wnyc) and Mayor De Blasio was talking about how there would be "zero tolerance" for homeless folks taking up residence in the subway system this winter. (When the real cold weather rolls in the cops really do round up the homeless and give them the choice of shelter or lock up. Because anyone who says no at that point is maybe suicidal and needs a 48 hr psych hold anyway.)  With the zero tolerance thing he almost sounded like Giuliani. Giuliani wrote an oped or something which said it was inhumane to tolerate people living on the street - that it was retrogressive, treats humans like animals, no matter what the weather is. Yes, blah blah  blah Giuliani, honking away as per usual. But what he said about churches convicted me. He said: If you see a church and they're letting the homeless sleep on their steps, you need to ask yourself why that church isn't inviting the homeless inside and giving them a decent place to sleep.  And if it was offered, and the homeless person doesn't want a decent place to sleep, what does that indicate about the person's mental competency, and about whether we should just accept their choice to live as they do. 

 

Edited October 28, 2015 by Lilllabettt

[CatherineM]

It has amazed me that there are homeless here. Back in St. Pete, it made sense, but here, -40?  Nuts, but some people do it. 4-5,000 absolutely homeless right now. 

[Gabriela]

I cannot believe there are homeless people in Alaska. That is insane.

[Credo in Deum]

We have Housing First here in Seattle and I think it's a great idea.  Heck If I had the funds I would like to go to REI an get a bunch a pop up tents and blankets and hand them out to the homeless who are sleeping in boxes on the street.  At least with a pop-up tent they would stay dry during the 9 months of rain we get. 

[CatherineM]

They mostly use tarps in the river valley here. 

Fall is actually hardest for them. In summer, they are hidden by leaves. In winter by snow. In fall the leaves are gone so people can see them. Joggers get scared, bikers too, so they call cops and get rousted out. 

[chrysostom]

I really don't know what the policy is in my city.  I talked with an older homeless gentleman recently.  He said he was in line for housing and getting high up on the list, so he was hopeful he'd get a place before winter hit.  His birth certificate was halfway across the country in a town hall somewhere, though, so he couldn't find work.  Apparently he had made an unsuccessful trip there to retrieve it.

[CatherineM]

My Dad didn't have a birth certificate. He'd been born at home. All he had was a baptismal to prove his age when it was time for social security. His Dad died when he was six months old so his Mom moved from Brooklyn back to her Mom's tenement in Manhatten and she died when he was three so he had no idea which church he'd been baptized in. Pre-Internet, it was a difficult search. My Mom did it, but didn't know he'd been born in Brooklyn. After calling every church in Manhatten, my Dad remembered. She was quite peeved at him. Not sure how he enlisted in the Army without one, but he might have had a copy back then but lost it in the following 35 years. 

[Era Might]

They might just have needed a secure base to get back on their feet. For those who've been out for a long time, not so much. As an example, our adopted son's dad moved in for a month. That was weird. Didn't last though because he didn't like even 25% of his check going to rent instead of drugs or booze. 

Sounds like the movie Being Flynn, it's pretty good and on Netflix, Robert DeNiro plays an old mentally ill deadbeat who meets his abandoned adult son at a homeless shelter in NYC. 

Edited October 29, 2015 by Era Might

[CatherineM]

Our son volunteers with us at a Catholic soup kitchen and occasionally runs into his dad there. Very awkward.