Op-Ed: Housing the homeless pays off

HHH facilitator Liz Clasen recently published an op-ed piece in the Charlotte Observer.

http://www.charlotte.com/409/story/130929.html

Housing the homeless pays off

Chilly-Willy Major shows high cost to the public of living on the street

From Liz Clasen, associate executive director, and Paul Hanneman, program director, at Charlotte's Urban Ministry Center.

In his May 6 column, Tommy Tomlinson mentioned Murray Barr, a homeless alcoholic who ran up a bill of more than $100,000 at one hospital in six months in Reno, Nev. We have our own Murray Barrs in Charlotte -- individuals such as William "Chilly-Willy" Major, whose frequent minor arrests due to his alcohol addiction have cost taxpayers $10,000 for jail time in the last two years alone. If the costs incurred for medical care, detox and social services' staff time were included for Major's nearly 30 years on the street, the total would be shockingly high.
Tomlinson said it would be more efficient to buy Barr a house and hire a full-time nurse. While that might seem outrageous, the economics of poverty are driving a new housing approach for the chronically homeless called Housing First that's much like Tomlinson's proposal.
Instead of waiting for such individuals to get sober, transition into the Uptown Men's Shelter, find a source of income and then locate a permanent place to live, the Housing First approach moves a chronically homeless person from the streets into permanent supportive housing, where he's surrounded by supportive services such as intensive case management, mental health help and substance-abuse recovery.

The Housing First model flies in the face of America's "pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps" mentality, but the economics of the approach helped it gain momentum. A 1999 study on a New York City's Housing First program found that each placement of a mentally ill, chronically homeless individual into permanent supportive housing reduced public spending by $12,145 through savings at emergency medical, mental health, jail and shelter facilities. These savings covered the cost of maintaining permanent supportive housing units.
Chronic addiction and mental illness make it difficult for persons such as Barr and Major to exist in a shelter setting. They're more likely to sleep and live in public spaces, a lifestyle that makes them vulnerable to arrest for minor offenses, such as trespassing and public urination. A recent study by the Sheriff's Department found that 40 percent of Mecklenburg's most chronic offenders were homeless and the vast majority of their crimes were misdemeanors.
The chronically homeless are more likely to use health care, mental health and substance abuse services at the most expensive points: emergency rooms and detoxification facilities. Once in stable housing, however, they are more likely to access primary health care and less likely to be arrested or go to detox.

Further examination of the issue makes the economics even more compelling. Despite fitting the common stereotypes of homelessness, the chronically homeless make up only 10 to 20 percent of the homeless population. Yet this small portion is estimated to consume 50 percent of the resources targeted toward relieving homelessness. By housing individuals like Major, the shelters and service center resources are freed up to serve the remaining 80 percent of the homeless population, who are able to transition out of homelessness with much less intensive support.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg's proposed 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness calls for the creation of 500 units of supportive housing for the chronically homeless. This proposal offers an opportunity to be both compassionate and cost-effective. It's time to come together and put a priority on creative housing solutions for our community's William Majors and Murray Barrs.