SOLUTIONS FOR HOMELESSNESS: DO WHAT WORKS, STOP WHAT DOESN'T

Congress earmarked $712 million in 1987 "to use public resources and
programs in a more coordinated manner to meet the critically urgent needs
of the homeless of the nation." It acknowledged that state, local, and
private resources were also needed to help solve the problem.

In Richmond and across the country the public responded by staffing and
supporting soup kitchens and shelters created by non-profit and faith-based
groups. The Commonwealth of Virginia also reacted, appropriating $400,000
to assist shelters with operating expenses.

Almost 15 years later, the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates
there are 700,000 people homeless in America on any given night - 100,000
more than in 1988. Why hasn't the problem gone away? What are we doing wrong?

We need to acknowledge that some things we've been doing simply don't work.
We're not doing enough of the things that do work. And there are some
things we need to do that aren't being done at all. If we hope to help the
1,600 people who are homeless each night in Central Virginia, we need to
redirect our energies.

Things We Should Stop Doing:

- - Creating emergency shelter beds in areas where they already exist, until
we make sure that the beds provided are all being used and the shelter is
effective. The goal should be comprehensive case management to move each
person in crisis into transitional or permanent housing. Every agency
trying to help people in a housing crisis should show that it not only
provides high-quality shelter, but also gives its clients the opportunity
to become self-sufficient.

- - Fostering dependency in the very people we are trying to help. People who
are in crisis and needing services should be treated with respect and
dignity, while being held accountable. We believe basic shelter is a right,
but we also know it comes with responsibility to work or seek treatment and
to become self-sufficient. By not requiring anything in return we imply
that some people in our communities are incapable of anything but asking
for a handout and bouncing from one shelter to another. We should not
expect to see the same people in a housing crisis year after year.

Things That Work And Need More Support:

- - Providing additional supportive housing units. We know that providing
affordable, permanent supportive housing works for families and individuals
who both are homeless and need support services. Such units offer safe
housing with comprehensive health, career, financial, and psychological
counseling to ensure that residents do not become homeless again. But there
are only three supportive apartment buildings in the entire state for
homeless, single adults. Two are in Richmond, one is in Newport News - a
total of only 175 units for all of Virginia! All are full with waiting lists.

- - Preventing homelessness before it happens. The state-funded Homeless
Intervention Program provides stopgap funding and counseling to help
families on the brink of homelessness. HIP helps people facing eviction
after losing a job or racking up large bills from a serious medical
problem. It is a proven prevention effort - but it is woefully underfunded
and presently can help only small numbers of Virginians. A well-coordinated
prevention strategy will keep people in their housing.

Things We Ought To Be Doing:

- - Finding solutions to poverty. Replacing the minimum wage with a living
wage would go a long way toward lifting everyone out of poverty. Many
localities - the City of Richmond among them - now pay a living wage to all
employees. Yes, it costs money, but by reducing homelessness, a living wage
would save everyone money in the long run.

- - Developing special programs to help homeless people dealing with
substance abuse. Because such programs have succeeded in other cities,
Homeward, the regional organization that coordinates the work of public and
private agencies combatting homelessness, is working on such a project. The
Healing Place, based on the 12-step program, relies heavily on peer
counseling and giving substance-abusers a place to recover when intoxicated
or having a relapse. The program has been extremely successful in
Louisville and Raleigh. We need the Healing Place here. It deserves the
community's strong support.

Experience shows there will always be a small percentage of homeless people
who can't be helped because they won't be helped. However, those of us who
provide services know which strategies work and don't work for the majority
of the 1,600 people who are homeless on any given day in Greater Richmond.
As a community, we need to concentrate our efforts on the programs that
succeed - even if they are difficult, costly, and lengthy. If we truly
intend to serve fellow citizens and ourselves by drastically reducing
homelessness, we need to get people into permanent housing, or other
appropriate programs where the cycle of dependency on meals programs and
shelters is broken.