On Sunday, about 20 students participated in the annual Sleepout for the Homeless, sponsored by the Jewish Social Justice Council. Data collected last year estimated about 195 people were living in shelters in Charlottesville, and about 230 children in the city and surrounding area were identified as homeless.
People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry, or PACEM, helps about 220 homeless people find temporary shelter every winter. Organizations dedicated to this kind of work can make a big difference in the lives of homeless people, especially during times when the weather is particularly threatening to their well-being. However, solving the problem of homelessness requires more long-term solutions. Housing in shelters is only a temporary one.
Permanent housing is necessary to combat the very real risk of dying on the streets. Most chronically homeless people — those homeless for more than a year — have some kind of mental or physical illness. This is why homelessness can actually cost taxpayers money, since many of the homeless end up spending nights in the emergency room, as their lack of shelter exacerbates their health problems. And because a night in the emergency room often costs as much as full month’s rent, it is less expensive to give these homeless people permanent housing than to leave them on the street, according to Becky Kanis (interviewed on 60 Minutes). Kanis works for a group called Community Solutions, which created the 100,000 Homes Campaign.
The 100,000 Homes Campaign has already reached its goal of putting 100,000 chronically homeless people in permanent housing. The philosophy of this program is that chronically homeless people need to be given housing first, before they are required to undergo a series of programs, which could entail job training or drug rehabilitation. Prioritizing housing is an effective way of restoring overall health and well being. Homeless people at greatest risk of dying on the street are in urgent need of shelter, which should not be delayed unnecessarily by additional levels of bureaucracy.
Charlottesville could offer permanent housing to homeless people by working with landlords who are willing to accept low rent for some of their units, and seeking subsidies from the federal government to supplement whatever amount of income the homeless are able to contribute. In Nashville, where these strategies were employed, no new construction or additional taxes were necessary to house those who are at greatest risk.
Even housing the entirety of the chronically homeless population in Charlottesville would be a modest investment in comparison to the reward. If having permanent housing will improve health, the homeless who are given apartments would be more likely to get back to work, and will eventually not need their rents subsidized. Getting the homeless into permanent housing would also address the problems of panhandling and loitering, which many Charlottesville residents say disturbs them.
Casa Alma is one example of an affordable housing resource in Charlottesville; it is a small privately run program which offers housing to families for up to two years — much longer than most shelters allow people to stay. Families are only charged half of what they initially think they can afford for rent, and are expected to contribute to the work that goes on in the small community — like gardening and tending to farm animals — while they stay. The landlords, who are also residents, have found that there is far too much demand in the community than they can accommodate for.
This kind of affordable housing community model could be utilized on a slightly larger scale to reach as many homeless people in the city as possible. Charlottesville could create and offer affordable housing in exchange for giving something back to the community. This could be helping to clean the city streets, or maintaining the landscape of public parks. There are ways to make homeless people valued members of the community rather than burdens to it. When we start to think of this issue as a matter of collective community teamwork, change will happen.
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