Best Way To Care For The Homeless

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larsenb
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 10812
Location: Between here and Standing Rock

Best Way To Care For The Homeless

Post by larsenb »

This solution for taking care of the homeless looks very good and effective; and is being tried here in Utah. See: http://www.zengardner.com/amazingly-sim ... elessness/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Does anyone on this forum have more information about how it is doing in Utah??

Extract:
The Amazingly Simple and Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness

by Zen Gardner - Apr 13, 2016

By Carolanne Wright

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

During a balmy 60ºF December morning, Rene Zepeda is driving a Volunteers of America minivan through Salt Lake City, Utah, looking for the homeless who may be camping by the railroad tracks or over by the river, sometimes in the foothills. Cold weather is on its way, so the van is packed with sleeping bags, thermal clothing, coats, sock, boots, hats, protein bars, nutrition drinks and canned goods. According to Rene, once the day is finished, everything will be gone. “I want to get them into homes,” he says. “I tell them, ‘I’m working for you. I want to get you out of the homeless situation.’”

Rene works for a program called Housing First. It has decreased the number of homeless by an extraordinary 72% — mainly by providing permanent free housing. Critics bemoan the expense, but once the numbers were thoroughly crunched, it was discovered the program actually costs the state far less than if people were left on the street. Moreover, in a nation where a large proportion of the homeless population are military veterans, adopting such a program is not only a social or financial imperative but a moral one.
The brutal reality of homelessness

One of the first people Rene comes across in his morning travels is William Miller, 63, who was diagnosed with liver cancer. For the last two nights, his home has been under a freeway viaduct. Vomiting as soon as he wakes in the morning, he also has gone through two sets of clothing due to diarrhea. Rene will take him to a free clinic so that he can get proper care.

Next is a camp by the railroad tracks, where a 57-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman live in a three-person tent covered with plastic tarps. Patrick has had several strokes this year and two tumors growing in his lung. He walks with a cane.

“My legs are going out. I’m sure it’s from camping out. We were living in the hills for two years,” he says. “My girlfriend, Charmaine, is talking about killing herself she’s in so much pain.” Charmaine is a heroin addict who suffers from diabetes, grand mal seizures, cirrhosis, and heart attacks. “When we lived in the foothills we both got bit by poisonous spiders,” she says, showing me a three-inch scar above her swollen right ankle. “The doctor tried to cut out the infection, but he accidentally cut my calf muscle.” [source]

As Rene is helping Charmaine into the van, Patrick asks if Rene could find her a subsidized apartment for the homeless. “If she comes back here she’ll die,” he says. “Especially with the cold weather coming.”

Rene says he will look into it.

The Amazingly Simple and Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness - fb
Real solutions for getting people off the street

Housing First provides stability for homeless people in a way that is far different from shelters and halfway houses. It gives access to permanent housing — unconditionally.

The Amazingly Simple and Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness for Good 4It began in Utah as a 10-year project to eliminate homelessness. State legislators were hesitant, but eventually embraced the idea. When the cost of emergency room visits, police intervention, shelters and halfway houses were taken into consideration, it was found that providing permanent housing was much more cost effective. Before Housing First, Utah was spending around $20,000 a year for each chronically homeless person. But with the program in full-swing, the state saves an impressive $8,000 per person. “We’ve saved millions with this,” said Gordon Walker, director of the state Housing and Community Development Division. Today, the project is close to eradicating homelessness in the state.

The brainchild is credited to Sam Tsemberis, a psychologist at New York University, who formulated the idea of ending homelessness through unconditional housing.

“Okay,” Tsemberis recalls thinking, “they’re schizophrenic, alcoholic, traumatized, brain damaged. What if we don’t make them pass any tests or fill out any forms? They aren’t any good at that stuff. Inability to pass tests and fill out forms was a large part of how they ended up homeless in the first place. Why not just give them a place to live and offer them free counseling and therapy, health care, and let them decide if they want to participate? Why not treat chronically homeless people as human beings and members of our community who have a basic right to housing and health care?” [source]

The Amazingly Simple and Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness for Good 7Tsemberis and his team, through their group Pathways to Housing, ran a test where they provided apartments for 242 chronically homeless people, no strings attached. They could do whatever they wanted — drink, take drugs, have mental breakdowns — as long as they didn’t hurt anyone. Services were provided if they wanted rehab, detox or medical care. But it was completely their choice.

The results were astonishing. After five years, 88% of the participants were still living in their apartments with minimal issue. A subsequent study showed the care of mentally ill homeless in New York City averaged $40,449 a year with emergency room visits, shelter and other expenses, and transferring those people off the street and into supportive housing saved around $16,282. Many cities and states around the nation have adopted similar programs, including Seattle and Portland, Maine, as well as Rhode Island and Illinois. Denver found that “emergency-service costs alone went down 73 percent for people put in Housing First, for a savings of $31,545 per person; detox visits went down 82 percent, for an additional savings of $8,732,” as stated by Mother Jones. And Medicine Hat in Alberta, Canada has had similar success after reaching a zero-homelessness goal late last year by providing permanent housing.

One chronically homeless woman in Utah needed a fair amount of convincing before moving into the housing. “She didn’t trust it, and she put her collection of stuff on the bed. Then for the next two weeks, she slept on the floor,” Walker said. “But once she realized that we weren’t going to take this from her, that she had a lock, she had a mailbox, she started to re-acclimatize.”

The Amazingly Simple and Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness for Good 3 . . . . . .

About the author:

Carolanne WrightCarolanne Wright enthusiastically believes if we want to see change in the world, we need tobethe change. As a nutritionist, natural foods chef and wellness coach, Carolanne has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of organic living, gratefulness and joyful orientation for over 13 years.

Through her website Thrive-Living.net, she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people from around the world who share a similar vision.

kennyhs
captain of 1,000
Posts: 1537

Re: Best Way To Care For The Homeless

Post by kennyhs »

I haven't heard about how it's going but I think there is another solution also.

I believe our government is responsible for the rise in homeless American's. We are taxed to the point of financial bankruptsy, the housing crisis
was orchestrated by fannie may and Freddie mac, unless America votes in someone besides these socialist who's object is to destroy America, we will be seeing a rise in homelessness. The border needs to be secured, time to take care of our own, many of them are families with children, what a shame.

brianj
captain of 1,000
Posts: 4066
Location: Vineyard, Utah

Re: Best Way To Care For The Homeless

Post by brianj »

I was in Salt Lake City for the October 2015 General Conference. There seemed to be just as many homeless people in Pioneer Park (300-400 south and west) as I have observed during previous visits.

dauser
captain of 100
Posts: 983

Re: Best Way To Care For The Homeless

Post by dauser »

Best Way To Care For The Homeless is to stop making more of them.

The power to tax is the power to destroy... jobs, inheritances, businesses, homes, vehicles, families.

Deregulate any minimum wage laws. Give businesses freedom from unemployment, Social Security and Workman's Compensation taxes and all other forced charity contributions so the homeless can get and keep jobs.

Delicence the professions so the homeless can create jobs.

Break up government public educations, credentialism and deplomaism rackets and give freedom a chance.

Allow the homeless to keep and spend any and all fruits of their own labors.

Robert Sinclair
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 11006
Location: Redmond Oregon

Re: Best Way To Care For The Homeless

Post by Robert Sinclair »

God has had written to divide for an inheritance the land, in the Bible, and in the Doctrine and Covenants, takes this instruction further to say to impart unto the poor and needy with a covenant and a deed, that cannot be broken, private property.

To be equal for land and home, food and raiment, as an absolute right of the needy, by his command.

Eventually, all who will not abide his commandment, shall be swept away, and those happy to abide by his law, shall remain.

Good to have the wisdom and understanding and pure heart towards others, to seek for the will of God to be established in the promied land of God. ♡

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