Los Angeles, Homelessness, and a Plan that Works

It is estimated that there are about 26,000 homeless people in Los Angeles, up 12% in the last two years.  The city has now budgeted $100,000,000 to solve this problem.  That amounts to a little over $3800 per homeless person.  Los Angeles does get credit for trying to solve the problem, unlike San Francisco that treats its homeless like a protected class to show how well they live the liberal faith.  And LA’s  situation is not unique.  In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has seen his city’s homeless population boom in the last two years, numbering between 57,000 and 60,000. 

Generally, the warmer the climate or more liberal the policies, the worse the situation of homelessness is.  Hard nosed efforts don’t seem to work any better than warm and fuzzy ones.  So how do we solve the problem?  First of all, you can look at the decades of efforts tried thus far to see what doesn’t work.  For example, in New York hundreds of housing vouchers go unused because landlords will not accept them.  Now why would someone wanting to rent rooms (that are anything but prime time real estate) turn down guaranteed cash?  Clearly it must be something other than the money involved.  

            Then, after looking at all of the things that don’t work (many more than the single one I referenced) you can then look at what does work.  In Utah—that bastion of rock-ribbed conservatism—a plan was begun in 2005.  It has reduced homelessness by 75% during the last decade and has saved the state money in the process.  The answer may sound far too simple.  If you have homeless people, you eliminate the problem by giving them homes.  We are not talking about rented rooms, or temporary housing, or group homes.  We are talking about a permanent residence.  No strings attached.  And it is working. 

            The program was developed by a New York University psychologist Sam Tsemberis who took a page out of the personal responsibility handbook.  His idea was to take the homeless, remove the most obvious stressor in their life—being homeless—and provide them with a home and as much free counseling, therapy and healthcare as they wanted and then let them decide what they wanted to do with their lives.  This simple yet revolutionary plan started with 242 chronically homeless people in New York City.  To date 88% are still off the streets.  The plan was adopted by the Utah state legislature 10 years ago and is on track to eliminate the problem of homelessness ahead of schedule.

            As skeptical as the legislators who approved the Utah Housing First program, is Nan Roman, President of the National Alliance for Homelessness, who now admits that giving permanent homes and then counseling to the homeless seems to be working.  She states that the stability of the home seems to work for them.  They are more empower, less dependent, quicker to move ahead with lives that move toward independence. 

            Despite worries about “moochers” the housing program saves Utah money.  First the housing is not free.  Clients pay $50 or 30% of their income as rent.  They have skin in the game.  Second, the stability leads to faster assimilation into mainstream, working society.  Finally, at an average price tag of $20,000/year for dealing with the chronically homeless, the savings to society add up faster than you might think.

            Sometimes, the most obvious solution is the best.  But don’t guess.  Look at the numbers.  Examine the data.  Work from strength, not failure.   Keep the faith.