By Derek M. Fleming
Sacramento-Bill Lyons first became
homeless in 2003. Like thousands of others across the country, Lyons
fought against the demons of drug addiction and mental illness, but
lost himself somewhere along the way. He became one of many who
struggle to exist on the streets of Sacramento.
“I had come to the realization that I
was probably going be homeless for the rest of my life,” Lyons said
from a dining room chair in the living room of his apartment on a
recent afternoon. The apartment is new, clean, and tastefully
furnished. Light fills the spacious single room through large windows
overlooking a manicured community courtyard.
Lyons is clean and sober now and beams
hopefulness and positivity.
He was able to get off the street and
into his own apartment in October 2011 because of the dedication of
volunteers and activists, and a revolutionary national approach to
solving chronic homelessness called Housing First.
The Housing First model places
chronically homeless people, those who have a documented disability
and have been homeless for more than one year, or more than three
times in four years, in housing before addressing any other issues.
Traditional programs sought to cure
problems like drug and alcohol abuse and mental illness first,
resulting in meager accomplishments in reducing chronic homelessness.
Housing First is an element of the federal
Homelessness
Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP).
Since 2009, homelessness has declined
in almost every demographic nationally, despite the poor economy.
Proponents cite the successes of HPRP for keeping homelessness from
spiraling out of control during the foreclosure crisis and the
highest unemployment rates in recent history.
Sacramento ranks 29th on a
list of the 100 metropolitan areas with the high homelessness
nationally. An estimated 3,665 homeless live in Sacramento according
to data compiled by HPRP officials for the department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) in 2011. About 17 of every 10,000 residents
in the Sacramento area are homeless.
Sacramento County has seen a 15.8
percent decrease in homelessness since 2007 and a 50.8 percent
decrease of chronically homeless persons, largely as a result of HPRP
programs, according to data compiled in 2011 for HUD.
A 2009 study conducted by USC in Los
Angeles showed that removing just four chronically homeless people
and placing them in supportive housing saved the city more than
$80,000 annually by reducing emergency room visits and
incarcerations. LA is home to more than 57,000 homeless.
Jake Maguire, spokesperson for
Community Solutions, a national agency that helps communities form
Housing First programs, said more communities each month are
committing to Housing First approaches as a means of ending
homelessness. More than 120 communities have initiated Housing First
programs nationally.
“Homelessness is not viewed like
other social problems,” said Maguire in a telephone interview.
“People say, 'let's find a cure for cancer', but you don't hear
people saying 'let's cure homelessness.'”
Providing housing for the homeless is a
politically-charged topic, said Holly Wonder Stiles, director of
development with Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association in a
telephone interview. Many communities view affordable housing,
particularly for the homeless, as detrimental to the community.
In 2003, a local organization
aggressively set out to secure land for construction of Housing
First-type properties in each of the Sacramento districts in response
to county supervisors and city council members pushing back against
the idea.
The group was not able to accomplish
their goal, but they were able to secure three properties in
Sacramento districts. Mutual Housing at the Highlands, the community
Bill Lyons moved into, is one of these properties. After eight years
of planning, Mutual Housing at the Highlands opened in October 2011.
It contains 66 units reserved for formerly homeless.
“The financing for affordable housing
projects is always a challenge,” said Wonder Stiles, “For
homeless housing projects in particular it's that much more
[challenging], so it took us that much more time to put together.”
Joan Burke, director of advocacy for
Loaves and Fishes, one of Sacramento's homeless shelters and service
providers, said advocates sought to house some of Sacramento's most
vulnerable chronically homeless, disabled men who had been homeless
for extensive periods of time.
“We moved in 21 homeless men who had
been homeless an average of five to ten years.” Burke said in a
telephone interview. “One man had been homeless 20 years. For some
of these men, it had been so long since they slept under a roof that
the first few weeks in their new apartments, they chose to sleep on
the patio.”
The unique aspect of the Housing First
approach is actually what comes after a person is placed in housing.
Advocates line up services that the formally homeless need, like
mental health services, medical care, and “whatever it takes,”
said Burke.
A study conducted by the Journal of
American Medical Association in the Seattle area showed the cost of
supportive housing to be $2,449 less per person per month than
traditional shelters, largely as a result of continued care. Several
studies have shown untreated physical and mental ailments to be more
expensive and more dangerous to communities.
On-site at the Mutual Housing at the
Highlands community, three separate non-profit service providers have
learned to work together to provide whatever it takes for the
residents. NA and AA meetings are held on-site, residents have access
to a state-of-the-art computer center, and advocates are on hand at
all times. Lyons said he has even started to enjoy a weekly nutrition
class he attends because he knows it is good for his health.
Lisa Carmona is also a resident at
Mutual Housing at the Highlands. She became homeless after a
long-term relationship fell apart and she was injured at work.
Carmona was forced to give her children to her mother when she became
homeless because she knew they would be safe.
“Being homeless is a very traumatic
thing, its very hard on the body and on the mind,” said Carmona.
“Not knowing when your gonna eat, what your gonna eat, where at, if
you buy some food if it's gonna be taken or thrown away.”
Carmona said when she moved in, the
program was overwhelming with support.
“It wasn't just here is your box, you
can live in it,” Carmona said. “Here is some dishes, some food, a
little bit of supplies, because we care. It's a very caring program.”
Journey Rivers said she had
participated in two other housing programs in the past, but never one
like Mutual Housing at the Highlands.
“This place has changed my life,”
said Rivers. “They are helping me a lot to be a better mom for my
baby. They are very encouraging.”
Housing First programs are expanding
nation-wide with major efforts occurring in hundreds of cities and
counties. A national campaign called 100,000 Homes is aiming to place
100,000 homeless in Housing First-type homes. Currently, 146
communities are participating.
The campaign works by connecting local
activists with national support through use of web technology,
including “webinars” and a dedicated online presence, Maguire
said. This has allowed communities to streamline a process that often
took a year or more to complete down to 30 days or less.
Debbie Thomas, director of Mary House
at Loaves and Fishes, said streamlining the process is essential.
“Often, there are trust issues,”
Thomas said. “Many of these people have been let down in the past.
When it takes a long time, they sometimes give up.”
Long waiting lists and limited numbers
of available units can be discouraging for people who don't know
where they are going to sleep at night, Thomas explained.
The 100,000 Homes campaign aims to get
communities to reduce the chronic homeless population by 2.5 percent
monthly.
“This reduction puts communities on
track to end homelessness within four years,” Maguire said.
Sacramento recently joined the 100,000
homes campaign. The program is being administered through Loaves and
Fishes.
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