How the Obama Administration Cut the Number of Homeless Veterans by 50%
Great article and interview with Julian Castro, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Mic: Can you explain a little more about how housing-first works?
JC: The idea behind housing-first is to get a homeless person into permanent housing — not transitional housing or shelter, but permanent housing immediately. That's based on the notion that housing has a very stabilizing influence on a person. So, if someone is homeless and they're out of a job, they may have an addiction, or they may have a mental health challenge. Having their own apartment allows them to address the other issues much more successfully.
The fascinating thing about housing-first is that it flipped the usual dynamic of public policy. The usual dynamic of public policy is that we expect responsibility from someone, and then we give them an opportunity. Here we give them the opportunity of permanent housing right away, and that allows them to help take the responsibility necessary to improve their lives — to address their employment situation, to address a mental health challenge or addiction that they have. We ought to learn that lesson as we look at other kinds of policies in the United States.
HUD-VASH vouchers are given to veterans who are homeless and they're put into permanent supportive housing. That's long-term, and includes supportive access to supportive services that they need, whether it's related to employment or health care or mental health or things like that.
Much more here:
http://mic.com/articles/128837/in-4-years-obama-cut-the-number-of-homeless-veterans-on-the-streets-by-50-here-s-how#.5BjXpaevW
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Maybe it's a media effect. When the murder rate is much higher, murders don't get reported much. Now that they are lower than they ever were in the 20th century (literally), any murder can cause some press.
It's funny: my mom went to NYC for the first time a few years ago, and was terrified (she's from rural Texas). Her only exposure to New York City came from watching Law & Order, and she was convinced she was going to be murdered and stuffed in the trunk of a car.
I asked her to call me once her bus got there. She said she was fine, and that the part of the city she was in was really nice. In her words, "I mean, it's not like Hell's Kitchen or anything."
As politely as I could, "Mom, if you just got off an intercity bus, you are literally in Hell's Kitchen. Now, the good papaya juice stand is about three blocks east..."
