1. What is SafeHome Philadelphia?
SafeHome is a program created by The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness. It helps homeless families find and maintain permanent homes using a Housing First approach.
2. What is Housing First?
Housing First is a strategy designed to end homelessness. It provides housing as quickly as possible for homeless and at-risk families and individuals, connects them to community-based social services and helps them secure income to pay their rent. Housing First has been successful in numerous cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
3. Why do we need it?
Philadelphia is in the midst of a homelessness crisis. We need to adopt an approach that focuses on abolishing long-term shelter stays, ending homelessness and providing homeless individuals and families with the tools needed to regain stability.
4. How much does it cost?
It costs SafeHome $4,000 once to house a family in a permanent home. It costs the city $35,000 a year to house them in a shelter.
5. Where do people find housing?
SafeHome's Housing Advocate has established partnerships with more than 50 landlords. She tirelessly searches apartment rental ads to find decent and affordable housing. SafeHome families have a choice of two or more units. Once they've decided, the families sign their own leases and take responsibility for their own homes.
6. How do people pay for housing?
The most common barrier for families is the three months of rent required up front. Safehome helps with two months rent. Ongoing rent is the responsibility of the family. They are not enrolled in Safe Home if they cannot afford the ongoing rent.
7. What about housing subsidies?
Federal housing subsidies are available for only 2% of all eligible individuals and families in Philadelphia annually. Unfortunately, they cannot be relied upon as a strategy to end homelessness.
8. How is SafeHome funded?
SafeHome is funded through the generosity of individual donors as well as through private foundations and organizations.
9. Who does it help?
SafeHome helps any family who is experiencing a housing crisis and can afford monthly rent. We offer a flexible approach, allowing families of all compositions the supports necessary to locate and maintain permanent housing.
10. Who could be helped by SafeHome's Housing First program?
In an ideal world, everyone who is in a housing crisis or is already homeless. However, in order for Housing First to succeed with those unable to work, housing subsidies are required.
11. How could Housing First best be widely implemented in Philadelphia?
The city needs to convert its investment into homes rather than shelters and segregated social services. Homeless and at-risk individuals and families can be linked to community-based resources and home-based services.
12. What results do you expect?
We expect a high success rate and we've achieved it. 85% of our families are living independently in permanent homes.
13. Can you really end homelessness?
Reducing homelessness to an episode of a few days duration as it was in the 1970s is doable. There will always be housing crises but there is no reason to create a special class of poor people.
