Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness

The National Low Income Housing Coalition summarizes the intended use of these funds in its 2/17/2009 newsletter...

“$1.5 billion for homeless prevention and rapid rehousing. The bill provides $1.5 billion through HUD’s Emergency Shelter Grant program for the provision of short-term or medium-term rental assistance, housing relocation and stabilization services including housing search, mediation or outreach to property owners, credit repair, security or utility deposits, utility payments, rental assistance for a final month at a location, moving cost assistance, case management or other appropriate activities for homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing of persons who have become homeless” (Volume 14, Issue No. 6).

The current financial crisis and this subsequent Economic Recovery Package provide the rare opportunity to make substantial progress at a system-wide level in our community’s response to homelessness. It also recognizes the most effective and efficient methods of enacting this change. With the coinciding budget shortfalls, it might be tempting to use these new funds to simply plug the gaps to ensure the perpetuation of current services.

To do so would miss the intended opportunity this federal money provides: to truly decrease the number of people becoming homeless. In the regular course of business, it can often be overwhelming to enact such sweeping change. At this time of crisis, with this influx of stimulus funds, we have the need, the opportunity, and the obligation to use all means necessary to pursue effective, efficient, and humane responses to the currently homeless and those countless many projected to enter their ranks. In so doing, we can prevent families and individuals from entering shelter or rapidly remove them once they enter, invest these stimulus dollars back into the private market by building relationships with private landlords, and set about making this the way we do business going forward.

There is a real crisis, but, again, it is matched by a real opportunity. The funding in the Economic Recovery Package for Homelessness Prevention/Rapid ReHousing should be invested in the evidence-based practices which will fruitfully turn families and individuals from the shelter door and back to housing and supports in the community. Children will not have to suffer the well-evidenced harm of homelessness to their emotional, physical and intellectual development, nor will their adult counterparts.

It is time to adopt a “housing first” mentality across the board – single adults as well as families and chronic street dwellers. Shelters are bad housing; we have found families living in horrendous conditions whose direct experiences with shelter are such that they prefer where they are. The men on the street have obviously voted with their feet – they cannot stand the conditions and treatment they receive in shelter. There are some small, humane shelters but the majority of families and men suffer indifference, abuse, neglect and often filth – the poorhouses we shamefully dragged into this 21st century.

With 25 years of well-intentioned efforts, we finally have the evidence of what to do: quickly get (or keep) people in a decent place that they can afford and link support services so attractive and available that they can address their individual problems from the security and stability of their own place.

At the same time, invest stimulus funds as well as current shelter funding in Rapid ReHousing to reduce the current shelter population. The $35,000 the city is spending to shelter a family for one year could easily pay two of the three months’ rent required to get a house or apartment for 23 families. Or, it could be used for local, flexible subsidies which would still cost far less than shelter and be far better for the children, families and individuals who are aided. The city’s shrink-tight shelter budget should be reinvested in housing.

PCEH/SafeHome Philadelphia doesn’t seek or accept public funding so we are not in competition for the stimulus money, but, with private funding only, we are and have been building a model for the city – we have found evidence that there is enough housing which is decent and affordable to move 500 families out of shelter – you have to work hard, but it is out there, and there are landlords who are willing to participate in a partnership to provide this housing. They are small business folks who need some “economic stimulus” as do the ill housed folks!

Good people have done good work in the name of “anti-homelessness” over this quarter of century, and the City of Philadelphia is unique for its early 1980’s decision to accept responsibility for its homeless citizens. We must seize this opportunity and use it wisely.

When we have money coming into the city for homelessness prevention on a scale that offers unprecedented support for anti-homelessness efforts, we have the opportunity and obligation to give families and individuals in great economic stress what they need most – a decent, affordable private space in which they can collapse, re-energize and feel safe. Thank you.