In one of the stories in this issue, Street Sense covers a report comparing the cost of housing homeless individuals and families in permanent housing and the cost of placing them in emergency shelters. The numbers don’t lie — it’s much cheaper to get people off the street and into permanent housing as quickly as possible than it is to provide temporary shelter beds.
The facts provide validation to all of us who advocate affordable housing as a solution to homelessness: Not only does putting people into permanent housing provide a long-term solution to homelessness, it’s cheaper than the alternative. Who doesn’t want to save money? And who doesn’t want to end homelessness?
Well, some might wonder: If we do put all the pieces together and move people into permanent housing, provide the services they need and help them find jobs that afford financial stability, what comes next? Not just for these previously homeless individuals, but for the people who serve them? Will we have a bunch of unemployed social workers, program managers and soup kitchen owners on our hands?
Rest assured, eradicating homelessness, once we get there, won’t eradicate the need for other social services and social service employees. The caring, well-trained people who serve in these positions will simply see their roles shift and help fill the remaining needs of those who are struggling. Perfect example: The federal government is shifting more and more resources toward prevention, as seen in the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP) and the new Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, and we will probably see similar patterns in the future.
So perhaps instead of serving as intake workers, social workers will assist more families on the brink of homelessness; instead of housing authorities hiring people to process Housing Choice Vouchers (federal government program that enables low-income families to afford safe housing), they’ll hire more people to help prevent evictions.
Whatever the future looks like, there will always be a need for people who care and who are willing to take action to improve the lots of individuals and families who are suffering. No matter what the condition of others, there will always be a place for compassion in this world.
