Comment: Supportive housing isn’t reducing ranks of homeless

And it’s not helping those with addiction and other problems recover their lives and move on.

By Rachel Sheffield / The Heritage Foundation

Homelessness set two records in 2023. The increase in homelessness between 2022 and 2023 was the largest ever recorded since the government began collecting data in 2007. That brought the number of Americans living in homeless shelters and on the streets to an all- time high.

The problem is neither new nor local. Homelessness has been rising for several years. Last year, it increased in all but nine states, with New York topping the list. New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently announced that the city’s homeless shelters are out of room due to soaring illegal immigration.

Evidence of the accompanying social decay can be found coast to coast: in Portland streets littered with hypodermic needles and other waste, on San Francisco sidewalks covered with human feces and tent encampments, and with increasing numbers of people languishing on the streets of Los Angeles.

Some unique factors contributed to the jump in homelessness in 2023, but policies to address homelessness have been off track for a long time. For two decades, the federal government has taken a “housing first” approach to homelessness, focusing on “permanent supportive housing” with low or no barriers to entry.

This means providing permanent housing without any conditions, such as meeting sobriety requirements, participating in drug treatment, engaging in mental health counseling or participating in job training. The idea is that giving a person housing will solve homelessness.

But housing first has failed on several counts.

While it increases the likelihood that an individual remains housed — at least for the people who receive permanent housing — housing first fails to reduce overall rates of homelessness or to improve other outcomes of well-being. Indeed, some places that have increased their supply of permanent supportive housing have seen homelessness grow.

For example, between 2010 and 2019 California increased its number of permanent supportive housing units by 25,000, but the number of unsheltered homeless people in the state increased by 50 percent.

How can this be? Some people may stay in permanent supportive housing longer than they would have remained homeless, occupying units that would otherwise be available for others. Others may migrate to an area that offers permanent supportive housing.

Housing first may also incentivize people to remain homeless longer in order to receive free housing. Whatever the reasons, Kevin Corinth of the American Enterprise Institute estimates it takes 10 permanent supportive housing units to reduce homelessness by just one person.

Housing first is also expensive. A housing-first project in Los Angeles has cost the city $690,000 per unit.

Prioritizing housing first also means that programs requiring treatment or behavioral change are penalized, even though “treatment-first” approaches are more successful at improving the well-being of homeless people by reducing drug use and increasing employment stability. By focusing on helping people move forward in their lives, treatment-first programs can ultimately serve more people too, since they are not designed to keep people in government-funded housing permanently.

The Birmingham Model is an example of a successful treatment-first program. It combines housing with treatment, providing people with a private unit while requiring recipients to abstain from substance abuse. Those who fail to remain sober are moved to a spot in a shelter; they can work toward regaining the private unit by staying sober for a week.

The federal government should stop prioritizing the costly and inefficient housing-first approach. Instead, funding for programs addressing homelessness should be tied to improved outcomes, such as reduced substance abuse, better mental health, moving people into self-supported housing, and reducing overall rates of homelessness. Approaches to helping the homeless will vary based on the individual.

Many people living on the street are dealing with severe mental illness. States should work to improve their mental health care systems and to increase the number of hospital beds available for the severely mentally ill. These beds are in very short supply.

Some cities have programs to provide short-term rental assistance to those facing eviction, along with services to help people find a job. This may help prevent homelessness in the first place.

Local leaders could work with nonprofit organizations to see that emergency and short-term shelters are available for those in crisis. At the same time, cities should maintain order on the streets by ensuring that public areas are free from tent encampments and that laws against illegal drug use and theft are enforced.

Helping the homeless should focus on addressing the underlying causes, rather than continuing to fixate on symptoms. Policies to help our brothers and sisters should promote wellness and upward mobility to help people find their way home.

Rachel Sheffield is a research fellow in welfare and family policy at The Heritage Foundation. ©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, Feb. 12

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

CNA Nina Prigodich, right, goes through restorative exercises with long term care patient Betty Long, 86, at Nightingale's View Ridge Care Center on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Boost state Medicaid funding for long-term care

With more in need of skilled nursing and assisted-living services, funding must keep up to retain staff.

Welch: State Democrats’ bill would undermine parental rights

The bill would allow kids as young as 13 to make mental health decisions without notice to parents.

Kristof: Child malnutrition lost in politics over aid cuts

A young journalist describes the scene in Madagascar where a nutritious porridge provides a lifeline.

Comment: Trump sticks with NOAA official who bent to his ego

We haven’t seen the last of Trump’s Sharpie-amended reality and it’s destabilizing effect on scientists.

Dowd: Musk’s ‘Lost Boys’ join Trump’s ‘Mean Girls’ ethic to gut it all

Neither man shows any concern for the damage they threaten against individuals here and abroad.

bar graph, pie chart and diagrams isolated on white, 3d illustration
Editorial: Don’t let state’s budget numbers intimidate you

With budget discussions starting soon, a new website explains the basics of state’s budget crisis.

Curtains act as doors for a handful of classrooms at Glenwood Elementary on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Schools’ building needs point to election reform

Construction funding requests in Arlington and Lake Stevens show need for a change to bond elections.

FILE- In this Nov. 14, 2017, file photo Jaìme Ceja operates a forklift while loading boxes of Red Delicious apples on to a trailer during his shift in an orchard in Tieton, Wash. Cherry and apple growers in Washington state are worried their exports to China will be hurt by a trade war that escalated on Monday when that country raised import duties on a $3 billion list of products. (Shawn Gust/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP, File)
Editorial: Trade war would harm state’s consumers, jobs

Trump’s threat of tariffs to win non-trade concessions complicates talks, says a state trade advocate.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Tuesday, Feb. 11

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Sentencing reforms more complicated than column described

I read Todd Welch’s Jan. 29 column. He is certainly entitled to… Continue reading

President Trump running nation like his failed businesses

We’ve seen it before; President Trump will do or say anything to… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.