If you followed the last Tucson municipal elections, it was hard to avoid the mentions of housing first. The model that provides housing with few or no barriers to unhoused people has been a frequent topic of debate.
Incumbent Tucson Democrats have frequently touted the success and plans to expand Housing First efforts.
“We created a housing first program, it’s a program based on evidence that we didn’t have there and it’s a piece of the puzzle,” Mayor Regina Romero told AZPM . “This is not a silver bullet. This is a program that has never been instituted in the history of the city of Tucson.”
But opponents were quick to dismiss the program, saying it didn’t work.
“Tucson has a reputation for free services, free phones, free medical care, food, houses now, well you know, free, free, that’s a Portland attitude,” said the independent candidate for mayor, Ed Ackerley.
“We don’t expect them to be sober, to stay clean,” said Janet Wittenbraker, a Republican candidate for mayor. “There are no expectations for mental health. The idea is you provide them shelter first, and then they will turn to these things. It has failed.”
The election was a clear victory for incumbent Democrats, which likely means the continuation of Housing First initiatives.
So what do experts think in the field of Housing First as a model for helping unhoused people?
“We’re at the point where if people don’t want to implement housing first, then I have to wonder how important the problem of homelessness actually is to them,” said Steve Berg, policy director of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. . “The public understands that it’s primarily a housing issue. They look at the cost of housing. They say, ‘Well, for someone who’s been living on the streets and doesn’t have a very good history of work, it must be even worse.”
Berg said the main reason for the growing homeless problem is a lack of affordable housing that dates back to post-World War II.
“Homelessness is caused by a lack of housing at levels that people on the lowest incomes can afford. Who is homeless? It’s more about issues like mental health. The reason there is so much homelessness is largely a housing issue. »
This is an area that Justice Glock, a Housing First critic, agrees with.
“Affordable housing is certainly an issue for homeless people in general. There’s a very strong connection between cities where housing costs are higher and that’s going to lead to more homelessness,” he said . But if you look closely, the main problem tends to lie in the type of population that is short-term homeless or sheltered. These populations are generally homeless for short periods; they usually need a helping hand to continue their lives. But, ironically, Housing First is for the chronically homeless. »
He said chronically homeless people often have mental health and substance abuse issues, which are often a bigger problem than the financial ability to support themselves.
Glock advocates a system similar to that in place in Las Vegas, where the government has established a sanctioned urban camping area that offers public restrooms, some protection from the elements, security and services.
“Portland, Oregon, is doing something similar. The city that was once and still is to some extent synonymous with the homeless crisis has said it will outright ban street camping within the year next and that his alternative was to set up these sanctioned campsites. areas.”
Glock said the problem is that Housing First is giving people what is often one of their biggest expenses for free, and thus giving them no reason to leave. He explained that people often stay for long periods of time, meaning that for every new person who becomes homeless, a new permanent supportive home must be created.
The idea that people don’t leave Housing First is one that Sarah Hunter, director of the RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness, agrees with.
Her organization was tasked with studying Pima County’s Housing First program after its first two years. It was found that more than 80% of those who enrolled in the program were still enrolled a year later.
Despite this noted expense, it still saved taxpayers’ money.
“So even taking into account the cost of housing and support services, it’s still cheaper for taxpayers to invest in this program than to have people hanging out on the streets, because what happens is that ‘They then move in and out of the criminal justice system, emergency and crisis mental health services, which are very expensive.
She said targeting Housing First at a population that is often more likely to incur such public spending could be a good way to make such programs worth it.
“(Pima County) was implementing it with a population that was more involved in criminal justice than you typically see in these programs. It is wise to look at who succeeds and who fails in the program so so they can adapt it as they grow. I look forward to providing this intervention to the best participant as if anyone is going to succeed.
More than The hum
