Sacramento homeless study mixed: More families, fewer 'chronic' cases
chubert@sacbee.com
Published Saturday, Apr. 11, 2009
More families with children are living on the streets and in homeless shelters in Sacramento County, a new survey suggests.
The report, based on a census conducted on one January night, finds that 14 percent more people were homeless in Sacramento in 2009 than in 2007, and that an increasing number of those without permanent shelter are parents with children.
"That number reflects exactly what we're seeing at Loaves & Fishes," said Sister Libby Fernandez, executive director of the agency that offers services to the homeless. "We are seeing new faces, new families, people who lost their jobs and maybe found housing with relatives for a while but now are ending up in the shelter system."
The survey also counted 35 percent less "chronically homeless" people – those who had been without permanent shelter for at least a year at the time of the count – than it did in 2007.
For the survey, about 400 volunteers counted "every eligible, awake person" in area shelters, camping areas, and other places where homeless people slept between 8 p.m. and midnight on Jan. 27.
They counted 2,800 people, compared with 2,452 in 2007.
They classified 468 people as chronically homeless, compared with 718 in 2007.
The Department of Human Assistance began the annual counts in 2007. This year it compared the 2007 and 2009 totals and said that numbers for 2008 showed similar patterns.
Human Assistance officials attributed the sharp decrease in chronic homelessness to "housing first" programs launched in recent years.
"It's clear to me that our focus is paying off," said the county's human services director, Bruce Wagstaff. "It tells me we're on the right track."
During the past two years, thanks to a county, city and private collaboration, about 320 people who otherwise would have been living in streets, alleys or shelters have moved into permanent supportive housing programs, said Wagstaff. The "housing first" strategy represents a departure from traditional approaches, which require homeless people to be "clean and sober" to retain housing.
"Housing first" advocates argue that homeless people need stable living environments before they can realistically tackle their larger problems, such as mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse.
The county's "Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness," launched in 2006, has a goal of moving 1,600 homeless people into permanent housing.
"By this count, we are ahead of the curve," said Tim Brown, director of the Ending Chronic Homelessness Initiative. "A 35 percent decrease is huge for us."
Chronically homeless people are the most visible and costly to the community, and the most difficult for whom to find permanent housing, Brown said.
"If we can find housing for them, we can solve the problem for everyone."
In the future, he and others said, more attention and dollars need to go toward affordable housing for temporarily homeless people, including families.
The 2009 survey found that the number of homeless families with children went up 14.3 percent over 2007, a trend that observers said likely reflects the shaky economy, unemployment and mortgage meltdown.
Michelle Steeb, director of the St. John's Shelter for Women and Children, said her program was turning away about 20 people per day in 2007 for lack of beds.
"Now, we are turning away over 300 a day," she said. "We are hearing many stories of people affected by the economy."
While praising the effort to find housing for the chronically homeless, Steeb said "no new housing is coming online for homeless families."
"It's disturbing to me that 45 percent of the people who graduate from our program have nowhere to go" after staying for the maximum 90 days, she said. "We are cycling them back out to the streets."
Call The Bee's Cynthia Hubert, (916) 321-1082
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1772180.html
Relevant Links:
http://sacramentohomeless.blogspot.com/
Comment: By the very nature of the so-called study these figures are usually not accurate as there are many more pockets of homeless refugees all along the banks of the Sacramento and American Rivers here in Sacramento, plus, hidden in the woods and bushes at scattered sites. Who is sleeping on your couch? In the alley at night? Right outside your door after you go to sleep?
Still, it was a noble gesture and one prays that it will actually result in the creation of new low-income housing for the homeless, but it is also connected to the survival need for decent jobs for those who are employable, for an array of social services that help people to become employable and the need for field case workers to do accurate assessments of others who may not be able to work and provide them with relevant rehabilitation programs for their own self-empowerment.
As always, drug addiction is a major factor and it is all also connected to people who suffer from mental illness and actual spiritual sickness. The homeless are obvious visible examples of the kind of work that needs to be done and with whom.
The ugly constant connected reality is that the human survival needs always overwhelm available social resources. The prejudice nimby spouts, "Who cares about the homeless as long as they are not in my backyard and affect the housing valuation in my area?!?!"
The homeless American refugees the same as the so-called illegal aliens are not going to just 'go away' or 'go back to Mexico'. A lot of the damage is done by those who sit in the comfort of their homes without giving the homeless a second tender. thought.
Social leaders must develop comprehensive strategies and tactics that can integrate and incorporate domestic into the mainstream of society, create industry, create jobs and create a strong sense of self-esteem. In many ways, what we lack is the social will and the personal commitment to change it all! If it is to come true is it up to you! One dedicated humane being can make the difference! We are the ones we have been waiting for! Si Se Puede! Yes We Can!
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Education for Liberation!
Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Sacramento, California, Aztlan
http://groups.yahoo..com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/
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