Academy of Lifelong Learning Affordable Housing and Homelessness - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Academy of Lifelong Learning

“Affordable Housing and Homelessness”

September 18, 2019 Donald W. Burnes, PhD

What is homelessness? Literally being without a home

According to Dr. Barbara Jackson, without a home from 6-12:

“I lived in terror, because I didn’t know how I would survive camping out in a car, laundromats, and the alcove of the A&P market. No place to go after school, no home, no dinner on the table, no clean clothes, no place to bathe, and the shame.”

What is a home?

Five minutes to jot down your concept of home

Definitions of Home

➢ “ Home is a safe, secure, stable place to be, a sanctuary, a place to keep my stuff.” ➢ Having some autonomy ➢ Having some control over one’s environment ➢ “My Home is my Castle” ➢ Sense of community ➢ Networks of support

Brief History of Homelessness

Long history, not just in the last 40 years

• Native Americans
• Colonies- people who didn’t fit in
• Poorhouses and alms houses
• Waves of immigrants
• Cowboys and train workers
• Wounded soldiers from Civil War
• Frontier people, searchers for Gold
• Hoboes, Tramps, and Bums-Hobohemias and Skid Rows
• Great Depression
• Building the Safety Net – Welfare and Housing

More Recent History

• Baby Boom – lots more people
• Vietnam War and war wounded
• Well-intentioned policies with unintended consequences
• Urban Renewal
• Deinstitutionalization
• Decriminalization of Alcoholism
• Mitch Snyder and the CCNV

Over the past 40 years, little change in

• verall numbers of people

experiencing homelessness

Who Are The People Experiencing Homelessness?

Negative Stereotypes: Street People Panhandlers, Drunks, Drug Addicts, Mentally Ill “The Undeserving Poor” These are the visible ones, but 15-20%

Most of those without homes are invisible:

➢ Mothers with children ➢ Youth exiled by parents ➢ Some veterans ➢ Some who are suffering from mental illness ➢ Working adults who don’t earn enough to pay rent ➢ Transitioning foster youth ➢ Victims of domestic violence ➢ Seniors on fixed income/health issues ➢ Justice system discharges ➢ Hospital and treatment center discharges

How many people are there who are experiencing homelessness?

How many people do you think are experiencing homelessness? Who should be counted? In the Denver metro area? Across the US? Pair and Share

Major Challenge - Definition of Homelessness

HUD Definition

• 1. Unsheltered
• 2. People in Shelters
• 3. People in Transitional Housing
• 4. People in Motels – Agency pays
• Dept. of Education
• 1. Includes people doubled up, couch-surfing and those living in short-term motels

US ED includes doubled up because they feel couch surfing students have the same educational deficits as those included in HUD definition.

250,000 vs 1.3 million

School Children

➢ In US: 1.3 million ➢ In CO: 23,100 ➢ In Denver: 1,762 ➢ In Adams County: 2,800 ➢ In Jefferson County: 3,135

Living doubled up, in shelters, in cars, in motels ¾ are doubled up

For every family without a home and a school child, a child under 6 and a parent. Some such families have more than one school child. Therefore, multiply number by 2.5. Doesn’t include single adults or older youth. Could mean as many as 58,000 to 65,000 people experiencing homelessness in CO

Lifetime Prevalence

TDF Poll 13% of respondents had themselves experienced homelessness; Consistent with national polls

• No. 18 and over
• No. Lifetime Prevalence

Denver 577,000 75,000 Colorado 4,431,000 576,000 US 244,945,724 31,842,944

Numbers of People Experiencing Homelessness Based on HUD Point-in-Time Surveys

❖ Denver- 2019 3,943 ❖ Adams- 2019 483 ❖ JeffCo- 2019 434 ❖ Arapahoe- 2019 228 ❖ Douglas- 2019 14 ❖ Metro Denver- 2019 5,755 ❖ Colorado- 2018 10,857 ❖ United States- 2018 553,000

–

Homeless Incidence: 5,755 homeless individuals counted in se

Key Findings – Metro Denver 2019 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count

Homeless Incidence: 5,755 homeless individuals counted in seven county Denver Metro area Who are they?

• 946 people reported staying in locations considered to be unsheltered, such outside in tents,

parks, vehicles or underpasses. This is a 28% decrease from last year.

• 4,809 people reported staying in sheltered locations, such as emergency shelters and

transitional housing, a 17% increase from 2018

• Families with children under 18 accounted for 24% of the overall population that night for a

total of 1,402 persons, or 429 households

• 627 people surveyed identified as being veterans

Source: https://www.mdhi.org/pit_reports

What causes homelessness? Why do people end up without homes?

What causes homelessness?

• Medical / family crisis
• Loss of income / employment
• Inadequate income
• Family breakup
• Mental health / substance abuse issues
• Cost of housing
• System discharge without supports
• Eviction / foreclosure

Typical Attitude about Causes People experiencing homelessness are: Lazy, crazy, drunks, addicts, bad choices If this is correct, why are there so many more people with housing who are alcoholics, addicts, mentally ill? Who among us has never made a bad decision?

Personal Causes vs Systemic Causes

Real difference between those in houses and those without houses is: Lack of resources AND relationships

Why do some people lack resources?

Deficit of about 8 million units of housing Every state would have to create 160,000 units overnight to eliminate deficit

Housing as a percentage of annual income for housing consumers

Top 20%: 19% of $153,300 on housing; $125,000 for everything else Bottom 20%: 87% of $10,100 on housing; $1,300 for everything else; about $100 per month

Food, clothing, health and childcare, transportation, etc.

Federal housing subsidies

$250 billion a year 20% goes to low-income renters through housing programs 80% goes to high income homeowners through tax deductions like mortgage interest deduction

Those who need it the most get the least Those who need it the least get the most

Another indication of resources is what is called the “housing wage,” i.e. how much of an hourly wage it would take to afford an average 2-bedroom housing unit (different from “living wage”).

In Colorado, current minimum wage is $11.10/hr.

To afford an average 2-bedroom unit in Denver metro, housing wage is $29 per hour; a person needs to work almost two and two-thirds full-time jobs at minimum wage In Boulder City, housing wage is over $50 an hour, almost five full-time jobs at minimum wage

Rising Rents

Between 2005 and 2015, ➢ # of homes renting for more than $2,000/mo. up 97% ➢ # of homes renting for less than $800/mo. down 2% ➢ 6.7 million new rental units, but decline of 260,000 under $800/mo

According to a recent study about homelessness in Denver, 40% of adults experiencing homelessness are working full time Another 30% are working part time

Given their wages, they can’t afford to rent housing units in the Denver metro area

Prevention – The Most Obvious Strategy

Bodies in the River - Need to look upstream Hard to determine whether a very poor family will, in fact, become homeless Is it important to distinguish between someone becoming homeless next month and someone becoming homeless in six months?

One or two paychecks away from real destitution

Unexpected $400 bill---half would have to borrow money People experiencing homelessness can’t borrow money Not even very bad credit – no credit at all

tracey.obrien@ucdenver.edu tracey.obrien@ucdenver.edu

What kinds of resources do people need?

➢ Housing ➢ Money ➢ Jobs ➢ Child Care ➢ Health care ➢ Different kind of resource – human connections

Human Resources and Human Connections

Single most universal characteristic is social isolation People who care, networks of support Sense of community Journeys Out Of Homelessness: The Voices of Lived Experience Most important factor in escaping homelessness

Current Approaches to Addressing Homelessness

Common response: Criminalizing homelessness

Camping ban (Denver), sit and lie ordinances, panhandling rules

“Sleeping under the influence of poverty”

Do you live in Denver? Did you vote on Initiative 300? If so, how did you vote and why did you vote that way? Pair and Share

Extent of Efforts to Criminalize Homelessness

Survey of 187 Cities - NLCHP ▪ Laws prohibiting camping in public ▪ Laws prohibiting sleeping in public ▪ Laws prohibiting begging in public ▪ Laws prohibiting loitering, loafing, and vagrancy ▪ Laws prohibiting sitting or lying down in public ▪ Laws prohibiting sleeping in vehicles ▪ Laws prohibiting sharing of food ▪ Substantial increase since 2011

Criminalizing people without homes does nothing to provide them with homes

Greyhound therapy – one-way bus tickets out of town Whack-a-mole approach

Legal Findings on Criminalization

Bell v. Boise – “If a person literally has nowhere else to go, the enforcement of an anti-camping ordinance against that person criminalizes [that person] for being homeless.” The local ordinance was ruled unconstitutional. In the recent several years, 100% of the legal challenges to panhandling bans have been successful.

Cost of Criminalization

Denver study:

• In 2014, Denver spent $750,000 enforcing its ordinances
• 6 Colorado cities spent $5 million enforcing 14 ordinances

Study Update:

• Between 2014 and 2017, Denver issued 10,733 citations to PEH

under their various anti-homelessness ordinances, about the same number each year

• In that 4 year span, assuming similar costs for enforcement,

Denver spent about $3,000,000 to enforce its ordinances

Other Costs

LA study including 10,000 PEH

• -providing housing reduced average monthly costs by 41%
• -included a savings of 95% in costs of jails and services

Other studies

• -major reductions in criminal system and health care costs by

providing housing, including the actual cost of the housing

Typical Approaches to Addressing Homelessness

✓ Service centers of various kinds: food pantries as the most common, emergency financial assistance, help with employment, clothing ✓ Shelters of various kinds ✓ Temporary or Transitional Housing of various kinds ✓ Permanent Housing of various kinds ✓ Permanent Housing ✓ Permanent Supportive Housing ✓ Vouchers

✓ Coordinated Entry

Housing First

• Mandated by HUD for funded projects
• Two definitions
• Philosophy – get into housing as first step and then work on other issues
• HF Program – Same philosophy, but other services not required
• Great success, especially for those who are experiencing chronic homelessness

Search for alternatives

Tent cities: Right to Dream Too, Portland, OR Very impressive Safe space; community; compassion; rules of behavior Tiny Home Villages ADUs Safe Spots for Parking

In Denver, Beloved Community Village

11 units, 14 individuals Burnes Center evaluation Temporary vs Permanent Housing

Failure to consider alternatives is bad social and economic policy ➢ Does nothing to end homelessness ➢ Not enough shelter beds ➢ No couples or companion animals

Other important steps

➢More shelter and emergency shelter space ➢More transitional housing – tent cities, tiny home villages ➢Full continuum of housing – shelter, transition, permanent

Other Pieces for Solving the Puzzle

Entice private sector to invest in solutions Social Impact Bonds – Pay It Forward Better Evaluations Effective programs – Evidence-Based Expand human resources – caring individuals, networks of support, community Perfect role for faith-based

Models for Expanding Networks of Support

➢Circles of support – major initiative in Developmental Disability community ➢Oxford Houses – small group homes to reinforce recovery from alcohol and drugs ➢12-Step Programs – sponsors, regular weekly meetings, sense of responsibility and community

Single comprehensive system approach

Tendency to create organizational and jurisdictional silos Must break down silos and create coordinated, collaborative approach across organizations and jurisdictions

Changing the Narrative

Despite billions of dollars, millions of hours

• f staff and volunteer time, we still have over

500,000 and maybe many more experiencing Homelessness. Why? Why do you think? Pair and Share

There hasn’t been the political will and a strong enough political constituency to push for more resources and better policies. Are there reasons that this is the case?

Much of the focus in the media and in other places has been on individuals experiencing homelessness ➢ Leads to focusing on personal characteristics and personal challenges ➢ Leads to person-centered causes vs. systemic ones

Policies have created these problems ➢ Minimum wage hasn’t changed in over 10 years ➢ Wages haven’t increased for most people in 30 years ➢ Wages are falling far behind costs of housing ➢ Federal resources for housing overall decline ➢ Fiscal incentives reward upper-middle class homeowners ➢ No incentives for lower and lower-middle class renters

Changing the Narrative – Reframing the Issue ➢ Shifting from focus on individuals to a focus on systems and policies ➢ Need for Lived Experience success stories

➢ Journeys Out of Homelessness: The Voices of Lived Experience

Again, the purpose of reframing the issue

➢ Shift away from negative stereotypes ➢ Build more positive public sentiment about homelessness and affordable housing ➢ Create broader political support for ➢ Added resources ➢ Policy changes

Changing public opinion Massive public outreach campaign

Mothers Against Drunk Driving - MADD Just Say No Gay Marriage

Building a Movement

National network of state and local organizations dedicated to changing public opinion Include other arenas, like health, benefits, education, hunger, child care, transportation, employment - intersectionality Build a larger stronger political constituency to push for more resources; build political will

What Can You Do to Help End Homelessness?

1- Talk about the issue – talk to friends and colleagues; challenge stereotypes. 2-Talk to people experiencing homelessness; life changing, transformative. 3- Use people first language & people without homes

4- Encourage organizations/congregations to get active 5- Contact elected officials – demand more resources 6- Reach out to local officials – alternative safe, secure places to live 7- Pay attention to what’s going on

8- Volunteer – Volunteer at a service agency or at an

• rganization that is committed to addressing

homelessness 9- Donate food, clothing, other needed supplies 10- Donate financial support

What Can This Group Do?

What if this group decided to become part of a movement? You could meet regularly, decide on important issues, develop action strategies, work with other groups to advocate for better policies and programs. You could become an important seedling in the push for improvements in the effort to address homelessness, a pioneer local group.

Failure to do your part consigns our most downtrodden friends and neighbors to the dustbin of history

Can we really end homelessness?

There will always be a few people who are without homes for one reason

• r another.

What we can do is make sure it is: rare, short-term, and one-time only, and that the facilities are there so that no one has to live on the streets. We reduced veteran homelessness by almost 50% in a few short years--- proves that with the political will and resources it can be done!!!

Don Burnes – donwburnes@gmail.com