Homelessness didn’t exist 20 years ago and it doesn’t need to exist today. The National Alliance to End Homelessness believes that ending homelessness is well within the nation’s grasp and we have developed a plan to do so by the year 2010. Our plan includes building incentives to prevent homelessness, and planning in every community to reduce the number of homeless people to zero. The Plan also strives to make the existing homeless assistance system more outcome-driven by tailoring solution-oriented approaches to the various types of homelessness. We must work towards ending homelessness instead of accepting and managing it.

How over one million people became homeless...
In the 1980’s, homelessness exploded onto the scene as a national issue. Affordable housing became scarce, many of the most vulnerable citizens were deinstitutionalized, and earnings lost pace with the rising cost of living. In response, a two billion-dollar homeless assistance system was created to meet the immediate food, shelter, and supportive services needs of this new population of homeless people. Unfortunately, mainstream social programs such as welfare, health care, subsidized housing, and substance abuse treatment—programs that provide long-term income and services support—started shifting responsibility for very poor people to this small and under-funded homeless assistance system. This left homeless assistance programs overburdened and unable to address prevention or move the masses of newly homeless people back into housing. So despite doubling the number of shelter beds, quadrupling the number of food programs, and increasing federal funds to over a billion dollars, the number of homeless people on the street continued to expand dramatically in the last decade, some estimate a 100% increase.

Showing them a way back home can save lives as well as money.
In order to end homelessness in the next ten years, we must:
· Plan to end homelessness in every community.
· Make mainstream programs accountable for preventing and ending homelessness.
· Shift the focus of the homeless assistance programs from short-term support services to long-term solutions.
· Work towards creating an infrastructure, including living wages and affordable housing, that can support permanent housing for everyone.

These four steps will cost money, but perhaps not as much as maintaining homelessness, particularly for those with chronic illnesses. Because homeless people have no regular place to stay, they use a variety of public systems in an inefficient and costly way. According to a University of Texas survey, a homeless person with serious behavioral health problems costs taxpayers $14,480 per year, primarily for overnight jail. And, the cost of an emergency shelter is $8,067, some $2,000 more than the average annual cost of a housing subsidy.

These figures don’t even take into account the effects of homelessness on a person’s physical and mental health, the lost educational opportunities suffered by homeless children, and the obstacles to gainful employment and tenancy created by a period of homelessness. The bottom line is that many of these unnecessary economic and human costs can eventually be eliminated by the implementation of our plan.

Taking our plan from the soapbox to the streets...

Before homelessness becomes another undesirable institution of our society, we must end it. The National Alliance to End Homelessness has devised a four-point plan that can be realized by the year 2010.

Plan for zero homelessness.
We must stop managing homelessness and evolve our assistance programs according to who is homeless and what they need to stay housed and healthy. Every census, hospital chart, and piece of data collected should be used to determine how homeless assistance providers, mainstream agencies, and organizations serving homeless people can best collectively end homelessness. Communities which do this are able to effectively and efficiently mobilize their existing mainstream and homeless resources toward the goal of ending not just managing homelessness.

Remove homelessness as an option.
The federal government spends billions each year on programs to take care of vulnerable people. Unfortunately, these programs too often allow the people they serve to become homeless. We need to focus on the mainstream programs, in order to close the front door into homelessness. Through financial incentives and shifting outcome measures, programs can be encouraged to take greater responsibility for homelessness prevention activities.

Clear out the shelters once and for all.
Programs that care for homeless people do a good job. To end homelessness these programs need to do even better by focusing more of their resources on moving every homeless person back into housing as quickly as possible. 80% of all homeless families and single adults enter and exit homelessness relatively quickly, never to return. The Alliance recommends a “housing first” approach for most of these families to get them back into housing, linking them with appropriate services and reducing their shelter stays to an absolute minimum. This population benefits most from assistance in finding and securing housing, linkages with mainstream programs, and follow-up visits to avert crises that threaten housing stability. The other 20% of people in the homeless assistance system have more severe service and housing needs. Therefore, they require a different approach. These families and singles use the homeless system on a repeat basis, and utilize nearly 70% of the system’s resources. Most of this group requires some type of permanent supportive housing, and are not adequately aided by the homeless assistance system, despite all of the resources they consume. In ten years we can easily create enough supportive housing to end homelessness for this group.

Begin to look at the bigger picture.
Nowhere in the nation can a minimum wage worker afford a one-bedroom apartment. For the poorest Americans, work simply no longer covers housing costs. 12.3 million individuals and 5.4 million families pay more than half their income for rent and have no financial buffer for unforeseen emergencies. To prevent future housing crises amongst this population: · Give people training and tools to earn enough to afford what they need.
· Increase the supply of housing affordable to working and poor people.
· Assess and update community mental health, substance abuse, and child-care services to meet current needs.

Contrary to what some believe, we know that we can do a lot to end homelessness without waiting for the end of poverty. But addressing these issues will allow us to reach our goal sooner.

Elements of a Plan to End Homelessness:

Plan for Outcomes
Localities can begin to develop plans to end, rather than to manage, homelessness. There are two components. Every jurisdiction can collect data that allows it to identify the most effective strategy for each sub-group of the homeless population. Second, jurisdictions can bring to the planning table those responsible for mainstream as well as homeless-targeted resources.

Close the Front Door
Homeless can be prevented by making mainstream poverty programs more accountable for the outcomes of their most vulnerable clients and wards.

Open the Back Door
Where homeless people are already accommodating the shortage of affordable housing, this should be facilitated and accelerated. Where there is no housing, particularly for those who are chronically homeless, an adequate supply of appropriate housing should be developed and subsidized.

Build the Infrastructure Ending homelessness can be a first step in addressing the systemic problems that lead to crisis poverty:
· shortage of affordable housing
· incomes that do not pay for basic needs
· lack of appropriate services for those who need them

Taking these steps will change the dynamic of homelessness. While it will not stop people from losing their housing, it will alter the way in which housing crises are dealt with. While it will not end poverty, it will require that housing stability be a measure of success for those who assist poor people. The National Alliance to End Homelessness believes that these adjustments are necessary to avoid the complete institutionalization of homelessness. If implemented over time, they can lead to an end to homelessness within ten years.

For the full text of the National Alliance to End Homelessness Ten Year Plan, as well as best practices, go to www.endhomelessness.org.

According to a University of Texas survey, a homeless person with serious behavioral health problems cost taxpayers $14,480 per year.

12.3 million individuals and 5.4 million families pay more than half their income for rent and have no financial buffer for unforeseen emergencies.

Our plan includes building incentives to prevent homelessness and planning in every community to reduce the number of homeless people to zero.